November 28, 2008 - By Romando Dixson - Asheville Citizen-Times 
South Point defense stifles Asheville
An Asheville High offense that does not generate big plays struggles to win.  And Friday, the sixth-seeded Cougars couldn't even score against second-seeded South Point.  The Red Raiders held Asheville in check at Lineberger Stadium and notched a 28-0 home victory in the third round of the NCHSAA 3-A football playoffs.

The Red Raiders (13-1), utilizing a triple-option offense, converted three Asheville turnovers into 21 points and tallied all of their touchdowns in the second half.

“To get ready for an offense like that in four days, our defense did a phenomenal job, I thought,” Asheville coach Danny Wilkins said. “Offensively, we didn't hold our end of the bargain.”

The Red Raiders limited the Cougars (9-4) to 173 yards of offense — 138 yards below their season average. Asheville held South Point 125 yards below its season average, but the Red Raiders still managed 285 yards offensively, 221 on the ground.

South Point quarterback Desmond Lowery rushed for 151 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries.

“I thought our kids' effort was there all night long,” Wilkins said. “I thought we played very hard against a very tough team, and we certainly earned their respect here tonight with the way we played.”

Asheville, which entered the matchup averaging 27 points per game, ended the season with a 1-4 record when it scored 14 points or fewer. But this was the first time the Cougars were shut out.

“That's a testament to the quickness and speed that we possess,” South Point coach John Devine said. “And we were fortunate. They missed a couple of people early.”

South Point averaged 40 points in its first 13 games, but the teams played to a scoreless tie in the first half. It was the first time the Raiders had been held scoreless in the first half all year.

But South Point scored on its first drive of the second half, aided by three Asheville penalties totaling 25 yards. Lowery, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior, capped the 80-yard drive with a 17-yard run.

Asheville turned the ball over on its next drive, and Lowery capitalized with a 30-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds left in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, he added scores of 1 and 10 yards.

Once the Cougars became one-dimensional — because of the score and time remaining — it was essentially over.

“They just came at us every time,” Asheville junior quarterback Brandon Whiteside said of South Point's defense. “They gave 100 percent on every single play. They rushed and the ends got pressure on us a whole lot.

“Our defense played great. We just didn't make enough plays to keep us in the game.”