Swain advanced to the second round of the playoffs by virtue of a 30-7 win over a depleted Hendersonville team playing without the services of its starting quarterback and defensive stalwart following their arrest earlier in the day.
Scouting the Maroon Devils:
The Swain County Maroon Devils are led by head coach Sam Pattillo and finished in second place in 2010 as members of the Smoky Mountain Conference. The Maroon Devils entered this season coming off an impressive 9-4 record in 2009 and trip to the second round of last year’s state playoffs.
Offensively, Swain relies on multiple formations to move the football downfield, including a split-back veer option attack as well as an I-formation among others.
On the defensive side of the football, the Maroon Devils utilize a base 4-3 defensive scheme, but will alternate to a three-man defensive front when in likely passing or long-yardage situations.
Swain predominantly runs the football on offense with three backs that are capable of big statistical performances. Calling the signals for the Maroon Devils is dual-threat quarterback Colby Hyatt. The junior has enjoyed a strong season with 797 passing yards, 672 rushing yards and 21 combined touchdowns.
In the backfield Swain relies on a corps of backs, including Hyatt, Josue Otero (127 attempts, 654 rushing yards, 9 touchdowns) and Austin Shuler (472 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns). When the Maroon Devils throw the football, Hyatt’s go-to receiver this season has been sophomore wideout Matthew Maennle, who has caught 22 passes for 531 yards and 8 touchdowns. Also seeing time at wide receiver has been Greg Tisho, who has caught eight passes for 184 yards and four touchdowns.
The Low Down:
For the Vikings to advance to round three of the state playoffs, defensive discipline is a must. The Maroon Devils run a patient offense that prides itself in running its plays precisely and capitalizing on defensive assignment mistakes.
Avery for the most part during the season has played running teams with a decent measure of success. The Vikings did surrender 246 rushing yards in last week’s win over Bessemer City, although it took the Yellow Jackets 44 attempts to do so.
In most of Swain’s games in 2010, the team has played as well as its quarterback has been able to carry it. Hyatt is the centerpiece of the offense and is talented enough throwing the football that the Vikings must respect his arm as well as his legs and option-executing abilities.
Avery won last week’s game without the services of starting quarterback Alex Villanueva, as senior Dustin Childress again filled in admirably for his fourth victory calling signals behind center.
Viking fans are hopeful that the extra week of rest will prove to be enough for the junior to rejoin his teammates on the MacDonald Stadium turf this week. Avery will need the quarterback now as much as at any point this season, as Childress suffered a broken scapula last weekend in a motorcycle accident and is now out for the remainder of the playoffs. Sophomore Lane Smith has moved up the depth chart and will start if Villanueva is unable to go this week.
The Avery offense has been bolstered by the running of senior Colton Blackburn, who has six 100-yard rushing games, including 268 yards in Avery’s last two wins.
Swain County handed the Vikings a 15-8 loss the last time the two teams met on the gridiron back in the opening round of the 2007 1-AA state playoffs. The Maroon Devils can also rely on experience against the Western Highlands Conference this season, as the club played and defeated Mitchell in the first game of the regular season.
Swain took advantage of a number of turnovers to defeat Hendersonville last week. If Avery is able to continue taking care of the football as it has the previous two weeks, the Vikings have a good chance to punch its first ticket to the third round of the playoffs since the year 2005.
By the Numbers:4 – Avery players with at least 50 rushing yards in last week’s 42-20 win over Bessemer City (Colton Blackburn, Spencer Blackburn, Taylor Potter, Hunter Shields)
5 – number of touchdowns in Avery’s five trips inside the red zone during last week’s opening round win over the Yellow Jackets.
7 – number of state 1A championship won by the Swain County Maroon Devils (most recent championship in 2004)
19- combined number of pass attempts by Avery and Swain in their first round playoff games (compared to 95 rushing attempts between the schools)
28- unanswered points scored by Avery to open last Friday’s playoff win against Bessemer City.
80- minutes last week’s Hendersonville/Swain playoff football game was delayed due to a power outage at the stadium in Bryson City.
184- team rushing yards gained by Swain in its 30-7 win over Hendersonville last week.
1,014 – rushing yards gained in 2010 by Avery running back Colton Blackburn in 10 games (did not play in games this season against Cloudland nor Thomas Jefferson)
Read next week’s edition of The Avery Journal-Times for a full recap of this week’s game against Swain, as well as a preview (if necessary) of next week’s playoff opponent.
Follow the Viking football playoff run online at The Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog by clicking to: http://www.ajtsports.blogspot.com/
