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Mustangs will travel to play top-ranked Brevard Friday
Smoky Mountain’s football team is expected to have its hands full Friday when the Mustangs (1-5) travel to Brevard to face the Blue Devils (5-1), the state’s top-ranked 2-A squad.
Kickoff time for the Western Athletic Conference opener is 7:30 p.m.
“They’re the best team I’ve seen on film this year other than watching them play Asheville,” Coach Tim Hawkins said. “They’ve got talent everywhere.”
Smoky Mountain’s Andy Potter picks up 4 yards for a first down on a fake punt in the first quarter of Friday’s 28-0 loss to Tuscola. – Photo by Mark Haskett
Coach Dan Essenberg’s team has a pair of outstanding tailbacks in Quentin Robinson and Jonathan Elliott.
Quarterback Kurt Frisbee directs the offense from the I formation and has a Division I college prospect to throw to in Adam Conley.
The brother combination of fullback C.J. Harris and defensive end Chad Harris, are both standouts, according to Hawkins.
Brevard uses a multiple 50 defense.
“You’ve got to maintain possession of the ball and keep their offense on the sideline,” Hawkins said. “You’ve got to play as hard as you can play and hope that results in some good things happening for you.”
The teams have had a common opponent in Tuscola. The Devils defeated the Mountaineers 10-0 earlier this season while SM fell to Tuscola 28-0 Friday.
Brevard also has wins over Rosman (49-0), Erwin (48-0); Enka (56-21) and Shelby (33-27). The lone loss was to Asheville (17-0).
The Mustangs won the first meeting between the schools in 1989, but the Devils have claimed the last 11 meetings. The teams have not met since 2000.
SM will not have the services of cornerback Jordan Panther this week. He was ejected for fighting against Tuscola and is ineligible for Friday’s game.
“We played in the first half defensively, and that kept us in the ballgame,” Hawkins said of the Tuscola contest. “We had a couple of opportunities offensively and didn’t make the plays. They finally wore us down in the second half with their big fullback (Patrick Fitzgerald).”
SM trailed 7-0 at intermission after the Mounties scored late in the half. The Mustangs had Tuscola pinned deep in its territory, but a roughing the passer penalty sparked a scoring drive.
A pass interference penalty helped set the stage for Tuscola to score again early in the second half.
“That one right before the half was a big penalty, and it was a good call,” Hawkins said. “The pass interference was a good call too. Once they converted on a couple of third downs and had a couple of breaks go their way, they started using the fullback.”
Coming off an injury, SM’s Daniel Buchanan made his first start of the season at linebacker and had a big game. He recorded 12 tackles and four assists.
T.J. Bradley added seven tackles and three assists.
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