Asheville School celebrates new facilities, football win
High School Sports Huddle
Tom Flynn, Citizen-Times Correspondent Published 12:49 a.m. ET Sept. 22, 2018
ASHEVILLE - For the first time in program history, Asheville School students got to enjoy a signature aspect of American life – Friday night football at home.
The Blues took full advantage of the occasion with a dominant 54-0 victory over Statesville Christian, enjoying their new $3 million athletic complex that broke ground in March.
“I’ll be honest the highlight tonight for me was seeing our students in the stands having a good time. Friday night lights – every high school kid deserves that opportunity,” said athletic director Carl Boland after the game. “That was something I was looking forward to and it was certainly great to see it tonight.”
Both Boland and Blues’ head coach Gus Schill thanked a long list of people that worked in coordination to upgrade the facility with – among other amenities – a new turf field, a running track, expanded permanent seating, a new scoreboard and press box.
“So many decisions go into a stadium, and thousands went into this,” said Schill. “It’s just a great environment for the school community."
On the field, the Blues were led offensively by Uchenna Ikwuakor who scored three rushing touchdowns for Asheville School against the Lions (0-4).
“The offensive line was blocking really well, the first touchdown I scored, there was a wide open hole and I just ran through it. It wasn’t me, it was the offensive line,” said Ikwuakor.
As a senior, Ikwuakor spent three years on natural grass at Arbogast Field with limited seating options to concentrate the students and fans behind their squad.
“For the past three years we’ve been playing on grass and we’ve loved it, but it’s just amazing to have our first game here and to win,” said Uchenna. “It’s great that everybody can see us how they’re supposed to. It was great.”
Uchenna was a run stopper at outside linebacker all night for the Blues and turned the Lions into the middle of the field where the quicker Asheville School defense clamped down. S
tatesville Christian’s starting quarterback Holden Henderson was an imposing presence under center for the Lions but was under constant pressure.
On the far sideline, the Blues’ quarterbacking tandem of Connor Davis and Chris Hemphill moved the ball all night.
In the first half, Davis hit Kris Castro on a middle screen that the receiver took 90 yards for a touchdown to put Asheville School up 13-0.
Hemphill had two touchdowns on the evening, including a late punt return for a score that elated the home crowd as he took the ball up the Asheville School sideline. It was an example of a home team touchdown that would have been barely visible prior to the upgrade.
“I’ve been on teams where there are quarterback controversies, there’s not a controversy here, they’re playing catch together on the sidelines,” said Schill of his quarterbacks. “They’re encouraging one another and they really don’t think about who’s getting the glory, who’s getting the accolades. They’re both just trying to get the job done. They’re doing a good job.”
Titus Morrison and Oliver Ferenbach also added late scores for the Blues. With the victory, Asheville School moved to 4-1. Their only loss came at the hands of 2017 1A champion, Cherokee on September 7.
The big winner on the night was the school and its athletic programs.
“I think we’ve had an outdated facility for quite some time. Our athletes deserve something like this. I think strictly from a school perspective, our whole school can enjoy this, not just our athletes,” said Boland. “One of the really great parts of the design features that we used down here was to help create a community event . We can do that now, and that’s pretty special.”
High School Sports Huddle
Tom Flynn, Citizen-Times Correspondent Published 12:49 a.m. ET Sept. 22, 2018
ASHEVILLE - For the first time in program history, Asheville School students got to enjoy a signature aspect of American life – Friday night football at home.
The Blues took full advantage of the occasion with a dominant 54-0 victory over Statesville Christian, enjoying their new $3 million athletic complex that broke ground in March.
“I’ll be honest the highlight tonight for me was seeing our students in the stands having a good time. Friday night lights – every high school kid deserves that opportunity,” said athletic director Carl Boland after the game. “That was something I was looking forward to and it was certainly great to see it tonight.”
Both Boland and Blues’ head coach Gus Schill thanked a long list of people that worked in coordination to upgrade the facility with – among other amenities – a new turf field, a running track, expanded permanent seating, a new scoreboard and press box.
“So many decisions go into a stadium, and thousands went into this,” said Schill. “It’s just a great environment for the school community."
On the field, the Blues were led offensively by Uchenna Ikwuakor who scored three rushing touchdowns for Asheville School against the Lions (0-4).
“The offensive line was blocking really well, the first touchdown I scored, there was a wide open hole and I just ran through it. It wasn’t me, it was the offensive line,” said Ikwuakor.
As a senior, Ikwuakor spent three years on natural grass at Arbogast Field with limited seating options to concentrate the students and fans behind their squad.
“For the past three years we’ve been playing on grass and we’ve loved it, but it’s just amazing to have our first game here and to win,” said Uchenna. “It’s great that everybody can see us how they’re supposed to. It was great.”
Uchenna was a run stopper at outside linebacker all night for the Blues and turned the Lions into the middle of the field where the quicker Asheville School defense clamped down. S
tatesville Christian’s starting quarterback Holden Henderson was an imposing presence under center for the Lions but was under constant pressure.
On the far sideline, the Blues’ quarterbacking tandem of Connor Davis and Chris Hemphill moved the ball all night.
In the first half, Davis hit Kris Castro on a middle screen that the receiver took 90 yards for a touchdown to put Asheville School up 13-0.
Hemphill had two touchdowns on the evening, including a late punt return for a score that elated the home crowd as he took the ball up the Asheville School sideline. It was an example of a home team touchdown that would have been barely visible prior to the upgrade.
“I’ve been on teams where there are quarterback controversies, there’s not a controversy here, they’re playing catch together on the sidelines,” said Schill of his quarterbacks. “They’re encouraging one another and they really don’t think about who’s getting the glory, who’s getting the accolades. They’re both just trying to get the job done. They’re doing a good job.”
Titus Morrison and Oliver Ferenbach also added late scores for the Blues. With the victory, Asheville School moved to 4-1. Their only loss came at the hands of 2017 1A champion, Cherokee on September 7.
The big winner on the night was the school and its athletic programs.
“I think we’ve had an outdated facility for quite some time. Our athletes deserve something like this. I think strictly from a school perspective, our whole school can enjoy this, not just our athletes,” said Boland. “One of the really great parts of the design features that we used down here was to help create a community event . We can do that now, and that’s pretty special.”
