Owen District students receive game day greeting

Warhorses welcome Swannanoa Valley students before hosting youth night

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 22, 2023

Owen senior and Warhorse quarterback Jakob Knighton greets a Black Mountain Primary School student, Sept. 22, as student-athletes from the high school met young students in the Owen District. Photo by Fred McCormick

Swannanoa Valley students received a surprise greeting, Sept. 22, as Warhorse athletes were there to meet them on game day.

Owen High School coaches and players, hours before they were to host Youth Night and face Mitchell at 7 p.m., in Warhorse Stadium, were eager to see their youngest fans.

“This is part of our community outreach, and it’s something we enjoy doing,” head coach Zach Gibson said, while welcoming students to Black Mountain Primary School. “These younger kids see these athletes, not just football players, out there playing and they want to emulate them. So, it’s important for them to see who they can be in a few years.”

Owen football players, Hudson Minks, left, Jakob Knighton, center and Alex Greene, greet Black Mountain Primary School students, Sept 22, hours before the Warhorses were set to host Mitchell. Photo by Fred McCormick

Student-athletes visited the primary school, Black Mountain Elementary, W.D. Williams Elementary and Owen Middle, where they opened doors and chatted with the young students.

“Some of them looked shocked, but they were happy,” said senior quarterback Jakob Knighton. “You could tell it made their day.”

It’s a feeling Gibson remembers well from his childhood.

Owen High School student-athletes and coaches meet with Black Mountain Primary School Principal Kelly Owen, Sept. 22, as the Warhorses greeted arriving students. Photo by Fred McCormick

“I remember when I was a kid at Candler Elementary and the football players came to our school,” he said. “That was an awesome experience for me, so it’s something we want to make sure we share with the kids here in the Valley.”

The visit came hours before scores of local children would join the team on the field for Owen Youth Night, which highlights players and cheerleaders from the Warhorse Youth Football and Cheer League. Young athletes will escort the Owen football team as it takes the field to host the Mountaineers.

“We got a lot of smiles this morning,” senior Ryland King said. “I know when I was growing up, I looked forward to this day because I looked up to those kids. I remember wanting to be like those players, and hopefully these kids feel that way about us.”