Asheville moves to 1st place in MAC with win over Roberson
6 October 2007By Derek Norton
ASHEVILLE-October 5, 2007-It seemed 2007 would be the year that the TC Roberson Rams, ranked 4th in the Associated Press 3A state poll, would finally pick up a win on the road against the Asheville Cougars.
The Cougars, with history on their side, led the Rams the entire game en route to a 24-9 victory and sole possession of first place in the Mountain Athletic Conference.
“I’m so proud of the way we played and executed tonight,” said Asheville coach Danny Wilkins. “It’s going to be a great weekend.”
Asheville received the opening kickoff and started at their own 20 after a touchback, and after passes or 46 yards and 34 yards from Rahkeem Morgan to Darius Harrell, the Cougars had a 7-0 lead just 29 seconds in.
After each team forced a three-and-out, the Rams took over at the Asheville 43 and reached the red zone on a Tripp Weaver 17 yard pass. However, two plays later, a fumble gave Asheville possession at their own 15.
The Rams were able to force another punt, but Justin Wynn’s second fumble of the game was picked up by Asheville’s Johnny
McMorris and returned 34 yards for a touchdown, giving the Cougars a 14-0 lead with 1:23 to go in the first quarter.
The Cougars forced another three-and-out, but a fumbled fair catch on Walker Smith’s punt gave Roberson a 1st and 10 at the Cougar 15.
Wynn ran 10 yards on the first play of the drive and reached the end zone on the second, but a holding call negated the touchdown and gave the Rams first and goal from the Cougar 15.
Following a no gain, incomplete pass and 8 yard Weaver scramble, the Ram’s settled for a 24 yard field goal by Smith to cut the lead to 14-3.
Roberson looked to score at the end of the half, reaching the Asheville 16 with 0:48 remaining. However, back-to-back sacks by Wells Fanning and Darius Roberts forced Smith to attempt a 47 yard field goal that fell just short with 0:04 remaining in the half.
The Rams were finally able to put a touchdown drive together in the opening drive of the second quarter, capping an 11 play, 76 yard drive with a five yard run by Wynn that cut the lead to 14-9 after a missed extra point.
Asheville answered on the next drive, as Giovanni McKnight’s circus catch on 3rd and 28 from the Asheville 28 increased the Cougar lead to 21-9.
“That really helped us out,” said Morgan of the Cougars’ big play capability. “Whenever they got up we knocked them back down with a big play.”
Roberson looked to keep pace with the Cougars on the next drive, and a 45 yard run by Wynn on the first play of the drive gave the Rams a 1st and 10 at the Cougar 20. However, just as Morgan said, the Cougars knocked the Rams back down as a fumble on 3rd and 1 from the 11 was recovered by Asheville’s Anthony McPherson with just under two minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter.
The Cougars then proceeded to run 7:17 off the clock on a 16 play, 76 yard drive that ended with a 36 yard Reed Turchi field goal with 6:27 to play.
The Rams were able to reach Cougar territory with 6:00 remaining, but the improbable comeback attempt ended when McKnight picked off Weaver at the Asheville 4. The Cougars ran 4:00 off the clock before returning the ball to the Rams, who turned the ball over on downs to end the game with the Cougars victorious.
“We had to come in here and make no mistakes, but we turned the ball over four times,” said Roberson second-year coach Jim Beatty. “We needed to make big plays, but we didn’t, and they did.”
Though the loss means that Roberson will need another MAC foe to upset the Cougars in order for the Rams to earn a share of
the MAC title, Coach Beatty remained optimistic about the Rams’ future.
“This is just one blemish on our record,” said Beatty. “We can still finish the season 9-1.”
The Cougars (5-1, 2-0) will continue conference play next week with a trip to Erwin (3-5, 1-2), while the Rams (6-1, 2-1) will host Enka (2-5, 0-2).
BOX SCORE
1 2 3 4 F
Asheville 14 0 7 3 24
Roberson 0 3 6 0 9
GAME STATS
Asheville TC Roberson
1st Downs 13 15
Rushing 27-109 38-204
Passing (Comp-Att-INT) 9-16-0 8-17-1
Pass Yards 250 61
Total Yards 359 265
Fumbles (lost) 1(1) 3(3)
Penalites-Yards 13-110 4-15
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing
Rahkeem Morgan (Asheville) 9-15, 250 yds, 2 TD
Tripp Weaver (Roberson) 8-17, 61 yds
Rushing
Justin Wynn (Roberson) 26 carries, 161 yds, TD
R.C. Crenshaw (Roberson) 7 carries, 41 yds
Greg Ray (Asheville) 16 carries, 57 yds
Giovanni McKnight (Asheville) 3 carries, 25 yds
Rahkeem Morgan (Asheville) 6 carries, 23 yds
Receiving
Darius Harrell (Asheville) 4 rec, 126 yds, TD
Giovanni McKnight (Asheville) 1 rec, 72 yds, TD
Will McMillan (Asheville) 2 rec, 34 yds
Tyler Milner (Roberson) 2 rec, 32 yds
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
AHS-Darius Harrell, 34 yd pass from Rahkeem Morgan (Reed Turchi kick) 11:31
(2 plays, 80 yds, 0:29)
AHS-Johnny McMorris, 34 yd fumble return (Reed Turchi kick) 1:10
2nd Quarter
TCR-Walker Smith, 24 yd FG 7:46
(6 plays, 8 yds, 2:22)
3rd Quarter
TCR-Justin Wynn, 5 yd run (Walker Smith kick) 6:34
(11 plays, 76 yds, 5:20)
AHS-Giovanni McKnight, 72 yd pass from Rahkeem Morgan (Reed Turchi kick) 3:25
(8 plays, 80 yds, 3:09)
4th Quarter
AHS-Reed Turchi, 36 yd FG 6:27
(16 plays, 76 yds, 7:17)
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