Asheville, Hendersonville – State title winners Owen in soccer and Asheville School in private school football are among local standout sports squads in 2022.
Sophomore Davis Kendall scored a school-record 50 goals to lead Owen Warhorses (22-2-1) to their first-ever state soccer title. His brother Harrison Kendall, a senior midfielder, scored the clinching goal in a shootout to win the title match. Both are all-state. Elijah Caro, a junior, scored 20 goals and led the team with 16 assists.
Owen also won the 2A state cross country title this fall. Elijah Jones (16:19) was third individually, and fellow Warhorse Jaheem O’Hara (17:00) was eighth.
Fab Falcon Football
In the recent fall football season there was a record-setting year for West Henderson (14-2), and much success also for A.C. Reynolds (12-2) and Hendersonville (9-3).
West Henderson Falcons had a banner year in several sports. West (21-4, 11-1 M7) won the Mountain Seven baseball crown. Three-sport star Truitt Manuel is a flame-throwing pitcher. Diamond dandy Falcons in spring 2022 were seniors Jackson Duchesne, Lane Johnson, Solomon Jenks, Jordan Whitaker and Lukas Corn; juniors Jake Lindsey, Nicky Stanko, Colin Ingle and catcher Alex Anderson; and sophomores Manuel and Jackson Lyda.
Football Falcons (12-1; 6-0 M7) matched the 1984 squad with a school-record 12 wins, 12 in a row and reaching round three of playoffs. Senior Lukas Kachilo led WNC with 3,380 passing yards and 43 TDs — 27 to Manuel. Manuel, now a junior, racked up 1,391 receiving yards and 1,985 all-purpose yards.
Carson Dimsdale rushed for 1,087 yards. Kachilo rushed for 339 yards and nine TDs, sophomore Tayman Howell for seven TDs, and junior Dimsdale ran for six scores. Diego Castro and senior Cameron Banks each caught more than 50 passes. Dimsdale had 1186 total yards. Castro, a junior, totaled 968 all-purpose yards.
Several Falcons are also standouts in basketball. Jackson Lyda, the baseball shortstop, averages 20.6 points per game and Kachilo 13.3. West is off to its best (4-0) league start in 17 years. East Henderson Eagles sport Reece Alverson (16.5) and Caiden Brewer (14.3, 5.6 assists). North Henderson Knights are led by Josh Heiny (13.4), Noah Pierce (12.9), Micah Pierce (12.0 ppg., 7.6 assists), and Bryson Rowe (8.7 reb.)
Last basketball season, then-senior Nick Pate (17.3 ppg.) led West to fourth in the league at 7-5. North Henderson (8-4) featured Micah Pierce (14.6 ppg.) and then-senior Brayden Corn (13.1).
Blues Earn Gold
The sole local state champion in football is Asheville School (8-3). The Blues won their first NCISAA Division II state crown. Ricky Tolbert passed for 2,354 yards and 30 touchdowns — 17 to fellow former Reynolds Rocket and Hayezon Tobe. Sophomore Tolbert ran for a team-best 18 TDs, and for 656 yards. Tobe had 1,141 receiving yards. He totaled nearly 1,500 all-purpose yards. Caleb Jenkins ran for 1,016 yards.
MAC Attack
A.C. Reynolds Rockets reached the 4A regional semifinals/round four, for their best football showing in a half-decade. ACR was 6-0 in the Mountain Athletic Conference (MAC).
The Rockets return their nucleus on offense for 2023. Super sophomore Max Guest rushed for 1,746 yard and 25 touchdowns, averaging two ground scores. He had four TDs and 376 yards receiving, for 2,122 total yards.
Hayden Craig, the junior quarterback, passed for 1,831 yards and 20 TDs versus merely three picks. He ran for four TDs. JoJo Ikeme, a junior, accumulated 1,839 all-purpose yards. M.A. Skanes led ACR with six receiving TDs. Cairo Skanes had the team’s most (five) interceptions.
Rocket senior defensive stars include LB Asher Cunningham with nearly 100 tackles, and Pro Bowlers Russell Barnett with nine sacks, and safety DaShawn Stone who will play for Duke.
The next-best MAC finishers are Asheville Cougars (5-1) who won the league a season earlier, T.C. Roberson Rams (4-2) and Erwin Warriors (3-3). Erwin senior Iggy Welch led the league by passing for 2,753 yards and 31 TDs — 26 total to Ty Johnson (MAC-best 1,253 rec. yards), Demetrase Graves’ (737) and sophomore Hunter Cromer (414). Welch threw for nearly 400 yards in Erwin’s playoff finale.
Asheville’s Meek Slydell matched Craig’s 20 passing TDs, and threw for 1,614 yards. Fellow Cougars Nic Williams ran for 780 yards and seven TDs, and Kyheem Plummer for 538 yards and five scores.
Roberson junior Lex Dinwiddie totaled 1,081 yards. He ran for 653 yards and seven scores in piloting the triple option. Reno Jeter rushed for 11 TDs. Tyrin Credle, Devon Hollis and Zeb Swangim ran for 13 Ram TDs combined. These five Rams can all return in 2023.
Cats on Prowl
Hendersonville Bearcats won their league under first-year head coach Kirron Ward. HHS also returns firepower. Fleet sophomore back Hezzie Rudisill ran for 1,102 yards and 13 TDs. TE C.J. Landrum, a junior, is a force on defense.
HHS seniors include QB Lennard Benniefield and versatile Eric Rasheed, Jr. Pro Bowl-worthy Rasheed had 1,069 yards and 11 TDs receiving, nearly 1,500 all-purpose yards, and was a shutdown cornerback. Benniefield threw for 1,462 yards and had 2,030 total yards. QB Elyja Gibbs had 1,047 total yards before a foot fracture ended his season.
Hoops Hoopla
The 2021-22 season was the third and final one showcasing the Hendersonville (25-4) backcourt of Dwight Canady and Keenan Wilkins. They both averaged over 26.5 points, and made WNC coaches’ District 12 first team. Canady (2,054) is the all-time leading Bearcat scorer, district male player of the year, and league MVP. He played in the Carolinas (N.C. vs. S.C.) All-Star Classic and East-West All-Star Game. He now plays for USC-Aiken. HHS was the 2A state runner-up in 2020-21.
Post standouts (6-6 so.) Micah Simpson (16.1, 7.4 reb.), C.J. Landrum (14, 8 reb.) and Jacobi Simpson (10.3 ppg.) lead the current Cats.
Reynolds (21-5) at 12-0 won the MAC by an impressive three games over Enka (25-5) and T.C. Roberson (18-8). ACR Rakeease Passmore (19 ppg.) made the WNC first team as a sophomore. The 6-foot-5 leaper transferred to Combine Academy in Lincolnton. He reportedly has scholarship offers from Kansas and Wake Forest. ACR Point guard Jayden Harper (12.1 ppg.) is among three MAC players who shot 40 percent or better from three-point land, joining Passmore and TCR’s Josh Lowe (19.5 ppg.).
The WNC second team featured MAC leading scorer Chad Clark (23.4 ppg.), now a NBHS senior guard, Lowe, and the Enka duo of Jacob Tiller (18.8) and Ian Clinkscales-King (14.8). High-scoring Enka won three playoff rounds, and is 8-1 in 2022-23.
Diamond Rams, Cougars
Asheville (21-4; 11 -1 MAC) won its first outright league baseball title in 40 years. AHS dethroned Roberson (22-8, 10-2) by beating the Rams 3-1. AHS stars included slugger Larson Scholtz, fellow senior Bo Trantham; juniors Kyle Mosier, Connor Hillier and Davis Hayes; and freshmen Jay Secretarski and Hayes Hillier.
The young Rams scored in double digits in four consecutive games, including three of four playoff victories. They reached state semifinals. Ram stars included then-seniors Ben Hemphill and Caleb Baker; juniors Nick Parham, Tyler Kytta, J.T. Gordon and Nick Moses; sophomore pitching ace Jeter; and freshmen Caden Davidson, Swangim and lefty pitcher Micah Simpson.
Soccer Studs
Hendersonville (16-3-3; 12-0 MFC) reached round three of playoffs. Two-time all-state Cooper King scored 39 goals for the second year in a row. Harrison Moss, a junior scored 18 times. Senior goalkeeper Noah Pavão (0.26 GAA) also sparkled.
The leading goal scorers of the other Henderson County teams were Jonathan Montes (16 goals) of East Henderson (5-6-1 M7), and Dylan Perez of North Henderson (6-2-4 M7) and Julian Martin of West (5-4-3) each with 15 goals. Knight Defender Taylor Vorbich is selected all-state. West’s Nick Pickard led the M7 with a 1.33 average. East’s Fernando Miranda (1.57 GAA) and Knight Jimmy Dothe (2.0) excelled.
An exciting MAC race ended with Reynolds (18-1-4); 10-0-2 MAC), Roberson (15-4-3; 9-1-2), Asheville (15-6-2; 8-4) and Enka (10-9-3; 6-6). The league’s goalkeeping stars include Reynolds’ two-time all-state Sean Green (0.61 GAA), Rams Kai Runion (0.81) and Asher Sloan (1.22), and Cougar Felix Huebner (1.26).
Roberson’s Jacob Asbill and Noah Ballard are all-state. The league’s top scorers include Ram Quinn Roberts (18 goals), ACR double-digit scorers Moises Diaz and Nidrea Gray, North Buncombe’s Jesse Cook (15 G), Cougars Noah Ram (14) and Gant McIver (11), and Enka’s Declan Szostczuk with 12 goals.