ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Asheville High kept its playoff run going Friday night, rolling past crosstown rival Reynolds 43-6 in a 6A second-round state playoff game.
The top-seeded Cougars improved to 10-1 with the win and now move on to a third-round game for the first time in 12 years, last getting that far in 2014. Waiting for them is No. 8 seed Dudley, which is 7-4. Reynolds ends its season at 4-8.
The passing game did most of the damage. The junior quarterback threw for 195 yards and five touchdowns on 9 of 18 attempts, with one interception. That tied his best scoring output of the season, set against the same opponent back in Week 8, when Asheville High won the regular-season meeting 40-17.
A sophomore who lines up both in the backfield and out wide caught three passes for 65 yards and two scores. Two juniors added a touchdown catch apiece, and that pair has now combined for 64 catches, 1,390 yards and 21 touchdowns over 11 games, making the receiving group one of the deepest in the state.
The run follows a league title. This fall the Cougars won the Mountain Athletic Conference for the first time since 2021. Coach Cort Radford has pointed to the lessons of a rough 2025, when a lineup heavy with freshmen and sophomores lost five of its first seven games, rallied to finish 6-6 and went out in the second round.
Asheville High School, home of the Cougars, is one of the city’s top-tier high school athletic programs, and the third-round matchup with Dudley is the next step in its bid for a deep postseason run.
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