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Mustangs to play Hendersonville in Friday’s opener
Smoky Mountain’s football team will open its season Friday at home against Hendersonville.
Kickoff time at Carr Hooper Stadium/Babe Howell Field is 7:30 p.m.
“Hendersonville has basically their whole team coming back,” said Dale Galloway, who is preparing for his second season as SM’s coach. “They’re better than they were last year. Hendersonville always has a lot of really quick kids. Speed is a concern if they get to the corner. We can’t lose our focus, and we have to keep them bottled up.”
As of Monday, Galloway was not ready to commit to a tentative starting lineup.
“We’ll decide this week what we’re going to go with,” he said. “There’s some kids we may play this week more than other weeks depending on what the opposition does.”
Coach B.J. Laughter’s team operates from the wing T offense with some spread shotgun formation and uses a 50 defense.
Smoky Mountain’s Dillon Dunford had several long runs in last Thursday’s scrimmage at Rosman. The Mustangs scored three touchdowns to one by the Tigers. SM will open the regular season at home Friday in a 7:30 p.m. game against Hendersonville. – Photo by Mark Haskett
“They’re fast,” Galloway said of the Bearcats. “The fullback runs extremely hard and can hurt you from tackle to tackle. If you let those other backs get outside, you’ve got problems. They use play action passing.”
One of those speedy backs is Darryl Demps, who scored on an 85-yard touchdown run in SM’s 21-13 victory last season that evened the series at 3-3.
Among the other Hendersonville standouts are tight end Jamie Hatten, who has committed to Marshall, and lineman Dominique Whiteside, who has a scholarship offer from Wake Forest.
“We’ve got to start fast and be aggressive,” Galloway said. “We need a high energy level at the beginning.”
The heat could be a factor Friday.
“Hendersonville doesn’t dress as many as we do,” Galloway said. “We have to play with the tempo and energy that makes it difficult for them.”
Construction at the school, which has created a parking crunch, was scheduled to be completed Wednesday. However, Athletic Director Jimmy Cleaveland said Tuesday the front entrance and parking lot would not be ready.
Reserved Touchdown Club parking will be in the Fairview Youth Complex lot.
Fairview School lots will be available for general parking. The new school entrance at Jones Street will be open, and gravel parking lots will be usable in those areas, Cleaveland said.
Gates near the Fairview lots and behind the stadium will be open. A gate below the gym is planned for this season, but it will not be open Friday.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but we want to have the game here,” Cleaveland said. “This is our only option. We ask everyone to be patient. People may want to leave a little early.”
Another project that is still ongoing is the fall sports program. The deadline for advertisers is Aug. 21, and it will be ready for the next home game. Anyone interested in advertising is asked to call Cleaveland at 586-2177 ext. 358. Ad rates are $50, $100 and $200.
Friday will mark the first athletic event at which the mandatory no tobacco policy is in effect. The rule was implemented last year, but compliance was voluntary.
“We’re going to ask everybody to respect one another,” Cleaveland said. “This is a rule we’re going to have to live with, and let’s respect our neighbors.”
In last Thursday’s scrimmage at Rosman, the Mustangs scored three times while keeping the Tigers out of the end zone until the final play.
“We started slowly,” Galloway said. “The defense was pretty good the first session. By the second session of offense, we moved the ball well.”
A long run by Dillon Dunford helped lead to a pair of touchdown runs by Nick Zoda. Matt Bryson also scored a TD. Colton Hunt, Chad Harper and Andy Potter were among the other players with runs of more than 10 yards, according to Galloway.
“We put the ball on the ground more than I wanted to,” the coach said. “That’s probably the number one thing on the list we have to eradicate. Our passing game is getting a little closer. It’s a little more efficient than it was last year. We tackled well.”
The Mustangs had 16 players who did not dress out for various reasons, including injuries. Galloway noted if a player had missed one practice he would not have had the minimum number of practice sessions to play in the scrimmage.
He said no significant injuries were sustained in the scrimmage.
SM had been holding evening practices in an effort to beat the unseasonably hot weather.
“We’ve just tried to be very careful,” the coach said. “We don’t think it’s adversely affected us although it has been a distraction. It’s difficult to maintain focus during practice in the heat, but everybody is practicing in the heat.”
Jason Stanley, a former Western Carolina player, has been added to the coaching staff. Galloway said he still has one assistant’s slot open.
The schedule is as follows:
Aug. 17 – Hendersonville; 24 – at Swain; 31 – Hayesville.
Sept. 7 – at Murphy; 14 – Franklin; 28 – at Tuscola.
Oct. 5 – at Brevard; 12 – East Henderson; 19 – North Henderson; 26 – at West Henderson.
Nov. 2 – Pisgah.
JV games will start at 7 p.m. The schedule is as follows :
Aug. 23 – at Mountain Heritage.
Sept. 27 – Tuscola.
Oct. 4 – Brevard; 11 – at East Henderson; 18 – at North Henderson; 25 – West Henderson.
Nov. 1 – at Pisgah.
Middle school games will start at 6 p.m. The schedule is as follows:
Sept. 6 – at Andrews; 13 – Robbinsville; 20 – at Murphy; 27 – at Cherokee.
Oct. 4 – at Rosman; 11 – Swain; 18 – Franklin; 25 – Hayesville.
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