Leicester – Erwin stymied the Smoky Mountain Mustangs’ rushing attack on a frigid night. The Warriors using their superior skill to pull away in the second half from a foe that had overpowered rivals with a huge line, powerful runner, and swift-running quarterback.
West Region number one seed Erwin (10-1) is the sole remaining Buncombe/Henderson public high school in playoffs, after seventh-seeded West Henderson and 12th-seeded A.C. Reynolds lost.
Stuffing Johnson
The near-freezing weather last Friday seemingly favored run-reliant Mountain Seven co-champ Smoky (8-4). The 17th-seeded Mustangs galloped for an early TD by consistently running up the gut. Smoky’s Ayden Johnson, a 205-pounder, leads WNC with 1,840 rushing yards. He bulled ahead for 96 yards (3.8 YPC) on Friday. Seniors Johnson and QB Jarek Jones rushed for 3,077 total yards and 33 TDs. But Jones was held to 38 yards (1.9 YPC) by swift-pursuing, gang-tackling Erwin.
Erwin proved superior in passing, athleticism, return yards (149-33), and red-zone defense. In a pre-Thanksgiving “stuffing,” the Warrior defense stopped Johnson short of the goal line. That play prevented a tie, ending the first half with Erwin still leading 14-7.

“The goal-line stand shifted the momentum big time,” Erwin head coach Rodney Pruett said. Pruett leaped onto the field, congratulating defenders. “I was fired up. I knew what that meant going into halftime.”
The 2024 Warriors are extra fierce, Pruett said. “We are a spread team. But my guys are tough, and play with an edge. They made it (goal-line stand) happen against a team that doesn’t (normally) allow that to happen. Smoky is big up front. But we are big, too. We rose to the challenge in the trenches.”
Ingle Stays Hot
Warrior QB Caden Ingle agreed that the goal-line stand was a “great momentum change for us. Then we went and scored right out of the half.” Indeed, Coach Pruett said that at halftime, “I told them to score on this opening possession of the second half, and get up two scores to pressure Smoky. They did exactly that. Our defense kept up intensity. We made plays when we needed to. We gave our offense many possessions.”
QB Ingle said, “It was a big win for us. Everybody played hard, and didn’t quit.“ In contrast, the Mustangs’ huge linemen seemed to tire and slow in the second half. That explains in party why they missed first downs on all four of their third-down plays.
Star lefty sophomore gunslinger Ingle threw for two touchdowns. He ran for two scores. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 195 yards. Despite bitter cold, “I still had a good grip. My hand warmer was a key to keeping my hand and arm loose and ready to go.” This season, Ingle has thrown for 35 TDs and 2,874 yards, against merely four interceptions.
Early Turnover
The Warrior defense struck on the opening drive, as linebacker Austin Gingras recovering a Johnson fumble. That set up Ingle’s one-yard TD keeper.
Milky Ray ran well on that drive. But “Milky aggravated his ankle again, and was about 60 percent,” and played only sparingly, Pruett noted. Juniors Chavion Irby and Amarion Smith were Erwin’s main ball carriers.
The Mustangs controlled the ball in the second quarter with 24 snaps to none for Erwin, Pruett noted. Smoky tied it at 7-7, on QB Jones’ wide run.
Petty’s Pretty Return
The tie lasted mere seconds. Petty returned the kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. He veered right, cut upfield, then raced down the right sideline. Erwin was back up by a TD at 14-7, 3:52 before halftime.
Closing the first half, Lawson Reynolds hit and slowed Johnson who was swarmed and stopped short of the goal line. Reynolds was superb all-around. The junior set up the opening TD with a long catch. He scored on receptions of 14 and 16 yards, tying Michael Petty with 15 receiving TDs. Petty (117 yards) has 63 catches for 1,242. Reynolds has 68 receptions for 1,090 yards.
Erwin opened the second half forcefully. Petty took a reception 36 yards around the right end. Ingle ran two yards to score. The Mustangs cut the lead to 20-14.
Erwin got another superb kickoff return — 56 yards by Noah Houldham. Ingle hit Reynolds first for a TD and a two-point conversion, then later for a final-minute score.
Erwin next hosts athletic West Charlotte (9-2) at 7 p.m. on Friday. The eighth seed is led by dual-threat QB Jamouri Nichols.