It is now June, and with only a week or so of school left I thought it would be a good time to start looking ahead again to this next season. I believe most teams are finishing up their spring practice sessions. Anybody get a look at their team so far? Any transfers, injuries, etc.? I don't think there is a clear-cut favorite right now. You could probably make a case for Asheville, Reynolds, or Erwin.
MAC 2015
- Thread starter AHSDYNASY
- Start date
You are too kind ahsdynasy. I think given the fact that nobody has finished above Asheville high the last 10 years, the better question is who has the best chance of ending ashevilles streak? Asheville will be pretty damn good again, does Reynolds or Erwin have what it takes to dethrone them this season and if so, why?
True AhsCougar1, but I will say Reynolds finished ahead of us 1 or 2 times while they were on the 4a side, but yes we have technically won 10 straight outright or shared 3a MAC titles. I have heard that Reynolds got a receiver transfer from Roberson. If Dowdle can throw the ball at all they could be very dangerous on offense. Not sure what they will have defensively. Erwin returns quite a bit but I think Losing Chancey, Jackson, and Chavis Williams will hurt. Will be interesting to see how they look defensively without those 3. They need some semblance of a running game if they are going to make some noise. Asheville got a huge boost recently with Makaius Brewer moving back. He will be a big time addition defensively. He will help a lot offensively too, regardless of what position he ends up playing. I don't think people realize how much Asheville has back again on that side of the ball. I will be surprised if Asheville isn't the best defensive team in the mountains once again. I know I'm biased, but I really think Asheville has 3 or 4 of the best defensive players in the conference. Offensively there will be no depth at o-line and questions at QB. As always though, Asheville will be solid in the running game with Reggie Battle and Aquila Smith running behind that big line.
Asheville Erwin and Reynolds should all be good. Doubt anyone else will really challenge those 3. Should be exciting as all 3 return some really nice pieces but also have some holes to fill. All 3 should be around the same talent level this season, but I would put Asheville maybe a step ahead at this point.
Where is that Asheville guy who made the sig bet with me? Still willing to live up to my end since Erwin lost.
Where is that Asheville guy who made the sig bet with me? Still willing to live up to my end since Erwin lost.
The player I'm most excited to see is Isaiah Poore. He seemed to be coming in at the end of last season, and will just be a sophomore next year.
Ahsdynasy. Im looking forward to seeing the Brewer kid. Heard he looks alot like Markevis Davis from a reliable source. I am kind of curious to see who the QB will be come August. It seemed like at the end of last year we all assumed who it would be, but now there could possibly end up being 3 candidates? Either way, we know what Danny Wilkins is going to want to do on offense with Aquila Smith and Reggie Battle coming back. Like you, I am biased but I agree that Asheville will have several "best in the mountains" players on their roster. Jose Daniels will be the best outside linebacker in WNC, Peter Leota will be the best lineman in WNC and Christian Green will be the best inside linebacker in WNC. Also you would be hard pressed to find a better cover corner than Neal Hutchins and a better fullback than Aquila Smith. And if Rico Dowdle is the mountains best tailback, I put Reggie Battle just behind him, although they are 2 completely different runners. Reynolds and Erwin to me are question marks and they are also the only two who probably have a shot at dethroning us. Reynolds has Rico Dowdle and AJ Logan, but what else? How much does a transfer Wide Receiver from Reynolds really matter when your QB has never taken a snap at QB and is learning the position? Erwin still has a good quarterback returning along with a good versatile player in Austin and a really young tailback I haven't seen play, but what else? Are their lines gonna be any better than last year? Logan and Dowdle will single handedly win them games next year, but I don't know if it will be enough to win the BIG games if they are going to have to split 60 carries among them. Last year Erwin threw for 360 yards on us and ended up losing by double digits because they had no running game whatsoever. Will that change? There are alot of question marks for those two teams. Everybody in NC knows what Asheville is gonna want to do with Battle, Green, Smith and now the new kid Brewer. (Who may be the best athlete of them all). All of whom are 190+ running behind the most highly recruited player in WNC, Peter Leota. Three starters return in the secondary for Asheville (McDaniels, Drummond and Hutchins), which is important against teams like NB Roberson and Erwin who want to throw it alot.
Having said all this, we are extremely thin, as most teams are around here and one or two injuries could really derail us, or any team. Erwin Asheville and Reynolds all have at least 2 guys where if they went down with an injury, the season could take a major turn for the worse. Still along way away from the first game, the rosters could change alot by August.
Having said all this, we are extremely thin, as most teams are around here and one or two injuries could really derail us, or any team. Erwin Asheville and Reynolds all have at least 2 guys where if they went down with an injury, the season could take a major turn for the worse. Still along way away from the first game, the rosters could change alot by August.
Warriors02, I'm still here. Don't worry about that bet from last year. It's all in good fun man.
I know what we have returning this year and I feel pretty good about this team. I also know there are plenty of guys who will be stepping up to fill the holes over at Reynolds and Erwin.
It's football and anything can happen on any given night. Weather, injuries, disciplinary actions, and yes even refs can have a big impact on any game. That being said, I agree with the rest of you guys that Asheville, Reynolds and Erwin will be the teams that will battle for 1st place in the MAC this year.
I can honestly see any one of these three, given the right circumstances, sitting at the number one slot at the end of the regular season. I think our defense and our back field give us the edge for 2015. Like Cougar1 said though, we're thin, especially on the line.
I know what we have returning this year and I feel pretty good about this team. I also know there are plenty of guys who will be stepping up to fill the holes over at Reynolds and Erwin.
It's football and anything can happen on any given night. Weather, injuries, disciplinary actions, and yes even refs can have a big impact on any game. That being said, I agree with the rest of you guys that Asheville, Reynolds and Erwin will be the teams that will battle for 1st place in the MAC this year.
I can honestly see any one of these three, given the right circumstances, sitting at the number one slot at the end of the regular season. I think our defense and our back field give us the edge for 2015. Like Cougar1 said though, we're thin, especially on the line.
He played quarterback at Asheville Middle a couple years ago and then he moved to Atlanta for a couple years and now he and his family are back at Asheville High.
Reynolds went undefeated in the MAC in 2012 so you could say they finished higher than Asheville.
Reynolds went undefeated in the MAC in 2010 so you could say they finished higher than Asheville. Also, in 2012 when we went 5 and 1 in the conference.
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artvandelay, I said Asheville has won 10 straight outright or shared 3a MAC titles. I mentioned that Reynolds had finished ahead of Asheville in the standings one or two times while they were still 4a though. And Reynolds lost to Asheville in 2012 so they didn't go undefeated in conference that year.
RP, I think they are playing a team from Georgia and 1 or 2 teams from Tennessee. They are also playing Franklin.
RP, I think they are playing a team from Georgia and 1 or 2 teams from Tennessee. They are also playing Franklin.
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RP, the non-conference schedule for Erwin is:
Mount Paran Christian out of Georgia 2014 1-A State Private School Champs 14-0
Mountain Heritage
Ooltewah, TN coached by former Enka HC Mac Bryan went 11-1 last year
Science Hill, TN probably best team will see in regular season only losses were to Brentwood and Maryville we play them on their homecoming as well
Franklin
So if we come out of that 3-2 I would be pretty pleased.
Mount Paran Christian out of Georgia 2014 1-A State Private School Champs 14-0
Mountain Heritage
Ooltewah, TN coached by former Enka HC Mac Bryan went 11-1 last year
Science Hill, TN probably best team will see in regular season only losses were to Brentwood and Maryville we play them on their homecoming as well
Franklin
So if we come out of that 3-2 I would be pretty pleased.
MACfan, that's a pretty decent noncon schedule ya'll have put together. Science Hill is no joke. Kind of surprised that Erwin is sticking with Mountain Heritage again but the rest of your early schedule looks like a serious upgrade from the past few years. Good luck to the Warriors, except when they play us.
AHSDYNASY are you hearing that there could be a possibility of 3 guys that could start at QB for us? Seems like each guy has at least one advantage over the other 2 in some department. I would like to see Brewer play offense and defense. I heard from our mutual buddy that he looks pretty damn athletic.
Over/Under on transfers Asheville gets over the summer: Vegas sports book has it at 5. Lol 'cruiting season is in full force for Danny Wilkins. Guard your hen houses boys cause the fox is coming....
Not entirely true Rocket Pride. Our field will have to be replaced next year combined with our salary cap means if the new recruits want to play at Asheville they'll have to take a pay cut. That's the main reason y'alls quarterback didn't come over. He wanted too much money AND a new car and right now we just don't have it in the budget.
RP, it sounds like you guys are catching up in the recruiting department. Heard y'all got 1 or 2 from Roberson? I know it's all in good fun between the Asheville-Reynolds posters but there really are people out there that believe Asheville recruits. I find it to be pretty funny.
All the kids talk to each other consistently and try to to get other players to transfer. I remember Garrett Brown always trying to convince people to transfer. Asheville just has it a little easier being the only city school. They can get some players like Jave Jones that the Buncombe Co. Schools can't.
I mean back in the 2000's why would a talented kid stay at Erwin when they could play at Asheville? They had a much better chance to succeed athletically just by going to Asheville.
I mean back in the 2000's why would a talented kid stay at Erwin when they could play at Asheville? They had a much better chance to succeed athletically just by going to Asheville.
Good post 02. That pretty much nailed it. And as I'm sure you've noticed being an Erwin fan, once you get the right coaching staff in place and build a respectable program kids will be more likely to stay at home. I never understood the people who complained about transfers but never took a look at just how backwards their own programs were. And no, that was NOT a slight against Erwin. Same holds true for every high school football program in the country.
If you're good people will come. I just like to poke a little fun at the Cougars... Develop a winning reputation and kids will want to play at your school, momma's and daddies will move to your district just for ball. It's not recruiting, it's a reputation of a winning tradition. Kids come on their own because they want to win. Plain and simple.
Very true. I just think its funny because I sometimes hear people say that Asheville and Reynolds recruit. Both programs are powerhouses with a winning tradition and great coaching staffs. The expectation every year is to win conference and make a deep run in the playoffs. Kids want to be a part of something like that and you can't blame them for leaving a crappy program or situation.
I think you could make a little bit of a case that Reynolds football program has slipped a little. I remember not too long ago, there was a thread regarding this particular topic. People were asking "what has happened to the days when reynolds defense would hit you?". In the last 2 seasons ac Reynolds has gone 16-11. In that time Asheville has gone 22-5 and erwin has gone 18-4.Some of that is attributed to their tough scheduling and maybe some of that is a little slippage, but I don't know in their current state if I would call Reynolds a powerhouse. They have been the best team in wnc maybe 1-2 times the past 6-7 years.
When put into context, I have no problem calling Reynolds a powerhouse in the MAC. Let's be realistic though. When your conference includes Enka, NB, TC and McDowell I don't think any of us are true state powerhouses. I would definitely say that Reynolds has come out the last few seasons with the toughest non-con schedule. They're not exactly what they were back in the Bobby Poss days but I'd still put them right up there with us.
I wouldn't put them right up there with us. When was the last time they beat us? They have a good football program, but I don't think they are a powerhouse. We might not even be that. We have greatly underachieved in the playoffs lately. As I've said, these 10 straight conference championships and 11 of the last 12 are nice and all but we have to play better when it matters most and we haven't the last 2 years.
I agree, but there are only a few 3a programs in the state that have had the success that Asheville and Reynolds have had the last 15-20 years. Like you've said before Ahscougar1, if we win another conference title this season great, but I'm more interested to see what we do come playoff time. We have fell flat the last couple years in the playoffs when you felt like we could have gone further. Just can't seem to get over the third round hump lately, similar to how we couldn't get over the fourth round hump in the early 2000's before the 2005 state title run.
Give me a break... yea we don't have the physical Defense that we used to have, but I would argue that nobody does anymore with the uptempo offenses in football today. But to say that Reynolds is slipping is an absolute joke. Third round playoff team in 2013, losing to the eventual state runner -up in Crest. Second round playoff team in 2014 losing to eventual state runner-up in Weddington. The same team that beat the mighty Asheville. Look at the schedule my friend. THE TOUGHEST non-conference schedule west of Charlotte. Sorry we don't pad our record with the Little Sisters of the Poor weeks 1-4. You can hang your hat on your 10* straight championships, we'll hang ours on 3 state titles. Maybe Danny will pull a Steve Spurrier and buy the boys a ring for a 10 win season.
That was just for Cougar1... saying we have "slipped" and that he would no longer call us a powerhouse....
I'm not trying to diminish yall's past which is clearly a state power, what I am saying is that given the success you guys have had in the past, would you not agree that coming in 3rd place in your own conference the past 2 seasons a little bit of a slip?
