From Citizen-Times.com
By Andrew Pearson

All of Thanksgiving’s traditions are back once more — turkey, cranberry sauce and an Asheville High football game on “Black Friday.”

For the fifth time since 2001, a Cougars team coached by Danny Wilkins will play on the most hectic shopping day of the year, which happens to coincide with the NCHSAA 3-A quarterfinals.

Senior Rahkeem Morgan became the school’s career passing leader (2,800 yards) Friday with a 16-yard completion to Giovanni McKnight midway through the first half in addition to rushing for a team-high 147 yards. And junior tailback Greg Ray added 108 yards and touchdown runs of 3, 6 and 8 yards to give fourth-seeded Asheville a 24-0 win over No. 5 Statesville.

“Playing after (Thanksgiving) is the measuring stick for success,” Wilkins said. “It’s a tremendous honor, and we’re going to enjoy practicing on turkey day. Tonight was just a solid all-around effort. We beat a good team tonight.”

Asheville advances to face top-seeded Winston-Salem Carver (12-1). The three-time Mountain Athletic Conference champion Cougars lost to Concord, 21-13, in the second round of the 2006 playoffs, breaking a string of four straight 3-A Western Regional championship game appearances.

But a quick start and strong collective effort from Asheville offensive linemen Kendrick Whiteside, Jon Bolanos, Phillip Lamy, Isaiah Harper, Tyequan Finley and Chris Conley guaranteed that this season wouldn’t end in similar fashion against Statesville (9-4).

The Cougars front allowed Morgan and Ray to gash a porous Greyhounds defense, and Asheville scored touchdowns on its first three possessions. After the Cougars took their opening drive 68 yards, junior Clint Cogburn recovered a Statesville fumble on the ensuing kickoff.

“Morgan is an outstanding player, and he had an outstanding game,” Greyhounds coach Randall Gusler said. “He did everything he needed to do.”

Ray’s third touchdown gave Asheville (10-2) a 21-0 advantage with 8:30 remaining in the second quarter.

One of Morgan’s four first-half attempts, a dump-out in the flats to McKnight, turned into a much bigger gain, allowing Morgan to overtake the Cougars’ former all-time passing leader Judd Herring (2,760). Herring set the record during the 1988, 1989 and 1990 seasons.

“It’s an honor, but it’s not something I’ve thought about that much at all,” Morgan said. “I’d rather get to a state championship game more than any record. I could have never done it without my line blocking and my teammates making catches.”

Morgan tweaked his right ankle while playing cornerback in the fourth quarter but did return to the game. McKnight could be lost for the season, though. Asheville trainers believe the junior, who caught a career-high three touchdown passes from Morgan on Nov. 9, injured his medial collateral ligament Friday in the first half.

In two years as the Cougars’ full-time varsity starter, Morgan has guided them to a 18-6 record. Morgan said earlier this week that Lenoir-Rhyne and North Carolina A&T have joined Marshall by offering him a college scholarship. Buffalo and Gardner-Webb also informed Wilkins this week that they will tender offers.

Senior Reed Turchi’s

21-yard field goal provided Asheville’s final score in the fourth quarter.