The conclusion of Week 10 means there is only a week left in the 2026 North Carolina high school football season.
Five Western North Carolina high school football games were decided by a touchdown or less this week. Here are three takeaways, including how Franklin pulled off a 21-point second-half rally.
Levi Richards powers Enka to first win over Reynolds since 1995
Richards usually plays wide receiver for the Jets. But this week, he was asked to play quarterback after Enka starter CJ Dicus suffered an injury in a 40-0 loss to Roberson last week.
He didn't look like he was making his first start of the season at quarterback in a 27-26 win against Reynolds on Oct. 23. He made several key throws to set up
a 50-50 ball to Bryce Fleming, who made the reception for the game-winning 21-yard touchdown.
"He's a heck of an athlete," Enka coach Jim Beatty said. "He's a heck of a ballplayer. He does everything for us."
Franklin overcomes 21-point deficit to win first conference championship since 2017
Quarterback Anderson Terrell said it was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard in the locker room at halftime with Franklin trailing Smoky Mountain by two touchdowns.
Then Franklin coach Josh Brooks and wide receiver and safety Lance Parker spoke up.
"There was no panic," Brooks said. "There was no pointing fingers. Lance Parker is not a captain, but he said we got to continue to fight, we're going to continue to fight."
Smoky Mountain scored an early third-quarter touchdown to take a 21-point lead, but it was all Franklin after that. Running back Garrett Young scored four second-half rushing touchdowns to lead the Panthers to a 42-35 win.
Jordan Buford powers Hendersonville to win against Mountain Heritage
Buford has made a solid case for why he should be in the conversation of top running backs in Western North Carolina this season because of his ability to run and catch the ball. Entering Week 10, he has run for over 700 yards and 14 touchdowns, and caught 17 passes for over 300 yards and four touchdowns.
He added to those touchdown totals in Hendersonville's 48-44 win over Mountain Heritage. He ran for 122 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries, and caught two passes for 23 yards and a touchdown in the victory.
"I've known him since he was a little boy," Hendersonville coach Kirron Ward said. "He's kind of always had a Napoleon Complex because he was always one of the smaller kids growing up. He's just a competitor, man."
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: Franklin's second-half comeback tops Week 10 WNC high school football takeaways
