Asheville – Reigning Mountain Athletic Conference football champion A.C. Reynolds drops down to 3A, which shakes up playoff seeding in the 4A/3A Mountain Athletic Conference.
Erwin no longer has a clear edge as the MAC’s top 3A team, as it did over Enka and North Buncombe. On the other hand, ACR’s departure from 4A enables the winner of the Asheville-T.C. Roberson rivalry to be the league’s number one 4A seed and host multiple playoff games. The loser likely gets the second seed, ahead of McDowell, instead of third if ACR had stayed in larger 4A.
Reynolds features star “Triplets” on offense. Roberson returns nearly every starter for a likely signature season. Asheville also sports athletic stars. Erwin unleashes a freshman to carry on its rich quarterback tradition.
Those four premier MAC teams showcased many stars — all on Erwin’s field last Friday, in a four-game “jamboree” of final scrimmage exhibitions. This was a week ahead of opening games on Friday Aug. 18. First, Asheville Cougars dropped a close, smash-mouth contest to Upstate S.C. powerhouse Dorman. Dorman has more than 4,000 students compared to 1,135 at AHS.
Next, Roberson Rams gored Polk County 28-7 with backfield reserves. Reynolds Rockets blasted Smoky Mountain 34-7. In a see-saw finale, Erwin Warriors tied Hendersonville (HHS) at 12-12 on a touchdown pass in the final half-minute. PATs were not tried. All local head coaches told their teams that there were great moments, and areas they will fix.
A ceremonial announcement was made that the exhibition event is now named the Pat Ryan Buncombe County Football Jamboree. This honors the late sports talk radio personality. Reynolds will host the four-game jamboree in 2024.
Ram Reserves Roll
Roberson “returns everyone,” Asheville head coach Cort Radford said. This looms as the Rams’ best season in a dozen years. Coach Jason Dinwiddie’s Rams definitely can win the league, and he predicts that they will. They get both ACR and AHS at home. They run the ball extremely well, including with burly FB Reno Jeter and quick WB Zeb Swangim who bring a winning flavor from their baseball state title.
Those two and QB Lex Dinwiddie all sat out Friday with minor injuries. But the other wingback, P.J. Deshauteurs, reeled off a 59-yard TD run on TCR’s first scrimmage play. Reserve runners Shamar Darity and Jeremy Bowie ran for long scores. QB Dinwiddie is stronger now on his throws. Look for the occasional deep ball to tall Zach Stanley, who caught a 24-yard TD pass Friday.
Asheville also returns its QB, Meek Slydell, who was a freshman in ‘22, and runners Kyheem Plummer and Nic Williams. Tre Codrington caught Slydell passes for a 48-yard TD and a 54-yard gain against powerhouse Spartanburg, S.C. Dorman on Friday. Erwin Coach Rodney Pruett praised how Slydell throws well “on the run. He popped two deep” to Codrington. Slydell is gaining accuracy and consistency in passing.
The punishing Cougar defense led AHS to the MAC two seasons ago, and still features LBs Noah Shaw and Zyrique Smith. The AHS-Dorman clash was a brutal, playoff-like gut check. Coach Radford is pleased with Cougar aggression.
Offensive Rocket Fuel
Reynolds has dominated the MAC, and returns stars on offense. “The juice was good; the energy was good,” head coach Shane Laws said of team effort Friday. He said returning QB Hayden Craig stayed “composed.”
ACR got Erwin’s star receiver Ty Johnson via transfer. He scored ACR’s first TD Friday, on a 52-yard catch and run. Laws likes his swift and tall receivers, with “Ty on one side and Wes (Rumbough) on the other.” Rumbough rumbled through Mustangs for yards after catch (YAC). Either receiver forms a Dallas Cowboys-style “Triplets” of QB-RB-WR, with QB Craig and sensational RB Max Guest.
Guest, a mesmerizing junior, is out for another week to three weeks with a sprained foot. But his main backup, swift sophomore Jadyn Smith, scored twice against SMHS. Burly RB Christian Lewis caught a TD pass. LB Lincoln Rogers had a “pix six” interception.
Erwin is a major MAC wild card, with promising lefty Caden Ingle looking sharp for a freshman. Ingle showed a strong arm and mobility in rolling and fluidly passing downfield Friday. Ingle “stood in the ‘pocket,'” withstanding hits from HHS’ elite pass rush, Coach Pruett said.
WRs Michael Petty, Hunter Cromer, and Lawson Reynolds are key Warriors. RB-LB Nick Sharpe hit even HHS’ huge WR C.J. Landrum hard. “You kept fighting,” Pruett told the team after its last-minute tie.
Enka fans can’t wait for senior Cam Wait’s encore season at quarterback. Coach Mike Sexton has the Jets’ program trajecting upward. Second-year North Buncombe head coach David Hines relies on gutsy Alex Rash, who split time at QB in 2022.
The 2A Owen Warhorses are also enthusiastic, under gritty second-year head coach Zach Gibson. They sport new QB Jakob Knighten and hard-nosed runner Will Johnson.