Trey Morgan (21) and Pisgah are home for Friday’s football game against Tuscola.
For nine weeks now, a perfect storm has been brewing in Haywood County.
And we’re not talking about hurricanes here.
Pisgah (7-0, 3-0) and Tuscola (7-0, 3-0) have beaten opponents in their paths by an average of 25.5 points and 37.4 points, respectively.
There are only three undefeated football teams left in Western North Carolina and they are two of them, making Friday’s 7:30 p.m. game in Canton one of the more intriguing ones in the rivalry’s 53-year history.
For those wondering, the Black Bears and Mountaineers have never met this late in a season with both sides still unbeaten. The last time it happened period was 2008, but that was back when they played in the third week of the season. Crowds in excess of 10,000 have attended past Pisgah-Tuscola games, and if the weather holds, Tuscola coach Tommy Pursley said he wouldn’t be surprised to see 15,000 in attendance Friday at Pisgah Memorial Stadium.
“It’s a great opportunity for Haywood County. Any way you look at it, all around,” Pisgah coach Brett Chappell said.
“It’s special to have both teams undefeated and both deserve it. The kids have worked hard and the coaches have worked hard to get them prepared. There’s still a lot of conference games left to play after this one, but there’s a lot riding on it for both teams.”
Pisgah’s final tuneup was last Friday’s 34-7 win at West Henderson.
Tanner Wike completed eight of his 16 passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 112 yards and a fourth score. Trey Morgan accounted for 222 receiving yards and three touchdown catches (13, 60 and 81 yards). Isaiah Fisher’s 9-yard touchdown run got the Black Bears on the board first at the 8:47 mark of the first quarter.
“The big thing for us was getting through that game with a win and relatively healthy,” Chappell said.
“Now it looks like it’s going to be a good week for practice and cool down by the river on Friday night.”
Chappell is naturally impressed by what he has seen out of Tuscola.
“The offense is very typical of what we have seen the past few years in that it’s run-heavy. But if you look closely at (Mountaineers quarterback) Grayson Perkins’ numbers, you’ll see that they average about 30 yards a throw, too,” Chappell said.
“It starts with the run, but they like to stretch the field, too.”
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