Warhorses and Lions square off for the love of the Swannanoa Valley
Owen to host ACA in first meeting between football programs
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 25, 2024
Owen High School will host Asheville Christian Academy, Nov. 5, as the Swannanoa Valley football programs meet for the first time. The event will allow both schools to celebrate Senior Night in the community. Photo by Fred McCormick
Sometimes a game is much more than a simple contest between opposing teams. Under the right conditions, athletes can unite a community through their ability to overcome personal challenges and persevere in the face of extreme adversity.
Nearly four weeks ago, it seemed unlikely that the football teams from Owen High School and Asheville Christian Academy would take the field again this fall, following a devastating natural disaster that left a path of destruction in its wake. But, when the programs face off for the first time at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 5, the newly announced contest will be for the love of the Swannanoa Valley.
Only 3.6 miles of road, much of which was under water as Tropical Storm Helene pummeled the area, Sept. 27, separates the two campuses, with Owen perched high above the west side of Black Mountain and ACA along the Swannanoa River in the neighboring community.
Owen, named after Charles D. Owen, Jr., who moved his family’s blanket manufacturing company to Swannanoa in 1933, has been the Swannanoa Valley’s public school since its formation in 1955. ACA, a Gospel-centered private school established nearly seven decades ago, moved to its 60-acre home in Swannanoa in 2003.
While teams from the schools have competed occasionally over the years, they have not met on the gridiron since ACA launched its football program in 2021.
The football season for the Lions, who were 2-1 before the storm, seemed over, according to head coach Rusty Bradley, whose team was sidelined for 17 days, after Helene left much of the school’s campus under water. While ACA continues to assess the scope of the damage, Bradley and his team returned to practice, Oct. 14.
“When I first saw pictures of the campus, I was afraid our season was done,” he said. “Once things started to sink in, I knew we had to give these kids some sense of normalcy. Whatever we have to do to give our student-athletes a chance to take their mind off everything, even if it’s just for a couple of hours a day, we need to do it.”
The Lions, however, had resigned themselves to finishing up the season on the road, where the team would play in Huntersville and Charlotte.
“I didn’t think we would be back in the Swannanoa Valley,” said senior wide receiver and cornerback Zamarian James, who leads ACA with 8 touchdown receptions, with 569 receiving yards through four games. “That was hard, because it’s like one day you’re looking forward to your last home game, then you realize you won’t be having one.”
ACA quarterback Avery Hollifield throws a pass at practice, Oct. 24. The Lions will return to the Swannanoa Valley, Nov. 5, when they play at Owen for the first time in program history. Photo by Fred McCormick
The Owen campus suffered only minimal damage from the storm, but the property is one of thousands in Buncombe County without potable water, 28 days later. The Warhorses, like their crosstown counterparts, were set to play the remainder of the 2024 campaign on the road, against Western Highlands Conference opponents, Mitchell, Rosman and Madison.
As families across the Valley were left demoralized in the aftermath of an unimaginable tragedy, an unceremonious end to the season was hard to accept for Owen Middle School head football coach and OHS Buncombe County School Resource Officer Matthew Owenby and fellow football coach and Senior Army Instructor for the high school’s JROTC program, retired Major Brook King.
“We were out here talking about how tough it would be for our seniors to not have a last home game, and Brook said this was something our kids and community needed as part of the healing process,” Owenby said. “Then he mentioned how tough the situation was for ACA athletes, and casually suggested we host them for a senior night for the whole Swannanoa Valley.”
Owenby immediately began contacting people from both schools.
“I knew this was something we could, and should do,” he said. “All of these kids work so hard for moments like this, and it didn’t seem fair to let this already traumatic event take that away from them.”
Warhorse head football coach John Faircloth did not need to be convinced.
“Honestly, I wasn’t really happy when our conference scheduled us to be on the road for three straight games,” he said. “My biggest concern was doing right by my seniors and my team, and making sure this community had the chance to recognize these young men and women who dedicate themselves to football, cheerleading and band.”
Owen head coach John Faircloth prepares his team for their Oct. 26 matchup against Mitchell. The team will play three conference games on the road before returning to Warhorse Stadium, Nov. 5, to host the ACA Lions. Photo by Fred McCormick
Owen football’s leadership council was on the same page, according to the coach.
“A lot of these players are friends with guys on the ACA team, so scheduling this game would be a unique opportunity for them,” Faircloth said. “And, most importantly, it allows both of these schools to stand here in the center of their community one more time and play in front of their families and loved ones.”
Most people in the Swannanoa Valley were not thinking about football, as the floodwaters receded to reveal widespread destruction. However, as Warhorse senior offensive and defensive lineman Austin Anderson walked from Fletcher to east Asheville in the days after the storm, he reflected on what might have been his last game in an Owen uniform.
“I was stuck in Fletcher, and I had no transportation and couldn’t make phone calls, so I had to walk back,” he said. “It was emotional, because I didn’t really know what I was coming back to, and I kept thinking about my teammates. We’re like a family, so the thought that we weren’t going to be together finishing out this season was definitely on my mind.”
Anderson’s teammate, Rio Obispo, needed to get back on the field after his family’s harrowing ordeal. The junior offensive and defensive lineman had spent the night of the storm with his teammate, Hayden Burpeau.
“I woke up that Friday to call my family and check on them, and I found out they evacuated because water started flooding the house,” Obispo said. “They were able to make it out, but our house was flooded. I’ve been at Burpeau’s since then.”
Even as uncertainty and instability loomed, Obispo longed to be around his teammates.
“I know it might sound crazy, but I couldn’t stop thinking about football,” he said. “I really love this sport, and my teammates are like my brothers. I don’t know what I would do without it. because, to be honest, it’s kind of the only thing I can count on right now.”
That sentiment resonates with Lions’ running back and leading receiver Jack Holmes.
The Lions practice in Asheville, after Tropical Storm Helene did extensive damage to their Swannanoa campus. The team will face Owen, Nov. 5, as both programs celebrate senior athletes in front of the local community. Photo by Fred McCormick
“Nothing has been normal since the storm,” he said, as the Lions practice at the Carolina Day School Athletic Complex in Asheville. “Just a few weeks ago we were building momentum, excited about being on our field and looking forward to the rest of the season. Now, we don’t know when we’re going to play in Swannanoa again.”
The junior knew one thing for sure when he called James, as ACA players waited to learn what the future would hold.
“He told me he was ready to get back to work,” James said. “We all just needed to be back out on the field again.”
The Lions are eager to play their neighboring school in the Swannanoa Valley, according to the coach.
“This isn’t just a game, it’s about doing something for this community,” Bradley said. “Bringing these two schools, both of which have been dramatically impacted by this situation, together like this is bigger than football.”
The matchup, which will feature a special pre-game Senior Night ceremony for athletes from both schools, will be a “celebration of the Valley,” according to Owenby.
“We want everybody to come out and show the world how resilient this community is,” he said. “These kids, coaches, teachers, families and everyone deserve a night to come together and do something that this place has been doing for a long time.”
The event will feature a fundraising campaign supporting 828Strong, a disaster relief fund launched by Biltmore Church, which works to ensure that individuals or organizations donate 100% of proceeds to local efforts.
“People need this game,” Obispo said, reflecting on the impact of the storm. “It’s been so hard for so many people, but this community is strong. I feel like it’s important that we’re all supporting each other however we can.”
The first meeting between the teams, in the aftermath of a devastating tragedy, offers a glimpse of hope in trying times, according to Bradley.
“I’m going to tell my players to go out there and soak it all in,” he said. “It’s a blessing to have this opportunity, and we shouldn’t take it for granted, because now we realize what we had, we can lose in a second.
“I want these guys to appreciate what they have right now,” he continued. “Go out there and enjoy what they love with the people they love.”