Here's our first WNC football poll of the 2023 season. Reynolds is the No. 1 team
The 2023 high school football season is set to begin this week. Every team in Western North Carolina is playing with the exception of Asheville School.
That means it’s time for the Citizen Times and Times News first power rankings of WNC’s top 10 teams.
1. Reynolds
The Rockets finished No. 1 in last season’s power rankings and find themselves in a similar position to open 2023. Reynolds returns star running back Max Guest and quarterback Hayden Craig. Coach Shane Laws lost a lot of talent on defense but looked extremely strong in the team’s second scrimmage vs. Smoky Mountain with several interceptions. However, Reynolds needs Guest to return from a foot injury sooner rather than later.
2. Asheville High
The Cougars also return a lot of key players. Coach Cort Radford added new pieces like outside linebacker Brenton Handsford and former McDowell star running back Josh Ellis. Quarterback Meek Slydell is also in his second year of running the offense. Asheville High just needs to find some wideouts to help Slydell.
3. Roberson
The race for a Mountain Athletic Conference championship should be among Reynolds, Asheville High and Roberson. The Rams return the most players out of any team in the conference, led by quarterback Lex Dinwiddie and running backs Reno Jeter and Tyrin Credle. They also added Brevard running back PJ Deshauteurs. Coach J.D. Dinwiddie’s team dominated its scrimmages vs. Pisgah and Polk County.
4. Robbinsville
The Black Knights have one of the best backfields in Western North Carolina. They have quarterbacks Donovan Carpenter and Bryce Adams, and running backs Cuttler Adams, Kage Williams and Cherokee transfer Chase Calhoun. The expectations for Robbinsville are sky-high.
5. Asheville School
The Blues are the reigning NCISAA Division II state championship and are in a strong position to repeat. Coach Shawn Bryson returns star players in quarterback Ricky Tolbert, running back Caleb Jenkins, wide receiver Hayezon Tobe, safety Justin Rowe and defensive linemen Adam Kaminski and Nathan McMahon.
6. Christ School
The Greenies have lots of Power Five talent on their roster. The question is, can Christ School reach its ceiling? Coach Chad Walker has arguably the best defense in Western North Carolina, led by Alabama commit Cayden Jones, UNC commit Khalil Conley and Wake Forest commit Josh Harrison. However, the Greenies have to replace quite a bit on offense.
7. Murphy
The ceiling for the Bulldogs is also quite high. Hunter Stalcup, who led WNC in rushing last season, returns. Coach Joseph Watson has to replace quarterback Cole Laney and outside linebacker John Ledford, however.
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8. Hendersonville
The Bearcats have a younger team but return talented players like defensive end and wide receiver CJ Landrum and running back Hezzie Rudisill. Hendersonville coach Kirron Ward likely will rely on freshman JaRon Ward at quarterback.
9. Pisgah
The Bears are set to play their first home game in two seasons after their stadium was flooded by Tropical Storm Fred. That alone should be a major boost. Coach Brett Chappell also returns a ton of talent in quarterback Aaron Clark, safety and wide receiver Breydon Reynolds, wide receiver and cornerback Sawyer Belue and middle linebacker and running back Carter Browning. The Bears should be in the mix for a Mountain 7 conference title along with Tuscola and West Henderson.
10. Tuscola
The Mountaineers have a lot of questions but also a high ceiling, thanks to new coach Jonathan Crompton and quarterback Jed West. West transferred to Tuscola after spending the past three seasons with Smoky Mountain. He was one of the best quarterbacks in WNC last year.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Who's No. 1? See the first WNC football poll for the 2023 season
