Colton Blackburn ran for 144 yards on 18 carries and scored a pair of first half touchdowns, while Spencer gained 54 yards on 7 carries to help pace the Big Red as they kept Bessemer at bay.
Avery scored four touchdowns in the game's first 17 minutes to race out to a 21-0 margin that Bessemer City could not overcome. The Yellow Jackets would get as close as 35-20 with 10:40 left in the fourth quarter, but Avery recovered an onside kick and marched 56 yards on a 9-play, back-breaking drive that was capped by Spencer Blackburn's second score, a 9-yard jaunt to put the game away.
The Viking defense forced four turnovers while the offense rushed for 318 yards on 44 attempts. Jhalen Adams paced Bessemer City with 125 yards on 23 carries and scored three rushing touchdowns.
Avery will host Swain County from the Smoky Mountain Conference in round two of the playoffs next Friday night. The Maroon Devils (7-4) defeated a depleted Hendersonville Bearcats team 30-7 in Bryson City Friday night in a game that featured a power outage that delayed the contest for nearly an hour and a half during the first half. Swain ventured to Newland and defeated the Vikings 15-8 in the last meeting on the gridiron between the teams, played in the first round of the 2007 football playoffs.
Other high school football playoff scores involving Western Highlands Conference teams from Friday night:
East Lincoln 19, Mountain Heritage 33
Owen 28, Newton-Conover 25
Maiden 21, Polk County 52
Mitchell 49, Cherryville 27
Hendersonville 7, Swain County 30
