Wildcats to face proven winners

If North Gaston advances to the 3A state title game, it will have to beat a program that’s been here before.

The Wildcats will face a road trip up the mountains on Friday to face Asheville, a team loaded with talent and playoff experience.

The fourth-seeded Cougars (11-2) shared the Mountain Athletic Conference championship with Roberson and make it this deep in the playoffs almost routinely.

Asheville will be competing in a 3A regional final game for the fifth time in six years. The Cougars lost in this round in 2002 (vs. Ashbrook), 2003 (vs. South Point) and 2004 before winning the state title in 2005.

Three current players — offensive linemen Isaiah Harper and Chris Conley and wide receiver/defensive back Rahkeem Morgan — started for the state title team. Morgan now starts at quarterback.

There were also a handful of players brought up from the JV team that didn’t get in the game but were part of the 5-0 playoff run that year.

“Several of these kids have rings,” Asheville coach Danny Wilkins said. “You hope that could be a little bit of an advantage.”

This team appears to be as skilled as those recent squads, as the Cougars have outscored their three playoff opponents 109-27.

Morgan last week ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns and passed for another score in a 43-20 win at top-seeded Carver.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound senior has rushed for 1,125 yards and 11 touchdowns while passing for 1,591 yards and 21 scores this season. He became the school’s career passing leader in the second-round game against Statesville and tied the school record with his 21st TD pass last week.

Greg Ray has rushed for 941 yards and 18 touchdowns to lead a ground attack that averages 269.5 yards per game.

“We’ve got a pretty quarterback in Rahkeem Morgan, but it’s a team effort kind of thing,” Wilkins said. “There’s not any superstars or anything.”

The Cougars’ defense is punishing, giving up only 12.7 points and 220.3 yards per game, including just 130.8 yards on the ground.

If you’re into score comparisons, Asheville defeated MAC co-champion T.C. Roberson 24-9. Roberson is the team that eliminated North Gaston’s Big South rival, South Point, 37-13, last week. South Point beat North Gaston 38-35.

Sixth-seeded North Gaston (11-2) isn’t nearly as playoff experienced as Asheville. The Wildcats won their first and second playoff games in school history last year before making this season’s record run.

But the team is loaded with seasoned players, many of whom started last year.

The Wildcats are averaging 324 rushing yards per game, led by running back Princeton Brooks (2,120 yards, 34 TDs) and quarterback A.J. Blue (1,954 yards, 20 TDs).

“Just looking on paper and film, we don’t seem to match up in a lot of places,” Wilkins said. “It’ll be interesting to see how it goes.”

Contact Phillip Gardner at 704-869-1843.