BAKERSVILLE — Hendersonville football is tired of hearing that it can’t stop the run.
The Bearcats defense allowed Mitchell, a run-dominant offense, to score one first-half touchdown but shut out the Mountaineers in the second half to secure a 20-7 victory on Sept. 18.
“People came into this game doubting us, saying that their line, we couldn’t hang with them,” said linebacker Carter Pritchard of Hendersonville (3-2, 0-1 Western Highlands). “Coach (Kirron) Ward worked his magic. We came out here, played violent, fast and aggressive, and they couldn’t hang with us.”
Linebacker Torrey Downing said Hendersonville (5-0) emphasized communication at halftime.
That helped the Bearcats line up in the right spots more consistently in the second half.
“That’s why they got down the field so quick and so much when we didn’t line up in the right spots,” Downing said. “We just fixed it and came together as a team.”
Ward also told his team at halftime that Hendersonville needed to match Mitchell’s physicality.
“We just said 'You got to grow up and be a man,'” he said.
In the second half, four Mitchell drives resulted in two turnovers on downs, an interception and a punt. The Bearcats held the Mountaineers to 261 total rushing yards on 48 carries.
That proved to be plenty for Hendersonville’s high-powered offense and quarterback JaRon Ward, who completed 14 of 20 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.
Kirron Ward believes the talent and speed they have on offense and in the secondary on defense leads to opponents overlooking their front seven.
Hendersonville is holding opponents to 12 points per game. The most points it gave up was in a Week 4 42-35 win against Erwin, which features a pass-heavy offense. The other four opponents were East Henderson, North Henderson, Mitchell and West Henderson, which mostly run the ball.
“They’re tired of people saying they can’t stop the run,” Kirron Ward said. “You’re gonna give up yards, that’s fine, but as long as you keep them out of the colored box, it doesn’t matter. We held them out of the box for three quarters.”
Zachary Huber is a high school sports reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him at zhuber@gannett.com or follow him on X @zacharyahuber.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: How Hendersonville football's defense answered the challenge vs Mitchell
