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Smoky Mountain will face undefeated Tuscola Friday
After taking on one of the areas top running backs in East Henderson’s Michael Angram last week, Smoky Mountain will turn its attention to one of the nation’s top quarterbacks Friday when the Mustangs travel to Tuscola.
Jonathan Crompton, who has made a verbal commitment to Tennessee, will lead the Mountaineers into battle in the 7:30 p.m. Mountain Athletic Conference game.
“He’s as good as they get,” Coach Tim Hawkins said of Crompton. “He doesn’t let mistakes bother him.”
On paper the game between the undefeated Mounties (4-0, 2-0) and the winless Mustangs (0-6, 0-3) would appear to be a mismatch. Hawkins is hoping some intangibles are in his team’s favor following a strong showing in last week’s 28-21 loss to East.
“We have something to build on after last week,” he said. “Because of that we’ll have good practices. “I hope they’re a little overconfident, but I’m sure they feel they should have played better last week against Erwin.
Tuscola was tied with the Warriors 7-7 at halftime before taking a 28-7 win.
Coach Travis Noland’s team usually starts in an offset I but often goes to the shotgun. The Mounties use a 4-3 defense.
Hawkins said Crompton likes to throw to Patrick Fitzgerald out of the backfield while Chrys Bryant is his favorite wide receiver.
Eddie Lohmyer anchors Tuscola’s offensive line, according to Hawkins.
“They’re very sound on defense,” he said. “There’s not a bad place to attack.”
Standout defenders he listed include middle linebacker Chris Hall and nose guard Andrew Sutton.
SM linebacker David Harper might see action Friday. He had been out since breaking his hand in a pre-season scrimmage but was allowed to kick off last week.
The teams have had two common opponents. Tuscola defeated Pisgah 28-16 while the Bears ripped SM 42-6. The Mounties downed East Henderson 35-14 earlier this year.
Tuscola also owns a 26-10 win over Brevard.
In last year’s meeting, Crompton threw for 193 yards as he led the Mounties back from a 29-10 deficit to win 39-29 and even the series between the schools at 8-8.
Friday against East Henderson, the Mustangs fell behind 20-0 in the first quarter but rallied within 20-14 at halftime before losing 28-21.
“I don’t really know why we didn’t play well early in the game,” Hawkins said. “We went out flat on offense the first series, and we were flat the first quarter. After that we played a real good game. I thought we gave one of our best efforts of the year.”
The coach said Matt Ogden, who had 11 tackles and two assists, played his best game. Randall Crowe had nine tackles, two assists and a fumble recovery. Daniel Buchanan finished with six tackles and an assist.
Cory Siler, who had 67 yards rushing, played his best game of the year, according to Hawkins. The coach also said Matt Gibson and Abram Scott played well overall.
“I was proud of our team,” Hawkins said. “That showed a lot of character to come back after getting behind 20-0. It showed we still have some fight left in us.”
Angram ripped the Mustangs for 272 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s a great back,” Hawkins said. “He’s so hard to tackle. He can find a small hole and go through it.”
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