Asheville – Asheville defeated T.C. Roberson 28-21 on Friday to move into second place in the elite Mountain Athletic Conference, while West Henderson stayed undefeated by beating Pisgah 45-21 in a Mountain Seven clash.
The A.C. Reynolds Rockets (7-1; 4-0 MAC) pulled away from host Erwin 49-13 to move alone to first in the MAC, thanks to TCR’s road loss. Only the top team is assured of making the playoffs. Historically, the second place team nearly always makes it, and often hosts a game.
“We want a home playoff game!,” Cougar head coach Cort Radford said. His Asheville Cougars (5-2 overall) are 2-1. They hold the tie-breaker over TCR (5-2; 3-1) and have a clear path to maintaining their second-place position. AHS is at McDowell Titans (5-2; 2-1) on Friday, Oct. 14, hosts winless North Buncombe Black Hawks, and closes the regular season at Enka Jets (1-5; 0-3).
The MAC’s third-place squad often makes the playoffs as well. That gives hope to the T.C. Roberson Rams, Erwin Warriors (3-4; 1-2), and McDowell. Roberson head coach J.D. Dinwiddie hopes TCR beats ACR and goes for a three-way tie for first if TCR upsets ACR on Oct. 21.
The West Henderson Falcons (7-0; 4-0 M7) and Tuscola (7-0; 3-0) stayed atop the M7 standings. The Falcons flew past Pisgah, as WNC’s premier passing combo of Lukas Kachilo to Truitt Manuel clicked for three touchdowns. Hendersonville won 52-0 to stay second in the Mountain Foothill Conference.
Cougar Winning Plays
Asheville rebounded from its 34-7 loss at Reynolds, sandwiching that with home wins of 49-0 over Erwin and 28-21 over Roberson. The Rams were mostly shut down in the first half. But they impressively fought back, scoring two straight TDs to briefly take the lead.
Maturing freshman AHS quarterback Meek Slydell threw three TD passes—two to lanky Tre Codrington. They combined for the play of the game to retake the lead for good. AHS trailed 21-20 and had a fourth down and eight yards to go from the Ram 21. “I asked them if they wanted to go for it,” Coach Radford said of team confidence in a timeout. “They did.” He noted “football teaches about life,” about when to take bold action.
Radford said he “trusted” Slydell to at least get the first down. Slydell scrambled to his right. He had room to run for a likely first down.
But Slydell wanted much more — and got it. On a full run, he heaved a strike to Codrington for a 21-yard TD. He caught it at full speed on the right side of the end zone. Slydell said he clearly saw how Codrington was so “wide open!” after improvising to move rightward with him.
That winning score “felt great!,” Slydell said. Codrington called it a “big play that gave us momentum” back. Slydell’s two-point pass put AHS up 28-21 with 7:31 remaining.
The winning 68-yard drive had two other critical plays. On fourth down and four, sophomore Kyheem Plummer’s 28-yard run up the gut advanced AHS to the Ram 34. Slydell gained three yards to the 22 on third-and-two. That was the first called run for him all season long, Radford noted.
The teams exchanged punts. TCR gained a field advantage. Reno Jeter punted 53 yards to the AHS three. Slydell punted it back at the AHS 36. But Eddie Pretrick recovered a Ram fumble. Asheville ran out the clock. Star DL Tay Davis said of the late stops that “we got the job done” to win the early battle for second place. Coach Radford told his Cougars “you found a way to win” in the end.
Two TDs in First 3 Minutes
Both teams started with long gains. Heff Finley’s opening kickoff return to the Ram 28 set the tone. Slydell threw a 23-yard pass to Codrington in the end zone. Convington twisted around as he caught the ball.
Coach Radford rolled the dice. Gracie Smith delivered an onside kick. Asheville recovered it, then drove for another quick TD. Slydell hit Jeremiah Jones on a crossing pattern at the ten on third and one from the Ram 11. Jones scored untouched. AHS led 14-0 three minutes in. Jones said “we had to execute” and did early on.
Roberson’s first offensive play was also a scorcher. Triple option quarterback Lex Dinwiddie hurdled a Cougar and dashed down the right side for a 67-yard gain to the one. Devon Hollis scored on a pitch wide right. It was 14-7 with 7:37 left in a wild first quarter.
On fourth and one, Deshaun Whitmire gained 35 yards to the Rams’ five. AHS was soon a mere football length from the goal line. But Jeter popped the ball loose from Noah Shaw. Ram Zeb Swangim pounced on it to close the first quarter.
Asheville got the ball back on a punt and drove. Nick Williams ran for a three-yard TD. The PAT was wide by inches. AHS led 20-7 at halftime. “They took it to us” early, Ram Coach Dinwiddie said.
He was pleased with how Roberson scored both TDs in the third quarter. Tyrin Credle sprinted 77 yards down the left sideline. TCR recovered an AHS fumble at the Ram 47. Lex Dinwiddie squeaked out a first down on third and two. He passed to Swangim for 26 yards to the 15. Jeter bulled 11 yards. Jeter’s four-yard TD run tied the game at 20 with 1:13 left in the third. Asher Sloan‘s PAT put the Rams ahead 21-20. Their lead lasted 5:42.
Dinwiddie said “we were a play or two away. I can’t stand” the close loss. Coach Radford said the Rams are much more “physical” than last season and their receivers block well “on the edges.”
Gracie Smith converted two of three extra point tries. The senior soccer player is Asheville High’s first female varsity football player ever. She debuted a week earlier at Reynolds, making good on her sole extra point attempt.
Warriors, Jets Lead Early
Erwin led Reynolds 13-7, then trailed merely 21-13 at the break. Erwin’s Iggy Welch threw for two TDs—both to Demetrase Graves. Graves had nearly half (106 of 224) of Erwin’s receiving yards.
Reynolds scored four second-half TDs to win 49-13. Max Guest and Christian Lewis each raced 45 yards around left end for scores, sandwiching JoJo Ikeme’s 10-yard TD run. Guest rushed for 155 yards (8.2 ypc.) and Ikeme for 124 (17.7 ypc.). They totaled 279 ground yards.
The Enka Jets lost 21-16 at McDowell. Jet QB Matt Rogers ran for 131 yards and two TDs.
Falcons Fly Away
The West Henderson Falcons broke open a 14-all tie with a field goal before halftime, then outscored host Pisgah (2-5; 0-3 M7) by 28-7 in the second half.
Lukas Kachilo threw for nearly 300 yards and four TDs. He ran for 83 yards — mostly on a run to set up the first TD. He totaled 380 yards. Kachilo leads WNC public school passers with 1,788 yards and 20 TDs against six picks.
Kachilo tossed an eight-yard TD pass to a sliding Tyler Nash, then a five-yard pass to Manuel for a 14-0 lead. Pisgah QB Aaron Clark ran for two TDs to tie the game. He ran the same counterplay that Smoky Mountain QB Jed West effectively did at West a week earlier. However, West adjusted and Clark was thwarted in the second half.
Kachilo connected with Manuel in the end zone for 19 and 22 yards for two third-quarter TDs to seize a commanding 31-14 lead. Manuel had 111 yards on nine receptions. He calls it “amazing to have a great QB like Kachilo. He is always on the money with his throws. ” He said “handling” the hard-nosed Pisgah “shows how good our offense is.”
Falcon head coach Paul Whitaker credited better blocking for giving Kachilo more passing time in the second half and for opening holes. Carson Dimsdale dashed 55 yards for a score. West’s Blake Phillips capped the scoring with a 45-yard “pick six.” The West triumphed 45-21.
Tuscola beat East Henderson (2-5; 0-3) by 42-22. North Henderson (2-5; 0-4 M7) fell 35-3 at Franklin (3-1). The North Henderson Knights host the East Henderson Eagles on Friday.
The Hendersonville Bearcats (6-2; 3-1) destroyed East Rutherford 52-0. They led 38-0 at halftime. Homecoming king Lennard Benniefield opened the scoring by connecting with Alijah Ferguson. Hezzie Rudisill and Eric Rasheed each scored two TDs.
The Owen Warhorses won their first game of 2022 — 43-0 at winless Rosman. Alex Sanchez passed for four TDs and ran for one.