Week 2 of the 2026 Western North Carolina high school football season is behind us.
Several games came down to the wire this week.
Here are three takeaways from Week 2.
kept Swain County's James Loftis from football — until now
Asheville High rallies to defeat Dobyns-Bennett (Tennessee)
The Cougars overcame a nine-point deficit to defeat Dobyns-Bennett (Tenn.) 32-31, thanks to Asheville High lineman Brenton Miller blocking the potential game-winning field goal.
Cougars coach Cort Radford said his team didn't play well to start the game but is proud of them for staying composed.
"We lose this game with our team last year," Radford said. "Because they didn't know yet. They were young. They've been through it before and didn't panic."
Gabriel Leonardo comes up clutch for Erwin in win over Mountain Heritage
Erwin's Gabriel Leonardo was one of the best kickers in Western North Carolina last season. He was a perfect 29-for-29 on extra points and 3-for-4 on field goals, including a long of 37 yards.
In the season opener against West Henderson, Leonardo missed both of his two field goal attempts. Against Mountain Heritage, he got redemption. He drilled a 31-yard field goal to give the Warriors a 30-28 win.
"He's a good kicker," Erwin coach Rodney Pruett said. "We trust him."
Roberson shuts down defending state champion Watauga
Roberson coach J.D. Dinwiddie has coached for 30 years. He believes his defense's performance in a 41-14 victory over Watauga is one of the best he's ever seen.
"That's one of the best defensive performances I've seen as a coach that I've had with one of my teams," Dinwiddie said. "We were more physical. Those kids were on a mission, and they accomplished it."
Besides the one turnover the Rams defense forced, it was all stops, including several three-and-outs against Watauga's triple option.
"Our three defensive linemen played lights out," Dinwiddie said. "They kept our linebackers clean. Our two middle linebackers probably had close to 30 tackles between them. They were all over the place."
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: Three takeaways from Week 2 of WNC football, including a Roberson defensive masterpiece
