Asheville – Asheville Cougars demolished Davie 61-28 after surging to a 35-0 lead, while Hendersonville Bearcats destroyed West Stanly 42-0 Friday as the two heralded cat squads reigned supreme in football playoff openers.
Asheville is the only public high school within Buncombe County to advance. Erwin was doubled up at home by Forestview 36-19. A.C. Reynolds lost 30-7 at Hickory Ridge. Enka was eliminated. But the new head coach led the Jets into playoffs for the first time since 2012. More local schools qualified with classifications (4A, 3A, 2A, 1A) no longer divided into two — such as 3A, 3AA.
West 2A fifth seed Hendersonville is the sole survivor in Henderson County as North Henderson (4-7) and West Henderson (3-8) bowed out.
Both HHS (9-1) and AHS (9-2) are home again. The 4A ninth-seeded Cougars lucked out with higher (eighth) seed Butler knocked out 29-8 — by 25th seed Charlotte Mallard Creek (5-4). Mallard features fast back David Lampkin, reigning state 100-meter sprint champ. The Cougars-Mavericks winner will likely face West top seed, Hough.
Madden-ing Rout
Asheville head coach Cort Radford emphasizes defense. The defense had a shutout for most of the first half. The offense was more prolific throughout the game. As Radford said, “We executed well.”
Caleb Madden rushed for 163 yards (8 ypc.) and three touchdowns. His longest TD run was 50 yards for a 54-28 lead two minutes into the final quarter. He said he was confident Kadin Lynch and other blockers would open up holes and he would break tackles for extra yardage. He sure did.
Quarterback Khalil Conley accounted for five Cougar TDs Friday — three by air, two with his feet. The swift junior totaled 216 yards — 85 rushing and 131 passing. He was accurate, completing eight of 11 throws.
Conley raced left on a five-yard keeper for the first TD as Asheville stuck mostly to the ground.
Tre McGahee picked off star QB Alex Summers on Davie’s second play, to set up AHS in the red zone. Receiver Heff Finley ran four yards on a “wildcat” direct snap for the second TD. Tre McGahee ran five yards into the end zone. Asheville led 21-0 after one quarter.
Madden ran two yards for the next TD. The lead ballooned to 35-0 after Conley connected with Sayvon “Say So”/“Say Heh” Heydon-Gibson for a 59-yard TD pass play. That was midway into the second quarter.
Davie (6-5) Mocksville has moxie. The no-huddle War Eagle offense scored the next three TDs. Summers’ first of two TD throws got Davie on the board before halftime, but down 35-7.
Conley responded once the lead shrank to 35-21. He dashed 25 yards, then nine yards into the end zone. He tossed a 25-yard scoring pass to Madden. The third quarter closed with AHS up 47-21. Asheville closed scoring on Madden’s long run then Jeremiah Jone’s TD catch.
Dynamite Defense
Both offenses feature players with surnames of six letters — starting with “C” and ending in “ey.” Ty Carney is Davie’s Wake Forest-bound husky 200-pound senior back. He ran for two TDs in the second half. He got going on runs and screen receptions. Amazingly, his rushing yardage was negative in the first half and merely 30 overall. He more (31) yards receiving, and nearly as many (21) with a completed pass. Carney caused the carnage of prior foes. He ends this season with 1,134 rushing yards (6 ypc.) and 20 TDs.
Carney told the Tribune the Cougar defense was extra “aggressive” and pursued well.
AHS was led by its two star linebackers — spirited robo-tackler Micah Ward and Otis Walton-Thach, who picked off a pass at his own end zone line to seal victory with 2:11 left. He returned the pick over 35 yards — the longest of his varsity career. Walton-Thach was excited once “I saw green grass” — open field ahead down the left sideline.
Summers threw for most of his 299 yards in the second half playing hurry-up catch-up. In this season he passed for 2,937 yards with nearly 30 TDs. Summers had the second-most passing yards statewide in all classifications entering the game, Coach Radford noted. That makes the victory even more rewarding.
Asheville (9-2) won its ninth game in a row. The Cougars went 6-0 to win the Mountain Athletic Conference. They opened MAC play by thumping Erwin (6-5) which ended third at 4-2.
Asheville’s signature victory was a grueling 6-5 triumph over Reynolds (7-4; 5-1) Oct. 1. That was the Rockets’ only MAC defeat this year and first in 49 league games —since 2014.
AHS then cruised — 42-7 over T.C. Roberson (2-8; 1-5 MAC), 31-0 over McDowell (5-5; 3-3), 48-6 over North Buncombe (0-8; 0-6), then 49-0 over Enka (4-7; 2-4 MAC).
Bearcat Blanking
Hendersonville blanked West Stanly 42-0. The Bearcat defense stifled the Colts’ Wing T run offense. Head coach Jim Sosebee is quite pleased with the shutout, and how the offense had its way as usual.
Bearcat QB Gavin Gosnell passed for 331 yards and two TDs — both to Malik Angram. WNC’s passing leader raised his passing output this fall to 2,941 (nearly 300 per game) with 28 TDs and merely three INTs. Gosnell was on fire in completing 20 of 25 passes — 80 percent. He jogged untouched for a TD that put HHS up 21-0 just before halftime.
Eric Rasheed made a sensational, acrobatic interception with his left hand before the half. He scored twice within a half-minute in the third quarter. He dashed 20 yards on a reverse. Soon after, Rasheed tore the ball from a Colt runner and went 10 yards for another TD.
Lennard Benniefield caught a pass for the opening score on a 41-yard play. That was right after he gained 46 yards on a reception.
Hezzie Rudisill ran two yards for the second TD. That was set up by Gosnell’s screen right to Angram for a 28-yard gain down the right sideline. Angram nearly reached the end zone.
Rasheed has 1,069 receiving yards (20.2 ypc.) on 53 receptions. He caught 18 of Gosnell’s 28 TD passes. Angram is next with 46 catches for 738 yards (16 ypc.) and five TD. Benniefield’s line is 34, 691 yards, 20.3, four TD. Each of the three surpassed 100 receiving yards Friday. The trio and Rudisill each amassed over 1,000 all-purpose yards in the balanced attack.
This Friday, HHS welcomes 12th seed Burns (8-3) and tries to mow down the Lawndale legion. Kickoffs are 7:00 for AHS and 7:30 p.m. for HHS.