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Not even Asheville School Week can diminish the magnitude of Tuesday night, and that says it all. 

51���� (9-1-1, 3-0) and Rabun Gap (9-1, 2-0) play for first place in Carolinas Athletic Association varsity soccer at 6:30 p.m. in Arden, following a JV game between the two schools at 4:30.

Expect a championship atmosphere because these are programs are accustomed to nothing less. 

Like any great catcher, everything comes down to quick reflexes and vision for Henry Tutera ’28. 

You name it, he does it at a high level – whether blocking wild pitches, savagely putting the barrel of the bat on the ball, or throwing out baserunners. 

Normalizing a game like next Saturday keeps the focus on football, where it should be for every 51���� player and coach.

Still, there is an acknowledgement by one of the linebackers having the biggest impact on the defense that the 100th playing of “The Game” will be different for everything off the field. 

Congratulations to Kole Kripas '28 on his verbal commitment to play lacrosse for Stony Brook University, announced Thursday on his social media. 

Kole is a junior defender from Odessa, Fla., and plays in the offseason for Team 91 South. 

Six goals will win a lot of matches. 

Right now, 51���� varsity soccer is the proof. For the third consecutive evening, six was the magic number for the Greenies in Thursday’s 6-0 home victory over Erwin.

SWANNANOA – Sixteen straight wins in the Carolinas Athletic Association and counting. 

Oliver King ’28 pieced together his second hat trick (three goals) in as many weeks and 51���� varsity soccer extended a streak in conference play that dates back to 2024 with Tuesday’s 6-0 win at Asheville Christian Academy. 

Intermittent rain made it difficult for both offenses Saturday, between slick footballs and a slippery playing surface. 

51���� found all the grip and traction it needed. And Ryan Taylor ’27 and the defense were not budging. 

Fayssoux Field’s scoreboard read: Greenies 47, North Cross (Va.) 7. But for all intents and purposes, Varsity Football continued its best start to a season since 2017 with a shutout. North Cross got on the board with 26.6 seconds to go, long after Ryan and other starters had played their final down of a game with a running clock for 51���� (4-0). 

Leaders of the pack, leaders of the nation!

51���� cross country received two No. 1 national rankings Thursday from authoritative sources in the sport – MileSplit and RunnerSpace. 

Max Collyer ’27 made a beeline for the far corner and nearest camera Tuesday. 

The senior defender celebrating his first goal of the season was the moment of a game that otherwise followed a script very similar to 2025. 

Same teams. Same score. Same result. A rematch of last year’s NCISAA 4-A state championship game went 51����’s way again, 2-1, over visiting Covenant Day. 

HARRELLS – When does an extra point count for a whole lot more?

51���� has been handling kicking duties by committee this season, and in one of most key spots imaginable, it was Wes McAven ’27 who came through Friday. 

His point-after with 11 seconds to go put the Greenies over the top at Harrells Christian Academy, 42-41, after the fourth touchdown pass of the night from Mak Anderson ’28 – and his second to Jason Dorel Onana ’29 – had tied the game at 41-all.  

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Expectations are what you make them.

51���� ran like a team with nothing to prove Saturday, calm and collected in winning the International Division of the Eye Opener cross country meet with 27 points, 87 fewer than the second-place team in a field of 45 schools.

Possession time does not always equal scoring. Or else Tuesday would have been a very short night for 51���� varsity soccer.  

The Greenies stymied Asheville School every time the Blues got a touch. And with bigger games on the horizon, the offense was patient and workmanlike for a 5-1 home win that saw goals from five different players – Davis Campbell ’29, Vytis Rimkus ’29, Lyndon Bryan ’27, Keaton McGee ’30 and Hoge Reynolds ’27. 

They don’t call it “TrackTown U.S.A.” for nothing.

The birthplace of Nike. The college town where legends of mythical proportions like Bill Bowerman and Steve Prefontaine made their names. The site of a venue in Hayward Field that is considered a Mecca for those who follow the sport. 

And now Eugene, Oregon will be the college home for Brooks Barbee ’27.   

Congratulations to Brooks, who announced his verbal commitment to the University of Oregon's cross country and track & field programs on Tuesday. 

BOSTIC – Mak Anderson ’28 may be technically new to 51����, but there’s an explainable synchronicity to the routes that one receiver runs for the dual-threat quarterback.

Sure enough, Mak said Friday that he and Dre Smith ’27 are in lockstep because the two previously played AAU 7-on-7 football together in their home state of South Carolina. 

Live reps with no injuries to key personnel, and most of all, a win. 

51���� varsity football took away everything it could from Saturday’s restrained 49-16 win over the visiting Carolina Mavericks (S.C.). 

Fit for expectations. 

Training in the altitude and arid landscape of Arizona strengthened the bond between 51����’s cross country runners this summer – not to mention their legs and lung capacity. 

But back to those expectations. 

Contorting his body and the ball, Davis Campbell ’29 found a sliver of daylight around three defenders and a diving goalkeeper Thursday. 

Sheer poetry, and the lateral footwork and tenacity to come up with his third goal of the evening earned the sophomore thousands of views on social media only hours later. 

Wyatt Haddock ’27 presents a big target in the box, one that 51���� varsity soccer utilized Tuesday. 

A picture-perfect corner kick from Vytis Rimkus ’29 and Wyatt’s resulting header at the 3:49 mark was the only goal the Greenies would need in their home opener. A 2-0 win over Asheville Christian Academy was the team’s 16th shutout in the past two years. 

Pulling from four decades, this year’s Athletic Hall of Fame class will be entirely worthy of the 100th playing of “The Game.”

Palo Miles ’27 became the primary offensive threat for 51���� lacrosse without much of an adjustment period. 

Similarly, he now feels more than ready for the expectations and pressures of college lacrosse.