Asheville School earns shot at state football title
ASHEVILLE - A cold and misty night set the stage for the Asheville School Blues as they defeated SouthLake Christian Academy 33-28 and advanced to the NCISAA Division III state championship game
The Blues will face top-seeded Village Christian Academy next Friday for a shot at the title.
"I was really proud of the way our offensive line played tonight," Asheville School head coach Gus Schill said. "They were able to pull out some really long drives and up that clock to finally punch it into the end zone."
While Asheville School's offense was not able to complete a single pass during the game, their top three rushers accumulated 456 yards.
Junior Chris Hemphill scored four times, rushing for 262 yards on 19 carries.
"We're very pleased with Hemphill's running tonight," Schill said. "He managed the game, he protected the football. His vision running the ball was incredible. His nose for the end zone was great."
Hemphill dominated all season with a 1,115 total rushing yards.
"A lot of people underestimated us," Hemphill said. "We came into this season as an underdog and we fought hard this whole season. Now we're going to finish it."
Hemphill and Schill said the most important things they will focus on going into next week's championship against Village Christian are watching footage and creating a specific game plan.
"We almost need to double our score from what we did tonight if we're going to have a chance against Village Christian," Schill said.
The Blues' 7-4 mark is a program best since Schill took over in 2014.
No. 1 Village Christian defeated Harrells Christian Academy 49-14 on Friday night.
"Village Christian is an extraordinary team," Schill said."We're very honored to play them. They're loaded with talented athletes and it's gonna be a long drive to get there, but we hope the trip will be worth it and we're looking forward to a chance to play in the championship."
ASHEVILLE - A cold and misty night set the stage for the Asheville School Blues as they defeated SouthLake Christian Academy 33-28 and advanced to the NCISAA Division III state championship game
The Blues will face top-seeded Village Christian Academy next Friday for a shot at the title.
"I was really proud of the way our offensive line played tonight," Asheville School head coach Gus Schill said. "They were able to pull out some really long drives and up that clock to finally punch it into the end zone."
While Asheville School's offense was not able to complete a single pass during the game, their top three rushers accumulated 456 yards.
Junior Chris Hemphill scored four times, rushing for 262 yards on 19 carries.
"We're very pleased with Hemphill's running tonight," Schill said. "He managed the game, he protected the football. His vision running the ball was incredible. His nose for the end zone was great."
Hemphill dominated all season with a 1,115 total rushing yards.
"A lot of people underestimated us," Hemphill said. "We came into this season as an underdog and we fought hard this whole season. Now we're going to finish it."
Hemphill and Schill said the most important things they will focus on going into next week's championship against Village Christian are watching footage and creating a specific game plan.
"We almost need to double our score from what we did tonight if we're going to have a chance against Village Christian," Schill said.
The Blues' 7-4 mark is a program best since Schill took over in 2014.
No. 1 Village Christian defeated Harrells Christian Academy 49-14 on Friday night.
"Village Christian is an extraordinary team," Schill said."We're very honored to play them. They're loaded with talented athletes and it's gonna be a long drive to get there, but we hope the trip will be worth it and we're looking forward to a chance to play in the championship."
