CANTON, N.C. — Pisgah High School defeated Tuscola in the 2024 entry of County Clash, one of North Carolina’s most famed rivalries.

The Black Bears beat the Mountaineers by a score of 10-7 in front of an estimated 12,000 fans.

The win for Pisgah snapped a two-game winning streak that Tuscola had in the rivalry.

This year’s edition of the game was more unique than usual. After Pisgah’s Memorial Stadium was flooded and damaged by Hurricane Helene — just a couple of years after it was devastated by flooding from Tropical Storm Fred — the Black Bears had been unable to compete on the surface. Friday was their first game back at home post-Helene.

The town of Canton and Pisgah and communities put forth a full throttle effort to clean and repair the stadium in time to host their rivals.

It is the first time that the Clash has been played at Pisgah’s home since spring 2021. However, as anyone at Pisgah would tell you, this was the first true County Clash at Pisgah Memorial since 2018. The previous game occurred with crowd restrictions as a result of the pandemic. Both the fall 2021 and 2022 games were played at Tuscola’s C.E. Weatherby Stadium thanks to the first wave of flood damage that came from the waters carried in by Fred.

“Gosh, I don’t know if I have enough time to thank everyone,” Pisgah athletic director Heidi Morgan said as she reflected on the efforts that allowed this historic matchup to happen. “Everyone from Haywood County Schools maintenance to our superintendent Trevor Putnam, Mayor [Zeb] Smathers, AstroTurf. As soon as the flood came through, AstroTurf was here and they started cleaning.”

“It was for these kids, it was the biggest night of their lives. And they got the win,” Morgan added.

The rivalry win was an emotional feat for seniors that have seen home games taken, an exodus of jobs due the closure of the town’s top employer, and deaths and destruction from multiple natural disasters.

Beyond the overwhelming emotional scope of the victory, a smaller battle was won on behalf of Pisgah head coach Ricky Brindley. An alum of the school, Brindley is in his first year leading the program after being hired away from his head coaching position at Smoky Mountain High. Brindley had been an assistant for Pisgah through the 2018 season. As anyone who is from Canton and grew up with a role in this rivalry, Brindley does not like Tuscola.

“It was every bit as exciting as I remember,” Brindley said after the game, acknowledging it was an emotional one for him as well. “I honestly was trying to follow the advice that I give out kids which is to focus on the next play no matter what happens.”

Brindley thought there was more that Pisgah could’ve accomplished offensively, but he was ultimately pleased with the good things that they were able to accomplish.

Facing a third-and-long on the opening drive, Pisgah’s managed to pull off a 46-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Aaron Clark to Jake Lowery. That score, and a field goal from Dom Messer right before halftime, proved to be all the Bears needed.

Pisgah’s defense was phenomenal. The Black Bears shut out the Mountaineers’ offense. Pisgah forded multiple turnover on downs, one of which game from inside their own 10-yard line and another of which came in the final minute when the Mountaineers were driving with a chance to take a steal a victory. That turnover on downs came on a Lowery pass breakup while Tuscola attempted a short pass on fourth-and-three.

The only score that Tuscola was able to muster came when the Mountaineers ran a pick-six play against Pisgah’s quarterback Clark in the third quarter. Bo West of Tuscola, whose older brother Jed played under Pisgah coach Ricky Brindley at Smoky Mountain High, read the play signals from the Pisgah sideline and called out an incoming bubble screen. Gavin Langley heeded the warning and jumped the short route for a 48-yards interception return into the end zone.

In the second half, Pisgah’s savvy defensive backs intercepted Tuscola three times. Two were thrown by quarterback Jett Bartley to Matthew Mehaffey, and another came on a running back pass from Langley to Pisgah’s Mason Putnam. Mehaffey now has seven interceptions this season.

The win granted Pisgah a co-conference championship in the Mountain 7 Conference. They’ll share it with Smoky Mountain and West Henderson, which both finished 5-1 in conference play alongside Pisgah.

We’ll have to wait to see how the RPI tiebreaker will shake out for the three teams. The team with the best final RPI will receive the 1-seed out of the conference and a home playoff game in the 3A West.