Fairview – A.C. Reynolds snatched back its status as the alpha MAC football team after beating arch-rival and reigning champion Asheville 34-7, while West Henderson also took charge in its league race.
The “Reynolds Wrap” defense wrapped up and shut out Asheville, foiling Cougar hopes in dominating style. ACR allowed no first downs until the final quarter and merely 33 yards in total offense. Rocket runner Max Guest and quarterback Hayden Craig each surpassed 1,000 seasonal yards after seven games.
West Henderson won a thriller by two points to stay undefeated. West (6-0; 3-0 M7) fended off Smoky Mountain (4-3; 2-1) 23-21. This clash narrowed the Mountain Seven undefeated squads from three to two — West and Tuscola (6-0; 2-0). Tuscola won 48-10 at North Henderson (2-4; 0-3). North Knight Mason Fowler threw to Drake Blackwell for a 23-yard TD.
West ends the regular season by hosting Tuscola on Oct. 28. On Friday, Oct. 7, West plays the always dangerous Pisgah (0-2) at Enka’s stadium. NHHS is at Franklin (2-1), which is in the hunt. After an idle week, East Henderson (2-4; 0-2 M7) is at Tuscola.
Hendersonville (5-2; 2-1) led Chase (6-0; 2-0) at halftime, but fell 35-16 in a Mountain Foothills game Friday. Owen fell at home, 43-25, to Mountain Heritage.
The two Mountain Athletic Conference (MAC) frontrunners at 3-0 are Reynolds (6-1 overall) and T.C. Roberson (5-1). TCR won its homecoming 46-7 over Enka. Tyrin Credle and Devon Hollis each ran for two Ram TDs.
Asheville, McDowell, and 3A Erwin are each 1-1 in MAC contests. Asheville welcomes Roberson on Friday in a battle for second place and a surefire 4A playoff berth. The Rams next host Erwin and play at Reynolds on Oct. 21.
Erwin is in line to reach the playoffs as the MAC’s best 3A team, contending with 0-3 squads in Enka and North Buncombe. NBHS fell 39-28 at McDowell. It is Erwin’s turn this Friday to tangle with Reynolds at home.
Payback, Paydirt
Head coach Shane Laws, in his 16th season at the helm, wins three of every four Reynolds games. His record is 155-48 (.764). Asheville is back to prominence under third-year head coach Cort Radford, an ACR alum. The past two Reynolds-Asheville clashes were ultra defensive gems, averaging nine points per side. Reynolds rallied to win 13-12 in the spring of 2021. Asheville won 6-5 at home last fall.
Since then, Reynolds’ “Big Green Machine” has been seeing red — Cougar maroon — for losing its MAC crown to Asheville last season. ACR won the six prior MAC titles outright and is firmly in the driver’s seat for the ‘22 title. ACR (6-1) beat 2A power Shelby by 24 and Asheville by 27.
With the triumph over AHS, “everything’s right in our world. We feel like ourselves again,” Coach Laws said. “We were embarrassed last year—by not winning that game and the conference championship, then by not playing well in the playoffs. It was unsettling. We carried that feeling around with us for a year.”
The 21 seniors on the ‘22 Rockets were especially eager to pay back AHS. “They knew exactly what to do—the pace and intensity to play with,” Coach Laws said.
“Winning that critical rivalry game is on our list of things to fix.” He praised how “focused” his players were in practices and in the game.
Points erupted this time — mostly for Reynolds. The Dalton Stadium lights flash after each Rocket touchdown.
Max Guest ran for the final two touchdowns—dashing 14 and nine yards. The super sophomore reached 1,062 rushing yards by running for 196 Friday — 145 in the first half. He averages eight yards per carry and 152 rushing yards per game. Guest, M.A. Skanes, and JoJo Ikeme each have at least 15 receptions. Guest returns kicks and averages 214 all-purpose yards.
“Max is extremely athletic and powerful,” and fast, Coach Laws said. “Once he gets into open space, he can go.” Laws credits ACR blockers as very “physical. They get after it!”
Quarterback Hayden Craig has a sparkling 146.4 passer rating. With 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions, the junior completes 70% of his passes. “Hayden played really well,” Laws said. “He has talent. He can play. It’s so important when your quarterback makes good decisions and handles the bigness of the game.”
Craig scored the first touchdown on a six-yard keeper around left end. Next, lefty QB Craig threw a screen right to M.A. Skanes for a seven-yard score. “Masher Asher” Cunningham bulled in for a two-yard wildcat QB score, early in the second quarter. ACR led 20-0 at halftime. Backup QB DaShawn Stone ran a few ACR plays as a wildcat quarterback.
Pressuring Pair
Defensive linemen Marquan Harper and Russell Barnett kept storming after freshman Cougar QB Meek Slydell. “We’re big and fast up front,” Laws said. “We’re deep. We play six. They all make plays. ” Coach Radford credited ACR’s size advantage for winning trench battles.
Play got chippy when Cougars Zyrique Smith and Aeon Benjamin drove ball carrier Skanes out of bounds and head-first into a nearby fence. Asheville tightened its defense early in the second half. ACR Coach Laws praised his foes. “Asheville is still a good team. They’re really fast defensively. They adjusted, and forced us to make adjustments.”
Asheville scored its sole TD on a big special teams play in the third quarter. A low snap bounced to punter Sean Green. AHS blocked his punt. Guests bobbled the bouncing ball. Cougar Deshaun Whitmire scooped it up and took it 37 yards for a TD.
Falcons Win Thriller
Coach Paul Whitaker’s West Falcons started strong with Lukas Kachilo’s 27-yard keeper, then a trick double pass from Kachilo to Truitt Manuel to Diego Castro for a 31-yard score. The lead was 13-0 at halftime, then 16-0 on Irbin Villafuerte’s 31-yard field goal.
The Falcons of West outlasted West—Jed West, the opposing QB. He scored all three Mustang TDs. He ran 10 yards and then ran for a two-pointer, to make it 16-8.
Carson Dimsdale answered with an 18-yard TD run. He cut sharply to the right sideline at the ten, and broke a tackle to score. He charged through its on several punishing runs to the right side, after often running leftward in earlier games. He said the game plan was to “gain a few yards at a time.” He and Tayman Howell rushed for 110 combined yards.
The Mustangs scored the last two TDs on QB West’s pass and then on his 63-yard run. It was merely 23-21 with 7:44 remaining. Falcons Eben Mann and Colin Collany tackled Da’mare Williams to stop the two-point conversion and preserve the lead. Smoky got the ball back on a fumble and drove deep.
But the game ended as Andrew Schultz was sacked by the burly Jed West with Finley Sullivan and Liam Davis closing in. Sullivan said “we’re getting more pressure on quarterbacks this year. We’re working on our craft. “’ Manuel said, “Our defense played amazing.”
“Way to dig in and fight!”” Coach Whitaker told the Falcons about their heroic stand. “You’re showing up in big moments.”
Homecoming winners are Jesse Jakubielski as queen and senior football lineman Jesse Baldwin as king. Baldwin believes in team fitness and endurance. “Coach (Whitaker) says the best team is the team in the best shape.”