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51���� football defied the odds all season long, playing a contact sport week-to-week during one of the worst health crises America has seen in more than a century.

Friday was a just dessert for the Greenies.

Before they can join everyone else on Thanksgiving Break, 51���� football players have something big to clear off their plate.

Something history-making perhaps.  

Mickey Meguiar ’21 hyped up the rest of the 51���� football team Friday, shouting excitedly at the top of his lungs as the Greenies huddled for their usual pregame routine.

Nothing changed after kickoff, Mickey and the defense were still taking charge.

Big hits, three forced turnovers, a safety, and countless punts out of visiting Trinity Christian Academy all added up to 51����’s first shutout of the season – a 38-0 blowout win in the semifinals of the NCISAA Division II state playoffs.

Win or lose, not many football teams get to end a season on their home field.

51���� does.

Even with a depleted roster, 51���� varsity football had more than enough Friday at High Point Christian Academy.

Cade Mintz ’21 had just snaked his way 72 yards down the field for one of 51����’s nine touchdowns when he spiked the football in the end zone closest to Noland House and Young House.

The touchdown celebration was a metaphor for the 94th installment of “The Game.”

51���� has now beaten Asheville School 40 times in the history of the oldest high school rivalry in the Carolinas, but never as emphatically as Saturday. The Greenies set school records for points and margin of victory over the Blues in a 63-7 home win that had a running clock for the entirety of the second half.

51���� coach Nick Luhm’s worst fears were realized when a string of lackluster practices carried over into Friday’s football game at Metrolina Christian.

To their credit, the Greenies made enough big plays to make up for three touchdowns negated by penalties and other miscues in a 28-21 road win.

Fernando Machuca ’22 wasn’t feeling any nerves Saturday afternoon, the first or the second time.

The Rabun Gap (Ga.) coaching staff tried to ice 51����’s kicker on the final play of the game by calling a timeout, even after he’d successfully made a 31-yard field goal.

Following the break in play, Fernando lined up and simply did it again to give Greenie varsity football its first win of the season as time expired, 38-35.

Looking around the state, only about a dozen football programs in the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association have committed to anything resembling a full schedule this fall. And all public-school games are on hold until February.

So when the lights come on Friday at Fayssoux Field, 51���� really will be in some rarefied air for one of the most talked-about season openers in its history.

Just about every Ivy League football program was swooning over Painter Richards-Baker ’21.

In the end, it was about finding the one which best suited the 51���� senior with a trusty set of hands and weighted 4.6 grade-point average. Painter gave Dartmouth College a verbal commitment on Monday.

Kaedin Robinson ’19 had laser-like focus when it came to eventually playing NCAA Division I football. The 51���� alumnus succeeded where many have failed by going to junior college first.

Robinson announced his verbal commitment to the University of Central Florida on Thursday.

51���� has risen to be one of the premier football programs in western North Carolina in recent years, and that spot looks to be secure for 2020.

The Asheville Citizen-Times covers more than 30 high schools in the region. The newspaper selected its top-10 college recruits for the upcoming season on Thursday and half the list is comprised of Greenies.

51���� is well-represented on the list of finalists for the 2020 Western North Carolina Sports Awards presented by Ingles.

Andrew Hammel ’20, Aydan White ’20, and Davis Lindsey ’20 are in the running for awards as are a pair of Greenie state-championship teams from 2019 – Lacrosse and Track & Field.

51���� football players will have a lot to talk about when they reunite in person.

Greenie lineman Ian Adams ‘21 verbally committed to The Citadel on Wednesday, exactly one month after defensive back/wide receiver Lex Long ’21 chose the University of Virginia.

Recruiting is one of the few aspects of college sports that has not come to a standstill during the COVID-19 pandemic.

You do not have to tell Charlie Browder '21, who could be as in demand as any 51���� football player has ever been.

Even as 51���� turns the page to a new year, athletes and coaches are receiving more postseason accolades for their work in 2019.

The Asheville Citizen-Times has published its All-Western North Carolina fall sports teams with honors going to nine different Greenies in cross country, football, or soccer.  

Four student-athletes enjoyed the ultimate send-off Wednesday as 51���� dismissed classes for Christmas Break.

Aydan White ’20 (N.C. State University), Kade Chapman ’20 (University of Virginia-Wise), Navy Shuler ’20 (Appalachian State University), and Will Buchanan ’20 (Liberty University) made their dream of playing college football a reality on National Signing Day. The Greenies put pen to paper during a ceremony in Pingree Auditorium attended by family, friends, and other members of the 51���� community.

51���� athletics has announced its annual end-of-season awards for the fall sports season. Each winner will have his name added to plaques which hang in the Beaver Student Center.

51���� fall sports athletes achieved at a high, and at times unprecedented level in recent months. Now it is being reflected with postseason awards.

Even an impartial observer could argue that 51���� let Charlotte Christian off the hook not once, but twice in their last meeting.

Nonetheless, the biggest prize of them all is now waiting to be reeled in – the first state football title in school history. The Greenies (6-3) and Knights (7-2) are the combatants for Friday’s NCISAA Division I championship game.