Smoky Mountain goes for fourth straight victory Friday at Erwin

"Not only are they big, but they are good football players too," Coach Tim Hawkins said of the Warriors.

Erwin is known for its outstanding offensive line led by 300-pound Brian Repass. The line opens holes and provides protection for quarterbacks Matt Summey and running backs Jonathan Palmer and Marcus White.

"He does a lot of good things for them," Hawkins said of Summey. "He's a solid player."

He noted White is a quick back and said Palmer has the ability to go the distance.

Coach Travis Noland's team uses a power I on offense and goes to a spread formation or shotgun when looking to throw. The 44 defense is led by linebackers Michael Ebding, Joe Holt and John Holt. "We're going to have to find something in the game to hang our hat on offensively," Hawkins said. "I'm sure we'll have to throw it again and run it when we can. Defensively, we're going to have to play with them up front."

After opening the season 0-4, the Mustangs have won three straight and stand 3-1 in the MAC. They are tied with Asheville for second place while Franklin leads the league at 4-0. Erwin and Roberson are 2-1 so this week's game is critical to the playoff hopes for both teams. The MAC will send three teams to the 3-A post season.

The Warriors are 3-2 overall, and the teams have had three common opponents. SM took a thrilling 35-28 win from Tuscola Friday a week after Erwin edged the Mountaineers 18-13. Both teams own wins over North Buncombe with SM rolling 47-8 while the Warriors were victorious 38-16.

East Henderson upset Erwin 35-21, but the Mustangs knocked off the Eagles 14-7.

The Warriors opened the season with two tough non-conference opponents. They traveled to South Carolina and lost to Gaffney (15-8) before edging Brevard (13-12).

SM's lone conference loss was to Asheville (32-21) after opening the season with losses to Pisgah (40-0), Swain (21-6) and Hayesville (22-19).

The series is tied 2-2 after Erwin won the last two games, including 28-14 last year.

Friday's 35-28 victory over Tuscola is one fans will remember for years to come. The Mustangs set a school record by overcoming a 21-point deficit (28-7) in the first half.

Injuries were also a big part of the story as Andrew Maney, Steven Fitzgerald and Jonathan Bradley all sustained damage to the MCL in their knees. They are expected to be out this week although they may be able to return before the season is over. Matt Boud sustained a concussion and is likely out for the year.

"I've never seen a football game quite like it when a team loses four starters," Hawkins said. "Kids were being called on to play positions they hadn't played all year. All of our coaches did a good job at halftime making adjustments with the kids they had to coach. The players just stepped up and did the job."

Some players who had been injured or sick, such as Zeke Cooper and Chris Bryson, and were not expected to play were forced into action. Other like Mike Moore saw his first extensive playing time of the season at right offensive tackle. Still others like Cody McMahan and Chad Frady were moved to different positions along the offensive and defensive lines.

The inexperience along the offensive line due to the injuries caused the Mustangs to make some changes at halftime.

"We tried to pick out three or four running plays we could run with those new linemen," the coach said. "We made an adjustment in our pass protection that paid off at times and at times it killed us."

From a defensive standpoint, the second half was in stark contract to the first. The Mountaineers rolled up 223 yards rushing in the first quarter and had 302 yards on the ground at intermission. They managed just 58 rushing yards and 89 total yards after halftime.

"We stunted on almost every snap in the second half," Hawkins said. "Our kids started to get a feel for their offense, and we had some outstanding individual efforts."

Perhaps the best performance was by linebacker Matt Nicholson. He was in on 16 tackles, including two for losses, and caused two fumbles.

In addition to Nicholson, Hawkins singled out Josh Day, Rion Gray, Jared Day and Jake Day for their play on defense. Gray was in on nine tackles, including three for losses, while Josh Day also had three tackles for losses. Jared Day was in on 12 tackles and had an interception to seal the win while Jake Day was in on 10 tackles.

The coach cited center Daniel Vreeland for helping hold the offensive line together as the injuries mounted. He said Moore and McMahan also played well up front.

"It was probably the greatest team effort I've ever seen," Hawkins said. "Tuscola is an excellent football team that has had a lot of bad luck this year."

Receiver Jake Day and quarterback Justin Roper both enjoyed record-setting nights. Day caught nine passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns. All of those are school records. Roper's five touchdown passes also set a school record.

"The thing we did was just throw the ball up in the air to where Jake was going to run his fade route," Hawkins said. "It couldn't have worked any better."

He said Roper audibled on TD passes to Shawn Blanton and Michael Ayers.

"Both of those were heads-up plays by the quarterback and receivers," he said.

Hawkins said the Mustangs entered the game confident in their ability to throw the ball based on what they had seen on film. "We thought we might as well go ahead and throw it especially since they were so good up front defending the run," the coach said.

When the game ended, players from both teams fell to the ground.

"It seemed after the game I'd never seen a group of kids so excited and at the same time so spent," Hawkins said. "They didn't have anything left. I've never witnessed a group of kids playing so hard in the fourth quarter."

"That was probably the best feeling I've ever had in my entire life after an athletic event," Roper said. "We played with a lot of heart."

He said that was evidenced by the way the team responded after halftime, especially with some players who had seen little action this season.

Of his connections with Day, he said, "He's a great receiver. He made some great plays and made me look good."

Day was not surprised that he and Roper were able to continually make big plays.

"It's been like that since our sophomore year," he said. "He's always been able to find me."

The winning touchdown came on a 49-yard pass from Roper to Day with 1:31 left in the game.

"I was hoping they would throw me the ball," Day said. "I'd been feeling it all night. He hit me right in stride. It felt so good when I caught it. I was thinking ŒI have to get in.' "

Both players are looking forward to Friday's game at Erwin.

"We know going into the game we have a good chance to win," Roper said. "Their line of scrimmage is the biggest in Western North Carolina."

While the injured players will be missed, Day pointed out that Brody Crawford and Chad Mathis could be back in the lineup after being injured earlier in the season.

Back to Sports: 10/11/01.