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Mustangs to host Pisgah in Hawkins’ last game as coach
Smoky Mountain will conclude its football season at home Friday when Pisgah visits Carr Hooper Stadium/Babe Howell Field for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Not only will the Western Athletic Conference battle bring the year to a close for the Mustangs (0-4, 1-9), but it will also end the SM head coaching career of Tim Hawkins. Earlier this season, he announced plans to step down.
“It was a dream come true for me to do this the last five years,” Hawkins said. “For that to be over will be sad. I’ll have to put some closure on it, but I still believe the decision I made was best for my health, my family and the program. I’ve been involved in football since I was 7 years old, and I hope I’ll be involved again next year at some level.”
Ironically, Hawkins last game will be against Pisgah, the first opponent he faced after being named coach in 2001. The Bears are coached by David Pressley, who played baseball with Hawkins at Mars Hill.
Pisgah (2-2, 7-2) will be looking to tune up for the state playoffs the following week.
“They’re very balanced,” Hawkins said. “They have an outstanding quarterback in Zack Jaynes. He’s one of the top quarterbacks in the area. They’re big up front like all Pisgah teams.
Tackle Bo Ellerbe helps anchor the 50 defense.
Joey Eggleston and Jimmy Greenman are both hard runners while Josh Cockrell and Jarrid McAdams are the leading receivers, according to Hawkins.
“They’re typical Pisgah in some ways, but they throw more than I’m use to seeing Pisgah throw it,” Hawkins said. “They spread the field a whole lot. That is their base offense.”
Noting the Mustangs have had trouble stopping the run, Hawkins said, “I expect they’ll try to establish the run against us then try to throw it later. We’ll have to stop the run if we are to have a chance.”
Pisgah has wins over Tuscola (14-3), Brevard (10-3) and North Henderson (46-14). SM lost to those teams by scores of 28-0, 35-0 and 13-10, respectively. Both teams have lost to West Henderson and East Henderson. West upset the Bears 6-0 in overtime and rolled past the Mustangs 46-28 last week. East edged Pisgah 32-29 last week and topped SM 37-12.
The Bears also have wins over Enka (62-16), North Buncombe (30-21), Mitchell (43-19) and East Rutherford (20-17).
Pisgah holds a 13-3 advantage in the series after last year’s 42-6 win.
West Henderson rolled up 456 yards on the ground in Friday’s 46-28 victory.
“We’re just not playing good defense right now,” Hawkins said. “People are running the football right at us. We’re giving up points in a hurry.’
The Mustangs didn’t quit as they scored all their points in the second half.
“I was pleased with our offensive performance and finishing some drives,” the coach said. “We put the ball in the end zone with our first group against their first group a couple of times. Our backups did well.”
He singled out Dillon Dunford and Jared Jones, who both saw action at quarterback late in the game.
Cory Siler, still battling a knee injury, was limited to 38 yards on the ground.
“Cory played better as the game went on,” the coach said. “It took him a while to get loosened up.”
Siler also was cited for two pass interceptions, and Ethan Crowe was singled out for his play at corner back.
The Mustangs showed a different look offensively early in the game with a full house backfield.
“We wanted to try to power it a little bit and see if we could run the ball inside so we put two fullbacks in,” Hawkins said. “We had a nice drive going, but then we fumbled the snap.”
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