Oct. 14—A strong second half helped lift Tuscola to a 21-0 County Clash victory over Pisgah on Friday night in Canton, snapping the Bears' two-game winning streak in the series in the process.
But it wasn't always a runaway win for Tuscola. The Mountaineers entered the game with senior quarterback Isaiah Hyatt sporting a large cast on his throwing arm.
The plays the team has practiced all season — which relied on Hyatt making passes to star running back Sam Trantham — were off the table.
Tuscola came into the game as the higher-ranked team, with a 6-1 record compared to Pisgah's 4-3, but struggled to find its footing in the first half. The game went back-and-forth between the two squads — with the scoreboard still stuck at 0-0 in the final 10 seconds of the first half.
Eventually, the players adapted to a new playbook, carried by the momentum of their first touchdown in the final seconds of the first half.
"Our kids answered the adversity early and said, 'We don't waver.' That's our kids' mindset — what we call Tuscola Mountaineer football. They've bought into that. They've done it for years now, and it's really paying off for them," Tuscola Coach Jonathan Crompton said.
Despite the loss, it's still a night that Pisgah players will cherish for the rest of their lives.
"Having done it as a player, assistant coach and head coach, it's an experience that you relish, and you're appreciative of when you look back on it 25 years later," Pisgah Coach Ricky Brindley said.
The crowd was packed as always, with fans lining the fence around the field well over an hour before kickoff.
"That's what you want," Crompton said. "You want to be on the big stage. You want your kids to be in front of the crowds and go show out."
The pregame festivities included Gov. Josh Stein blowing the mill whistle before kickoff and a massive fireworks display as the Bears ran onto the field. Stein became the second consecutive sitting governor to attend a Pisgah football game after Roy Cooper attended the Bears' season opener in 2023 — the first time a game had been played on the field following Tropical Storm Fred.
Momentum changes sidelines
With Hyatt unable to play quarterback, Junior John Hansen stepped into the signal-caller role. But Hyatt still got to play in his final County Clash — moving back to his natural positions of wide receiver and defensive back.
That made the offense more one-dimensional. Tuscola couldn't rely on its passing game to balance out the attack as much as normal, instead going more run-heavy.
But on the flip side, Pisgah's defense stood tall numerous times on Friday night. There were several moments the Bears prevented their rivals from converting in short yardage situations, including a couple of big fourth down stops.
Early in the game, the Bears' defense grabbed a couple of quick three-and-out stops on Tuscola. Pisgah was able to keep Tuscola off the board for most of the first half, keeping all of the momentum of a home County Clash on their side of the field.
That took a big swing to the visitors in the final seconds of the first half. Coaches often talk about the phenomenon of the "middle eight" — the final four minutes of the first half and first four minutes of the second half. Playing your best ball in those moments can be critical to the flow of a game.
But it was the middle 20 seconds for Tuscola Friday night.
With just about 10 seconds left on the clock in the first half, the scoreboard was stuck at 0-0.
But in the final seconds of the first half, Tuscola junior Sam Trantham punched the ball in from two yards out for the opening score of the game.
"He's a good player, and if you ask him to get two yards on fourth and two, he's probably going to do it just because of how talented he is and how good they are up front," Brindley said.
The Bears were set to receive the ball out of the half, but the Mountaineers forced a fumble on the opening kickoff and recovered it. The quick turnover in Tuscola's favor at the start of the half culminated with Trantham's second rushing touchdown of the night.
The kickoff play to force the fumble had been drawn up by Coach Trevor Siebert. Crompton called the play the "dude kickoff" — with the kickoff unit on the field consisting of players put out there specifically to make a turnover happen.
"There's zero second-guessing on anything that our coaches mention," Crompton said. "That's how I coach. I trust our guys. I trust our kids. I trust our coaches."
Defensive standoff
The Bears came up with some major stops in the first half. Tuscola's first three offensive drives included two turnovers on downs and a missed field goal.
"They played with great consistency. They played with great effort. They played with great eye discipline," Brindley said.
Pisgah held Tuscola to just 21 points in the Bears' loss — the lowest scoring output this season for the Mountaineers.
It was certainly a team effort on that side of the ball for Pisgah, but one name kept getting called out over the PA system throughout the night — senior defensive lineman Jared Capps.
"He played really hard, and he always does. And you appreciate that because he's a kid that's extremely undersized playing on the defensive line at 175 pounds," Brindley said. "His effort was just something to be proud of."
Despite the Bears' offense only racking up 36 yards for the entire night, the Pisgah defense kept the team in the game.
"We couldn't move the football at all because of how big they were, but our defense just played lights out. To be able to continue to fight and battle after taking as many snaps as they did just says a lot about those kids and their character," Brindley said. "It kept us in the game."
The Bears only racked up 36 yards of offense thanks to some smothering defense on the other side of the ball. Tuscola racked up seven tackles for loss, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries in the game.
Juniors Hunter Spivey and Chace Smalley led the team with two tackles for a loss each, while seniors Elijah Pruitt and Isaiah Hyatt each grabbed a pick. Senior Ty Walker and junior Nick Messer each recovered a fumble.
Mountaineers lean even heavier on the ground
Tuscola's offense ended up earning more than 300 yards in the game — 286 of which came on the ground.
The Mountaineers struggled to get the passing game going with senior quarterback Isaiah Hyatt sporting a large cast on his throwing arm. Hyatt's injury happened during last Friday's game against Franklin.
Junior John Hansen took over under center on Friday and did well to manage the offense.
Hansen used to play quarterback on the Mountaineers' junior varsity team, but had been catching passes since moving up to varsity.
"I've told him that since he's a freshman, it doesn't matter where we play him. He's playing free safety. He's playing quarterback. He's playing tight end. He played linebacker last week. Those are the things that are fun to see. He's a gamer," Crompton said.
Hansen did connect on a few big pass plays, including a big pass to Hyatt on the first scoring drive for Tuscola.
Despite the injury that kept Hyatt out of his normal quarterback position, he didn't stay on the sidelines. Hyatt also hauled in an 18-yard touchdown on fourth and goal that essentially put the game on ice late.
Hyatt then came back on the next drive and grabbed the game-sealing interception, cast and all.
"He's doing exactly what he's coached to do every day," Crompton said of Hyatt. "You can't say enough about our kids. It's just how they are, and that's what I love. I just love being their coach."
Methodical offense
The Tuscola offense without Hyatt under center looked very different than normal. The Mountaineers have thrived with explosive plays all season, but County Clash night was about grinding out the win.
Tuscola ran 65 offensive plays compared to Pisgah's 22. That included a 15-play and 16-play drive for the Mountaineers, grinding down the Bears' defense, which began to tire by the end of the game.
"It's crucial, especially when the defense is the other team's offense," Crompton said. "That's high school football. That's how it works. And I thought it was great by our kids."
A lot of that was boosted by the rushing attack. Trantham finished the night with 208 rushing yards (6.1 yards per carry) and two rushing touchdowns.
Early confidence
From the moment Tuscola stepped off the bus, the Mountaineers weren't intimidated by the road atmosphere, Crompton said.
"They're walking through, and I'm giving them a high five, and you could see the look and the grin," Crompton said. "Our kids play better when they're confident."
A lot of that confidence came from the team's group of senior leaders — a group that Crompton gave a lot of credit for the win.
"When you've got the senior leadership and the team we've got, it ain't stressful on me at all," Crompton said. "Selfishly, this season better not end because I don't want this senior class to leave."
The road forward
Both teams will have two weeks to prepare for their next game, with both Pisgah and Tuscola being on a bye next week.
"It's important to have the bye week after this game, just from an emotional standpoint to recharge," Brindley said.
It'll also provide an opportunity for both teams to rest up before the final stretch of the regular season and playoffs.
"Our conference is brutal. It is physical, tough, freaking football every week. So it's great to have a bye week," Crompton said.
The win moves Tuscola's record to 7-1, with a 4-1 Mountain 8 record. The Mountaineers are tied with Smoky Mountain for second in the conference, but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
It also keeps Tuscola sitting at No. 2 in the NCHSAA's 4A RPI rankings. The highest 48 ranked teams in 4A are selected to the playoffs and then split by location into an east and west bracket. West Iredell (7-0) currently holds the No. 1 overall ranking and would likely fall onto the western side of the bracket with Tuscola.
For Pisgah, the Bears drop to 4-4, with a 2-3 conference record. The Bears sit in fourth in the Mountain 8 — right behind Smoky and Tuscola and tied with North Henderson, who beat Pisgah in a head-to-head match.
The Bears take a slight slip in the RPI rankings, sliding from No. 11 to No. 15. That still puts the Bears in a position to host a playoff game and potentially sneak into a first-round bye.
"This team's got a lot left to play for, and this team's got the ability to make a run," Brindley said.
The coach compared it to last season's double-overtime loss to Brevard. At the time, Brevard was sitting atop the 4A rankings. The narrow loss proved to the team they belonged, and the Bears ended up making a deep playoff run.
"If we can play with that bunch last night, and it can be 0-0 at halftime essentially, then we can play with anybody in the western portion of the state," Brindley said.
After the bye, the teams will finish up the season with two games each — and an inverse schedule of one another. Tuscola travels to Brevard on Oct. 23 before hosting East Henderson on Oct. 30. Pisgah travels to East Henderson on Oct. 23 and hosts Brevard the following weekend.
Pisgah and Tuscola should be expecting to win in their remaining two games of the season and head into the playoffs with a lot of momentum.