Asheboro High goes to 5-0 with win over Eastern Randolph

RAMSEUR — Week after week this football season, Asheboro High School has exorcised its past demons. Failing to win close games, failing to beat its main county rivals, unable to run the football and late-game collapses have all marred previous campaigns for the Blue Comets.

But the Blue Comets defeated Randleman earlier this season, have run the ball with authority this year and won a thrilling overtime game over Rockingham County which proved it could withstand and answer a late-game run by the opposition. 

This past Friday night, another hurdle was cleared. 

The Blue Comets recorded a 20-13 win at Eastern Randolph High School, pushing their record to 5-0 for the first time since 2006 as they enter their bye week. The victory snapped a six-game losing streak to their county rivals, trimmed ER’s overall record in the series to 32-20-1 and marked the fewest points AHS has allowed ER in the rivalry since 2016 when AHS posted a 24-8 win.

“I told the guys after the game that everybody has been telling this Asheboro football program what they can’t do and we’re proving people wrong,” third-year head coach Calvin Brown said. “I think there were still doubters and this lets people know that we are different, we are a different team.

“Our goal when we first got here was to bring back the Asheboro of old. Back when we were good every year. We still have a ways to go, but when you win, you find ways to win and when you lose, you find ways to lose. I’m just so happy for our kids.”

AHS won six of the first seven games in the series, which began in 1969, with one tie during that span, meaning the WIldcats were 32-13 in the past 45 games against AHS entering this year’s battle.

Even though AHS was unblemished at 4-0 coming into the matchup and Eastern Randolph was 3-1, there were still doubts. The Wildcats had scored 283 points in the past six games of the series, an average of more than 47 points per contest. The AHS defense never let the Wildcats get close to that number Friday night.

“I’m sure they thought they could run on us and win the battle up front,” Brown said. “Our guys took that as a challenge and took pride in doing the exact opposite. I can’t say enough about what our defensive coaches are doing. Two weeks ago, they shut down (Randleman’s John) Kirkpatrick and the passing game and this week ER’s rushing game. We are playing so fast and attacking the football.”

A 51-yard scoring pass from ER’s Cade McCallum, who threw for 231 yards in the game, to Caden Revelle in the first quarter was answered by a Dallas Brinton to Garrison Cheek 7-yard scoring play in the second quarter, which left the teams tied at 7-7 at the break.

AHS took the second-half kickoff and drove 77 yards in 12 plays, getting a 12-yard run from Brinton and the PAT for a 14-7 lead.

Revelle hauled in a 22-yard TD toss from McCallum with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter, but the PAT was missed, allowing AHS to hold on to a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter.

A 48-yard scoring run by Connor Brinton on the second play of the ensuing drive pushed the lead to 20-13 with 2:09 to play. Brown elected to attempt to put the game away with a two-point conversion, but the run failed and ER had one final opportunity. The Wildcats drove to the AHS 40, but the Blue Comets stopped the Wildcats on a fourth-down play for the fourth time to seal the win.

“They are playing better defensively,” ER coach Burton Cates said after his team slipped to 3-2. “We had some difficulties with their fronts. I thought we were one block away from a big play. It’s frustrating. You have to give credit to Asheboro. It was a great high school football game. We probably should have thrown the ball a little more.”

For the Blue Comets, a magical season continues, and for now, the Blue Comets can enjoy a bye week after another impressive win.

“To see what these guys have put into it,” Brown said. “We have a lot of guys who have been unselfish. They don’t care who scores, they just want to win. That’s when you know you have the guys doing what you want them to do. That is special.”