The Mountaineer

An estimated 16,000 fans will watch football in Haywood County

When it comes down to it, what happened during the first 12 weeks of the high school football season means absolutely nothing. Beginning tonight, everyone in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association football playoffs, essentially, stands at 0-0.

During the regular season, Tuscola went 6-0 at C.E. Weatherby Stadium and  rolled its opponents by an average score of 43-11. Pisgah was equally impressive as its county-rival, going 5-1 at Memorial Stadium, and winning by an average margin of 40-12. However, those games are meaningless heading into the first round of playoff games tonight.

“Any team in the playoffs have a equal chance of winning tonight,” said Tuscola senior linebacker John Austin Chambers, who was officially offered a scholarship last weekend by Western Carolina University. “Everyone starts (tonight’s) playoffs at 0-0. We’ve got to come out and play sound football, put points on the board, play solid defense and win the kicking game to move on to the second round.”

“The way we look at it, if you are in the playoffs, you are a good football team,” said Pisgah senior linebacker Devon Reed. “All our focus is on Owen, who is a very good football team. If you’re not ready to play your best football starting tonight, your season will end abruptly.”

Gates will open early for tonight’s first round playoff games. At Pisgah Memorial Stadium, gates will open at 5:15 p.m. and tickets are $6 for the NCHSAA Class 2-AA West feud between No. 12-seed Owen (6-5) and the No. 5 seed Black Bears (7-4).  C.E. Weatherby Stadium will open its gates at 5:30 p.m. and tickets are $7 for the NCHSAA Class 3-A West confrontation between No. 13 Hickory (6-5) and the No. 4 seed  Mountaineers (9-1-1).

School officials are expecting crowds at each stadium to be standing room only crowds of 8,000 patrons. Which means more than 16,000 paid fans will watch 48-minutes of action-packed high school playoff football under those Friday night lights in Haywood County.

The last time Owen and Pisgah played was in 2004 at Whitmire Stadium on the campus of Western Carolina. That night, sophomore quarterback Zack Jaynes threw for 421 yards against the Warhorses as the Black Bears hung on to win a 35-34 overtime thriller.

Since 2001, Owen Head Coach Kenny Ford is 9-7 in the state playoffs, including 5-2 in first round games. Pisgah Head Coach David Pressley is 12-8 in the playoffs, including 8-1 in first round games.

When the Warhorses and Black Bears meet on the gridiron, the games are hard-fought close encounters. The reason is simple enough, they don’t like each other.

Owen and Pisgah have played only four times this decade with the Black Bears winning three games by an average margin of 1.7 points. Tonight’s game will be more of the same as Coach Pressley improves his playoff record to 13-8 overall, 9-1 in first round games and advances into the second round for the eighth consecutive season.

Pisgah 30, Owen 28

BULLETIN: The National Weather Service has issued a Red Tornado Warning from 7:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. tonight  for C.E. Weatherby Stadium in central Haywood County.

This morning, the NWS Doppler Radar had spotted several Red Tornadoes traveling westward on Interstate 40. This is a dangerous storm capable of major damage and destruction to Tuscola’s playoff run.

Do not run or hide. The only way to diminish the Red Tornadoes’ intensity is to smack them in the mouth on the opening kickoff, and don’t stop until they capitulate.

There isn’t much to be said about the rolling Tuscola (9-1-1) squad that hasn’t already been said. With nine consecutive victories under their belts, the Mountaineers are playing, perhaps, their best football of the season at the best time.

Led by Shrine Bowl senior center Graham Fisher, Shrine Bowl senior quarterback Tyler Brosius, who has thrown for 2,381 yards and 22 TDs, the emergence of a dual-threat running game in junior Austin H. Chambers (657 yards) and senior Josh Adams (587 yards), the rise of big-play wide receiver Eric Nelson (40 receptions for 1,079 yards with 13 TDs) and a stifling defense anchored by senior linebacker John Austin Chambers, tackle Derrick Bradshaw, tackle Dennis Butler, linebacker Alan Sitton, defensive back Joe Kiker and linebacker Michael Stroupe, the Appalachian Athletic Conference champions are coming into the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the Class 3-A playoffs.

But the Mountaineers, with reminders of last season’s disappointing finish still in their heads, aren’t going to look beyond tonight’s Class 3-A West playoff opponent, the Hickory Red Tornadoes.

The Mountaineers are hitting on all cylinders, their focused, playing at home, and they appear to be on a mission. Tonight, it will be all Tuscola.

Mountaineers 42, Hickory 13