Powerful Erwin to be Smoky Mountain's opponent for Friday's homecoming game

Kickoff time is 7:30 p.m. at Carr Hooper Stadium/Babe Howell Field.

It's clear the Mustangs (1-0, 4-2) aren't among the teams that look for a patsy to play on homecoming. If the Warriors (1-0, 4-1) aren't the best team SM will play this year, they certainly have the most speed.

"There's no doubt their team speed is probably better than any other team in Western North Carolina," Coach Cameron Brooks said.

Derrick Eddington is one of the best tailbacks in the area. Quarterback Ronnie Boyd throws sparingly but is a running threat on every play. Fullback Jonathan Palmer is good enough to be a feature back for most area teams.

Brooks said Eddington and Boyd are both major college prospects.

Coach Travis Noland's squad utilizes a power I and veer on offense and plays a multiple 40 defense.

"You have to play assignment defense against them," Brooks said. "If you try to key on Eddington or Boyd, Palmer can beat you."

The Warriors use a two-platoon system so they are fresh at all times. However, some of their best athletes don't play on defense.

Brooks said Erwin won't be as good defensively as Pisgah, last week's opponent, but the Warriors have been playing better defense in recent weeks.

"We're going to have to keep the ball out of their hands, and we're going to have to gang tackle those guys," he said. "Eddington is not just fast, but he's strong. He's a top-notch football player."

Allen Sutton, who sustained a broken jaw early in the season, may return for the Mustangs Friday.

If comparative scores are any indication of what's going to happen, SM could be in trouble. Erwin blasted Owen 50-7 while the Warhorses downed the Mustangs 36-21 in the season-opener.

The Warriors also own wins over North Buncombe (41-34 in three overtimes), Roberson (38-7) and Franklin (28-6). Their lone loss was to Reynolds (28-21).

SM has won two of the previous three games in the series, but Erwin came out on top 35-28 a year ago. Eddington rushed for 151 yards in that game.

The Mustangs should come in with confidence after Friday's 21-14 victory over Pisgah. It was their first win over the Bears since 1992.

SM trailed 14-0 at halftime, and the players were surprised to see their coach on the sideline as the second half started. Brooks had coached from the press box since the second game of the season following knee surgery and was there in the first half Friday. He went to the dressing room at intermission fully intending to return to the press box.

"For some reason I decided I was going on the sidelines," he said.

As fate would have it, Darius Bryson returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.

"He hit a seam and turned it into another gear," the coach said.

"That's just the way things happen," Brooks said. "The kids were excited for me to be back on the field. Sometimes it's unexplainable how things transpire."

Later in the third quarter, the Mustangs drew even when Travis Hipps returned a field goal 80 yards for a touchdown. The botched kick by Pisgah probably should have been blocked. Instead the ball was kicked weakly into the hands of Hipps. It was a play Brooks said he had never seen before.

"We work on special teams, but you can't simulate that in practice," the coach said. "That's the football gods. Travis happened to be in the right place at the right time. You may not see another play like that this whole year in any level of football."

In fact, the play was so unusual and happened so quick Brooks wasn't totally sure the ball could be returned for a TD.

"That's why you play offense, defense and special teams," he said. "The thing that will stand out is 21-14. I can't say enough about our kids. They don't know how to quit."

SM's defense had struggled much of the year but rose to the occasion Friday. The Bears were limited to 113 yards of total offense. Quarterback Brandon Crawford, who was state 2-A player of the week after the previous game, completed just four of 22 passes and had minus 19 yards rushing.

"I was so pleased with the defense," Brooks said. "Crawford was running for his life a lot of times. Our defensive intensity was much better. We still had some missed tackles, but we had more people around the football."

SM had just eight yards of total offense midway through the third quarter before finishing with 109.

"Defensively, they were a good football team," he said. "They were stuffing everything we did. It was good for our offense to have to deal with adversity like that."

Josh Carnes carried 10 times for 54 yards and scored the Mustangs' lone offensive touchdown. "The last two weeks, Josh has really ran hard," the coach said. "He's got a lot of confidence in what he's doing right now. He's doing a super job."

Rain associated with Tropical Storm Helene fell through most of the game. Brooks said the wet conditions hurt the passing game for both teams. Combined passing stats for the game were six completions in 30 attempts for 46 yards.

"I guess it probably hurt us more than it did them," he said of the rain. "I don't think they bobbled a snap all night long."

One thing Brooks wasn't happy about Friday was the fan support. He wants more people at the games, and he wants them to get there earlier.

"I'm standing there looking at the other side of the field, and they've got people all along the fence," he said. "The whole other side was full. It's not for me. It's for these kids. You need to get here when we're warming up."

Back to Sports: 09/28/00.