Hendersonville – Hendersonville bedeviled Brevard Blue Devils 24-7 Friday with aggressive take-away defense to go with the usual breakaway speed on offense.
West Henderson (9-0; 5-0 M7) doubled up Franklin (5-4; 3-3) by 28-14 on the road, to stay unbeaten and match Tuscola in the 3A Mountain Seven race. Lukas Kachilo passed for 273 yards and three touchdowns —two to Truitt Manuel for 32 and six yards, and one to Cameron Banks. Kachilo ran for a score. Manuel had 137 receiving yards on seven catches and Banks had 80 on five receptions.
West hosts Tuscola this Friday, Oct. 28. Tuscola won its second game in a row by one point — 17-16 versus Smoky Mountain thanks to Smoky missing an extra point.
ACR Clinches MAC
Max Guest ran for three touchdowns and 160 yards (6.4 ypc.) as 4A A.C. Reynolds (8-1; 5-0 MAC) shut out T.C. Roberson (6-3; 4-2) by 28-0. ACR stayed unbeaten in the Mountain Athletic Conference and clinched its seventh MAC title in the last eight seasons.
Second place Asheville (7-2; 4-1 MAC) blanked winless North Buncombe (0-9) by 49-0. First-half TDs include Kyheem Plummer’s runs for TDs of 51 and 37 yards; receptions of 36 yards by Nic Williams; and a 25-yard screen to Jay Avery.
Erwin (4-5; 2-3 MAC) outscored 4A McDowell (3-6; 1-4) by 41-35 to remain the MAC’s top 3A seed. Erwin blocked a Titan field goal and returned it for the winning score. Other Warrior second-half TDs include Iggy Welch’s pass to Ty Johnson and runs by Nick Sharpe and Phillip Shostak.
Enka (3-5; 1-4 MAC) won 19-7 at North Henderson (3-6; 1-4 M7). QB Matthew Rogers ran for an insurance TD. The sole Knight score was on lefty Mason Fowler’s pass to Keith Payne. Drake Blackwell had a pick for NHHS.
East Henderson (2-7; 0-5) fell 41-14 to Pisgah. Isaac Burleson had an INT for East. Owen (1-8; 1-4 WHC) lost 45-35 to Avery. On a fourth-down keeper, Alex Sanchez carried a Viking into the end zone with him. Will Johnson ran for an Owen TD.
‘Swipe-good’ of Swicegood
Hendersonville (7-2; 4-1 MFC) beat a historic rivalry in Brevard (4-5; 3-2) on Senior Night. The play of the game was when senior Dennis Waters whirled QB Colt Swicegood around on third-and-four to go. The ball squirted loose. Senior Eli Kole-Davis, weighing 285 pounds, fell on the fumble at the Brevard nine yard line.
Hezzie Rudisill took a pitch left and ran untouched for a TD on the very next play. Cooper King’s PAT made it 14-0 five minutes into the second quarter. That score held up at halftime. Rudisill scored the first TD by running to his right and cutting up the middle on a one-yard score in the opening quarter. He was shaken up early in the final quarter.
Kailand Maxwell stopped Brevard’s Jacob Stockton short on a crucial fourth down run.
Both sides converted onside/pooch kicks. Lanky Devil Nahshon Griffin scored on a 25-yard run 41 seconds into the third quarter. BHS was in it at 14-7.
Bearcat Alijah Ferguson returned an INT to the BHS 38, midway into the third. T.J. Lattimore ran 11 yards around the left end to the 22.
Benniefield ran 19 yards to the three. Eric Rasheed took a pitch and cut up the middle into the end zone. QB Benniefield faked a pitch to Rudisill, charged ahead as if on a keeper, then flipped a no-look underhand pitch to Rasheed, who zoomed the other (left) way. King’s PAT made it 21-7.
HHS extended its next drive to third and two. Then, Benniefield hit C.J. Landrum for 17 yards to the BHS ten. Benniefield dashed 17 yards to four. King drilled a 25-yard field goal for a 24-7 lead with 8:37 to play.
Hendersonville gets to smash Patton (1-8) this Friday to finish in second and make the playoffs. HHS head coach Kirron Ward said of that last tune-up, “We’re trying to get ready for the postseason” and a deep run.