By Gary Corsair
Staff Writer
There's no way to sugar coat this, Mount Airy is scary.
The team that hosts Hayesville Friday night in the third-round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association is 11-1, seeded fourth in the western division of Class 1-A and incinerated North Rowan 57-7 in the second round.
North Rowan was no slouch. The Cavs averaged 37.3 points and 300+ yards per game entering the game with Mount Airy.
Wait, there's more.
The Granite Bears have scored 50 or more points seven times this year, rushed for more than 400 yards in four games, and reached double-digits 45 consecutive games.
Mount Airy's 639 points are the fifth-highest total in school history.
The Granite Bears are probably the best football opponent Hayesville has ever faced.
Mount Airy's high-octane offense is led by Junior Tyler Mason, who leads the state (all classes) with an average of 14 yards per carry and tops Class 1-A with 34 touchdowns. Mason ran for four touchdowns last week.
"They're a very good team," Hayesville Coach Chad McClure said. "They've had a lot of running clock games in the first half this year."
In North Carolina, the clock runs continuously in the second half when one team goes ahead by 42 points or more.
It goes without saying that Mount Airy poses a seemingly insurmountable test.
Then again, the Granite Bears can be beat. East Surry (now 12-0) humbled Mount Airy, 14-12, in the second game of the season.
Hayesville is playing its best football of the year. The Black-and-Gold are also playing with intelligence and heart. Mount Airy would be silly to overlook the Yellow Jackets.
It's playoff time, anything can happen. Right, coach?
"All I know is that there are 16 Class 1-A teams practicing this week and we're blessed to be one of them," McClure said Monday.