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Mustangs will open season Friday at Pisgah
Smoky Mountain will open its football season Friday with a 7:30 p.m. game at Pisgah.
“They have outstanding size,” Coach Tim Hawkins said of the Bears. “They have good speed with a lot of starters returning on both sides of the ball. They’ve got the makings of an excellent football team.”
After watching films of Pisgah scrimmages against East Henderson and Rosman, Hawkins said he was especially impressed by Josh Deaver, a 6-3, 280-pound offensive and defensive tackle.
Smoky Mountain’s Matt Ogden had some nice runs in Saturday’s scrimmage against Robbinsville and Reynolds at Western Carolina. The Mustangs will open the regular season Friday at Pisgah.
“Of all the kids I watched, he was probably the best,” the coach said.
Other standouts for the Bear offense are tailback Jerrid McAdams, quarterback Zach Jaynes and wide receiver Aaron Mabry, according to Hawkins.
Jaynes is a sophomore, who played for the JVs last season.
“He’s got a lot of skills and has good size for a quarterback at 5-11, 175,” Hawkins said.
He noted Mabry won the state 2-A championship in the 800 meters last spring.
Hawkins said nose guard William Kuykendall joins Deaver to form a solid defense for Pisgah.
Coach David Pressley’s team runs a slot I on offense with a number of spread sets. The Bears utilize a 4-3 defense, coordinated by former SM Coach Lionel Brooks.
Pisgah dominated Rosman in its scrimmage and played East Henderson on even terms, according to Hawkins.
The Bears hold a 12-3 advantage in the series. They led 6-0 at halftime last year when a storm and a power outage forced the cancellation of the game resulting in a no contest.
“I think we’re going to have a good football team,” Hawkins said of the Mustangs, who are coming off a 5-6 season. “Our kids are trying extremely hard to get better every day in practice. We’re trying to get all the pieces of the puzzle to fit together.
The Mustangs scrimmaged last Wednesday at West Henderson with the Falcons scoring the lone touchdown.
“I felt we were tired,” Hawkins said. “We’d had a Saturday scrimmage and practiced Monday and Tuesday. West Henderson caused some problems for us with their defensive schemes. Defensively, we played hard.”
Saturday at Western Carolina, the Mustangs outscored Robbinsville two touchdowns to none. In a match-up with Reynolds, the Rockets had the lone touchdown on a 45-yard pass.
Against Robbinsville, Cory Siler scored from a yard out after setting up the TD with a long pass. Matt Hawkins hit Matt Gibson with a 30-yard scoring strike on the final play.
“I was pleased with the improvement we made from Wednesday to Saturday,” the coach said. “We seemed to have found some things on offense to hang our hats on. Defensively, we picked up where we left off and played even harder.”
Coach Hawkins said Gibson, who saw his first playing time at quarterback this year on Saturday, ran the option well.
Also singled out were Siler for his running, Matt Ogden for his running and defensive play, Abram Scott for his receptions and play at cornerback and Hawkins for his passing.
The offensive line of T.J. Bradley, Jessie Aiken, Darren McFalls, Brian McFalls and Cody Lewis all played well, according to the coach.
“Our offensive line is going to be really good when they jell,” Coach Hawkins said. “We’re going to have some good backs on offense. We can throw and run. Defensively, our strength should be in our front seven. Our secondary is still learning.”
On a down side, David Harper, who was expected to play linebacker, fullback and tight end, sustained a broken hand and could miss several weeks. Coach Hawkins said it appears the injury will have to be surgically repaired.
Art Auville, who had cartilage removed from his knee, is not expected to play Friday but should return to action within the next couple of weeks, the coach said.
Coach Hawkins listed the following probable starters for Friday:
Quarterback, senior Gibson or junior Hawkins; wide receivers, seniors Scott and Brady Proffitt or junior Tyson Crawford (two of three); tight end, sophomore Daniel Buchanan or senior Dustin Nicholson; offensive tackles, seniors Aiken and Lewis; offensive guards, senior Darren McFalls and junior Bradley; center, senior Brian McFalls; fullback, seniors Randall Crowe or Ogden; tailback, Siler.
Defensive tackles, seniors Crowe, Richard Sitton or Korey Thompson or sophomore Billy Ayers (two of four); defensive ends, Nicholson and Bradley; linebackers, Ogden, Darren McFalls and senior Matt Moore; secondary, Scott, Siler, Crawford, Lewis, Proffitt, Gibson or senior Nathan Stephens (four of six).
Senior Bryan Mand will handle the place kicking with Gibson the punter and Bradley the long snapper.
Siler will return punts and will be joined on kickoff returns by Scott and Gibson.
The schedule is as follows:
Aug. 20 – at Pisgah; 27 – Swain.
Sept. 3 – at Hayesville; 10 – Asheville; 17 – at North Buncombe; 24 – East Henderson.
Oct. 1 – at Tuscola; 8 – Erwin; 22 – at Franklin; 29 – Roberson.
Nov. 5 – at Enka.
The JV schedule is as follows:
Sept. 2 – Mitchell; 9 – at Asheville; 16 – North Buncombe; 23 – at East Henderson; 30 – Tuscola.
Oct. 7 – at Erwin; 14 – Erwin; 28 – at Roberson.
Nov. 4 – Enka.
The middle school schedule is as follows:
Aug. 18 – at Rugby.
Sept. 2 – Bethel; 9 – Waynesville; 16 – at Canton; 23 – at Hendersonville; 30 – at Flat Rock.
Oct. 21 – at Asheville.
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