Cougars vs Rockets - MAC Championship

[Billy28804]

Why wait for the last game of the season to determine the inevitable. The earlier the better especially when Asheville and Reynolds are the two clear contenders. I was leaning towards Reynolds this year to dethrone the Asheville Dynasty, but not anymore. Unless.......

 

[Packer10]

This is the GAME of the year in the mountains this year.This is by far the best ACR team since 2010. Asheville has a nice wining streak on the rockets, so hopefully ACR can stop it next week. ACR will not be able to have 189 yards in penaltys and four turnovers to win this game. I think ACR will have the best offense and player Asheville has seen all year. Hopefully Talbert will be able to play this week. If ACR wins the conference championship will be decided in the second week of conference which shows how bad the other four teams in the MAC are. I like ACR to break the losing streak to Asheville and win by 3. The rockets have not played a power offense like Asheville yet, so it will be interesting to see how the defense plays. Should be another classic.

 

[Verum]

Is this game next week? Good to see ACR back in the fold. I'll put this on my calendar!

Why has AC been down recently? Admittedly, I haven't followed them closely.

 

[shelbyfan1_anon]

Packer 10. U said Ac hasnt played a power offense like Asheville, well im afraid your wrong on that..ive seen Asheville play and ill put little 2a Shelby up against Asheville ..i think AC pulls game out...

 

[Packer10]

Packer 10. U said Ac hasnt played a power offense like Asheville, well im afraid your wrong on that..ive seen Asheville play and ill put little 2a Shelby up against Asheville ..i think AC pulls game out...

I mean a power offense running out of the I Formation. Shelby will be the best team ACR plays all year. I was just talking about the style of play. Asheville is a smashmouth team. While Shelby is a high speed wide open offense.

 

[Packer10]

Is this game next week? Good to see ACR back in the fold. I'll put this on my calendar!

Why has AC been down recently? Admittedly, I haven't followed them closely.

Talent was a little down and they had bad luck with injuries and players getting in trouble.

 

[COUGAR-90]

This is the kind of thread that usually comes back to bite people in the butt later on down the road. There is a lot of conference football left to play before someone is crowned MAC champions. Yes, Asheville, Reynolds and Erwin are the top 3 teams in the MAC....as usual. But all of us are basically a couple of unforeseen, freak injuries away from mediocrity. There's nothing wrong with supporting your team. Heck, it's football. It's OK to be loud and thump our chests, but at the same time there is a lot to be said about being humble in victory. I believe down deep that we have the athletes and game plan to beat Reynolds next Friday night, and I expect us to give 100% in doing so. I also understand that there is a chance we could roll into Reynolds stadium and get steam rolled. Like I said, there's plenty of football left to be played.

 

[volfan1219_rivals339458]

Packer 10. U said Ac hasnt played a power offense like Asheville, well im afraid your wrong on that..ive seen Asheville play and ill put little 2a Shelby up against Asheville ..i think AC pulls game out...

Good grief man chill out nobody is saying anything bad about mighty Shelby! Im pretty sure everybody knows how good Shelby is!

 

[Verum]

Injuries and lack of telent seem to be the reason most teams have rough stretches. What's the old saying? You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip? Good to see AC back in the mix. On another thread, I was saying how there are certains teams that need to be good for the world to felel right. AC is one of those. Asheville too but they've been pretty fortunate.

 

[Packer10]

Always expect the unexpected when Asheville and Reynolds play.

 

[COUGAR-90]

Always expect the unexpected when Asheville and Reynolds play.

Brother, ain't that the truth. I expect the cobwebs to be gone from our playbook this Friday night.

 

[Packer10]

Brother, ain't that the truth. I expect the cobwebs to be gone from our playbook this Friday night.

Unfortunately the unexpected always goes against the Rockets. Like the Butler hook and lateral lol.

 

[CougarsOfAHS]

My intake on the game: acr is good, real good, but can be beat. What I seen last night Rico is 90% of the O. With Asheville I believe we will have to play man to man because I don't think Rico is a great thrower, that leaves our LBs to run free. I also believe we will look to have all state LB Christian green spy on Rico and go everywhere he goes.

 

[AhsCougar1]

Well this one got started early.
Here are some interesting thoughts/facts about this Asheville Reynolds game.

1. Asheville has won 10 straight MAC championships. That streak will be on the line Friday.
2. Asheville has beaten Reynolds 4 straight games. That streak will be on the line Friday.
3. Asheville hasn't lost on Reynolds field since 2001. That streak will be on the line Friday.
4. Asheville has won 12 straight MAC games. The record is 18 held by Asheville. That streak will be on the line Friday.
5. Asheville hasn't lost to a team from the mountains since 2012. That streak will be on the line Friday.

I think Rico Dowdle will be the most talented player on the field, I think Asheville has a more talented team.

Someone who went to the game last night told me, "I don't think I have ever seen a team rely more on one player than Reynolds does with Dowdle. He is everything". This can be good and bad. All of our teams in the mountains have one guy who is so valuable that if we lose him, the season is hugely effected. This is obviously the case with a D1 running back like Dowdle.

In order for Asheville to win (and I don't think its impossible like some people are making it sound) we have to open up the playbook which I imagine we will. For us to think that we will just line up in the power I and steamroll Reynolds between the tackles would be ignorant because they will adjust and stop it eventually and we must have a plan B. I guarantee you Reynolds wants this one bad. None of these guys have ever beaten Asheville on varsity, so the seniors especially will want to go out on top at home.

Erwin may still factor into the equation later on down the road, but like others have said, I don't think this team is like what some of the past teams have been.

This game is likely for a coin flip for a number 1 seed in the west. Assuming the teams fell where they did last year. Whatever happens in 6 days, I think there is a good chance we could see them again in the playoffs. I look for our guys to come out ready to play and finally put together a good 4 quarters.

 

[AhsCougar1]

My intake on the game: acr is good, real good, but can be beat. What I seen last night Rico is 90% of the O. With Asheville I believe we will have to play man to man because I don't think Rico is a great thrower, that leaves our LBs to run free. I also believe we will look to have all state LB Christian green spy on Rico and go everywhere he goes.

Of course they can be beat, they already have been.

 

[CougarsOfAHS]

Of course they can be beat, they already have been.

Shelby is a different animal, I'm talking about as Mac teams

 

[AhsCougar1]

Any logical team will want Dowdle to throw the ball. Force him to throw. Easier said than done.

 

[Rocket Pride]

This has the makings for a classic. Go Rockets!

 

[shelbyfan1_anon]

Got ya...no dis respect from me either, i do know Ac and Asheville are both good teams....good luck to both you guys in that game.
Hope nobody gets hurt before playoffs

 

[Packer10]

Does Battle still play defense for most of the game? Also how many guys does Asheville have going both ways?

 

[AHSDYNASY]

The two best programs in the mountains going at it for the MAC championship and a possible 1 seed in the playoffs. Doesn't get much better than that. Should be a packed house next Friday.

 

[AHSDYNASY]

Does Battle still play defense for most of the game? Also how many guys does Asheville have going both ways?

He hasn't played much defense the last few weeks but I suspect he will play more defense this game. We have 7 or 8 guys that play at least some both ways.

 

[COUGAR-90]

I've said it all year and you guys keep telling me (subliminally) to shut up. Asheville has been under the radar for the most part this year because we've been one dimensional. You WILL see the play book open up this Friday night. I can promise you we're not gonna run between the tackles all night. We're going to use what works, period. Our defense will try and contain Dowdle and make him throw the ball. You'll see a different Asheville team this week. Win or lose, this won't be a vanilla game on our part.

 

[COUGAR-90]

Does Battle still play defense for most of the game? Also how many guys does Asheville have going both ways?

Same as every other year. Between 6 and 8. I think that has a lot to do with why we don't sling the ball around also, since our WR's are also DB's. We're not very deep on the line but we do have enough guys that we can make substitutions and give the big boys a rest.

 

[Shelby Lion]

Would love to see these two play!!! Always respected both programs .... Athletes all over the field the night these two meet ...

 

[artvandelay]

i knew these 2 teams would play this year

 

[CougarsOfAHS]

i knew these 2 teams would play this year

We are in the same conference, we play every year

 

[BD Warrior]

Beating Reynolds is simple, stop Rico. Good luck with that. Haha. I do have a hypothetical question. Let's say Asheville beats Reynolds. Now let's say Erwin goes on a tear the next 5 games now that the schedule from hell has eased. If the Warriors upset the Cougars does that mean a three way tie for the conference title?

 

[CougarsOfAHS]

Beating Reynolds is simple, stop Rico. Good luck with that. Haha. I do have a hypothetical question. Let's say Asheville beats Reynolds. Now let's say Erwin goes on a tear the next 5 games now that the schedule from hell has eased. If the Warriors upset the Cougars does that mean a three way tie for the conference title?

Yeah. Also a coin flip for playoffs to I believe

 

[Billy28804]

Erwin upset Asheville? Three way tie? Someone is in denial.

 

[AhsCougar1]

If there was a three way tie between Asheville Erwin and Reynolds it wouldn't really help Erwin any. They could win the rest of their games and they are still looking at a 7-11 seed

 

[Billy28804]

ACR QB didn't throw a single pass from the pocket or hit anyone on a designed pattern. Only throws to a receiver who is standing open after he runs outside. Asheville will shut that down. He runs great, but only missed tackles will be ACR's big play opportunities. Asheville's athletic WRs will be tough to handle. Especially the deep ball.

 

[AhsCougar1]

ACR QB didn't throw a single pass from the pocket or hit anyone on a designed pattern. Only throws to a receiver who is standing open after he runs outside. Asheville will shut that down. He runs great, but only missed tackles will be ACR's big play opportunities. Asheville's athletic WRs will be tough to handle. Especially the deep ball.

I agree but that's assuming we attempt to throw the ball. I saw the "Reynolds highlights" aka "the Rico highlights" against Shelby and a majority of the plays I saw looked like busted plays. Where teams go at him out of control and he takes off. I did notice that both freedom and kings mountain have Shelby a better game than Reynolds did, not that it matters.

 

[AHSDYNASY]

I think Erwin did a pretty good job of trying to force him to stay in the pocket to throw. The problem is he is fast enough to still get a few yards out of it. If you do blitz you better wrap up or you're in trouble. For us to win, our linebackers will have to play well. We need a big night from Green and Daniels especially. Daniels hasn't played real well so far this year; need him to play like he is capable of Friday because he has the speed to contain Dowdle and Logan off the edge. Offensively, Reggie will get his, but we need our receivers to make some plays downfield because I assume Reynolds will stack the box.

 

[cqajdd]

Erwin upset Asheville? Three way tie? Someone is in denial.

I totally agree. Regardless what happens Friday the last team I'm worried abouti s Erwin. This BD Warrior guy is in great denial. He just can't admit that Erwin is not ready. Period. Enough said. I'm just hoping the Cougars have a great week of preparation. Please no more talk about Erwin. It makes me sick and they have not earned the right for discussion.

 

[COUGAR-90]

Beating Reynolds is simple, stop Rico. Good luck with that. Haha. I do have a hypothetical question. Let's say Asheville beats Reynolds. Now let's say Erwin goes on a tear the next 5 games now that the schedule from hell has eased. If the Warriors upset the Cougars does that mean a three way tie for the conference title?

I'll answer this one just because you used the word "hypothetical" which is 5 syllables. haha
I said earlier in the season that I could see a 3 way tie between us with each team having 1 conference loss. I don't think it's out of the question. It would mean a three way tie for MAC title but still wouldn't help Erwin in playoff seeding. Not quite sure how a 3 way split would be recognized.

 

[shstiger]

I agree but that's assuming we attempt to throw the ball. I saw the "Reynolds highlights" aka "the Rico highlights" against Shelby and a majority of the plays I saw looked like busted plays. Where teams go at him out of control and he takes off. I did notice that both freedom and kings mountain have Shelby a better game than Reynolds did, not that it matters.

ACR is the best team Shelby has faced in my opinion. AC beat a very good W Forsyth team that destroyed Statesville, and their other loss to undefeated E Forsyth by 3.

 

[AhsCougar1]

ACR is the best team Shelby has faced in my opinion. AC beat a very good W Forsyth team that destroyed Statesville, and their other loss to undefeated E Forsyth by 3.

lol Shelby scored 60 points on them!

 

[shstiger]

lol Shelby scored 60 points on them!

If not mistaken was a 3 point game going into 4th. I have attended all the Shelby games, and again just my input. Being a rivalry game, no telling what may transpire.

 

[Reynoldsrocks2]

ACR was up 10 on Shelby midway through 3rd and then was down 4 heading into the 4th. Yes we fell apart in the 4th but the game was much much closer then the score indicated.