Gary Ayers
ayers5315@bellsouth.net
After an exciting and successful 2023 Maroon Devil football season that ended with an 11-2 record and a second-place finish in the toughest 1-A conference in North Carolina, Swain fans are hungry for the start of the 2024 season. The wait is just about over, as the Maroon Devils will get the season rolling this Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with a scrimmage at Asheville High, a Cougar team noted for speed at the skill positions.
Another team of Cougars will come to Swain Memorial Stadium the following week on Friday, Aug. 16. Mountain Heritage, possibly the best team Swain will face this regular season, will scrimmage the Devils at 7 p.m. Could these two teams meet again in the state 1-A playoffs? Both Swain and Mountain Heritage have that capability and playoff tradition.
Following a tough five-game non-conference schedule with Charlotte Country Day, Smoky Mountain, Franklin, Tuscola and Madison, the Maroon Machine will face five always competitive conference teams in a row with Andrews, Hayesville, Murphy, Cherokee and a much-anticipated game as Robbinsville visits Swain Nov. 1 to wrap up the regular season.
The only losses for Swain last year were to the Black Knights, once in the regular season and again in the third round of the playoffs, both at Big Oaks Stadium at Robbinsville.
This years' edition of Maroon Devil football will see several new faces running, catching and throwing the pigskin.
Head Coach Sherman Holt hit the nail squarely on the head when he said, "We will have lots of turnover in the stat column this year."
Gone are RB/LB Josh Collins, WR/RB/DB Josiah Glaspie and QB/DB Reese Winchester. Collins, now playing at WCU, rushed for 1,743 yards with 17 touchdowns while also leading the defense with 71 tackles. Glaspie, now playing at Mars Hill, rushed for 604 yards, with 27 tackles and 3 interceptions. Winchester threw for 617 yards and 8 TD's with 16 tackles on defense.
"These guys had a lot of explosive plays last year with Josh and Joe breaking tackles and sometimes just out-running defenders. This year, with our new backfield, we're gonna have to rely on the group up front as our offensive line will be big to our success," Holt said.
Experience and talent is back at the line of scrimmage with All-WNC linemen Nse Uffort and Grady Lewis joined by "LD" Leland Lequire, Drew Scaggs, Trent Jones (TE), Andreas Cisneros, Noah Brown, and Ayden Smiley.
At those all-important skill positions, Druw Cody is the leader at QB with junior Jon Stephenson also working hard for playing time.
"Druw has worked hard in the off-season, and both Druw and Jon have had a lot of reps and film study,” Holt said. “Druw and Jon lead by example and both guys are battling hard.”
Filling the shoes of Collins and Glaspie at the running back spot, Zeke Glaspie, younger brother of Josiah, will lead the way as he returns with running and receiving experience. Kaden Sawyer will join Glaspie at the running back spot.
In the two-back set, fullbacks Mason Cochran and Rocky Barker will join Glaspie and Sawyer.
The wide-receiver positions will be manned by Keyanthae Graham and Corey Stillwell, both capable of big plays as Stillwell had a 74-yard scoring play and Graham scored 6 TD's with a 45-yard score in 2023. Both players hauled in double-digit pass receptions last season. James Arch will also be a key target for the Swain passing game. Cameron George and Chaignon Robinson will add depth at wide receiver.
Brendan Lanning will be returning to handle kick-off duties and will also add punting to his chores this season.
Over on the defensive side of the ball, the defensive line will return outstanding play from Uffort, Lequire, Lewis, Scaggs with sophomore back-ups working for playing time. Reserve linemen Henry Arch, Houston Hornbuckle, Bruce Robertson, and junior Hunter Williamson will provide depth on the defensive and offensive fronts. Sophomores Marcus Fisher, Noah Lossiah, and Obidiah Darnell will add depth at tight end and linebacker.
Linebacker spots will be held down by Skeet Cook, Mason Cochran, Trent Jones and Colton Watkins. The secondary positions will see Druw Cody, Keyantahe Graham, Zeke Glaspie, Corey Stillwell and Sylas Stanberry.
"We want to rest Druw on defense when we can, so Sylas will see action at corner and safety," Holt said.
Holt had high praise for the work during the off-season in the weight room by this years' Maroon Devils.
"Games are won on Friday night, but work in the off-season correlates to on-field performance. Getting bigger, stronger and faster builds confidence,” he said. “This is important to our identity because we want to play tough and with a physical mentality."
That work paid off last season.
"Our work in the off-season showed up in several games as we sometimes struggled in the first half but came out and had strong second-half play, especially in the fourth quarter with Franklin, Hayesville and Smoky Mountain,” he said. “We always want to take care of the football and play good defense. "
Following a successful football camp and First Down dinner last week, Holt praised his assistants for getting this team ready for the season. "I'm blessed with good assistants at every position group on this team,” he said.
When asked about the team identity at this point in the season, Holt said "Our locker room might be a little bit less vocal than in the past, but our seniors and younger kids are stepping up leadership-wise. They want to show up and play this year. Athletics mean a lot to our kids, not just football, but every sport. Swain is a special place with great tradition, and we are all proud of that."
Long-time fans of the current Smoky Mountain 1-A Conference might want to enjoy this year for another reason. The NCHSAA will start realignment for the 2025 season expanding from 4 classifications to 8.
For football purposes, there will be 24-32 teams in the 8A playoff class, 32 teams for playoff purposes in the 2A-7A class and possibly only 16 teams in the 1A class.
Swain and Murphy, and possibly others in the SMC could be classified as 2A for playoff purposes with the hopes of keeping the current league intact for geographic reasons. Great rivalries exist in the SMC and the NCHSAA would be wise to continue these.