D-B heads to explosive Asheville in battle of tradition-rich programs

No rest for the weary. Two weeks into 2026, Dobyns-Bennett's football team will have played two of the winningest football programs from both Tennessee and North Carolina. The Indians hope to leave the field with a more positive result this time, traveling to Asheville to face the tradition-rich Cougars — who won their 710th game in program history last week. D-B sits at 844 and appeared en route to No. 845 last week, only for Knox Central to rally with two touchdowns and a 2-point conversion in the final five minutes. "Kids will get over things a whole lot quicker than we coaches do. We came back, had corrections in film on Sunday, thought everyone took that in a good spirit," D-B coach Joey Christian said. "Did it suck? Yes. But in life, you've got to move on. I like the way we've handled that as a team so far." Friday's kickoff is set for 7 p.m., as D-B is set to make its fourth trip to Asheville, and first since the week before Hurricane Helene hit in 2024. When Asheville has the ball Don't be surprised to see junior quarterback Tay Williams throw deep, especially given the receiving corps around him. Two of his fellow junior wide receivers have garnered Division I attention under seventh-year head coach Cort Radford. Most notably, Kaydan Whiteside (5-11, 165) holds 22 Division I offers including Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Missouri, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Boston College, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse, West Virginia, Louisville and N.C. State among several others. Whiteside, who transferred back to Asheville in the offseason, clocked in at 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He caught three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown in the Cougars' 53-22 opening win at East Rutherford. Jams Skyes (6-1, 160), a junior offered by ETSU over the summer, had 97 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions. Williams finished the game 12-of-17 for 210 yards with four TDs and a pick. "He's as good of a quarterback as we'll see, and we saw a dang good one last week," Christian said. "Tay can run, but he doesn't look to. He'll have his eyes down the field and they'll throw it around the yard. From what I've seen on film, that's a good idea." Junior running back Clement Davidson (5-10, 175) ran for 136 yards and four scores of his own last week. Junior left tackle Brenton Miller (6-4, 275) holds a Power Four offer his own from Virginia Tech, in addition to multiple FCS programs. "We don't have tremendous depth on defense," Christian said. "I think we know who our best 14 players are, so we were just trying to figure out where's the best spot to play them." When D-B has the ball The Indians will once again face a three-man front from Asheville, the Cougars boasting the biggest D-line Christian has seen from them. Sophomore linebacker Djaay Jackson (5-11, 200) made a team-high 11 tackles in Week 1. Junior tackles Ty'rell Green (6-1, 195) and Jayden Torres (5-10, 205) made seven stops, three for loss, each. Not to mention, sophomore safety Christian "Khi" Nesby (5-8, 155) recently earned his first Power Four offer from Syracuse. As for D-B's offensive line, Christian admitted he feels more at ease after seeing their Week 1 performance. From left to right, D'Angelo Ewing, Ezra Renderos, Bryson Fain, Jamason Aldridge and Brady Griffith paved the way for a balanced effort of 116 yards rushing and 157 passing. "If you'd seen us in the preseason scrimmages, you'd have thought (quarterback) Levi Chappell won't make it out of the first quarter," Christian said. "We protected the quarterback well Friday, thought we blocked off things well. Looking at some of the runs Kedrick Harris had and Emmitt Starnes had, we had some success there." Historic significance D-B is 4-4-1 all-time against North Carolina teams but 0-2-1 on North Carolina soil, all of those games at Asheville. The Indians are 75-22-4 against out-of-state teams and 16-13-3 on out-of-state soil in their history. DOBYNS-BENNETT VS. ASHEVILLE Series record: Tied, 3-3-1 At Kingsport: D-B leads, 3-1 At Asheville: Asheville leads, 2-0-1 First meeting: 1939 Current streak: D-B 1 (2025) Longest D-B streak: 1, 3 times (1940; 2023; 2025) Longest Asheville streak: 2 (1941-42) Most points: 57 in 2023 (D-B, 41-16) Fewest points: 12 in 1939 (6-6 tie) Biggest win: 25 points in 2023 (D-B, 41-16) Closest win: 7 points in 2024 (A'ville, 21-14) Last time they played: Aug. 29, 2025 The Indians got two second-half touchdowns and held the Cougars scoreless after the break, winning 21-7 at J. Fred Johnson Stadium. Levi Chappell ran for a 5-yard touchdown while hitting all nine of his pass attempts for 95 yards, including a 6-yard TD to Tyree Thomas. Luke Lundy ran for 102 yards, and Emmitt Starnes had 81 with a TD. Tay Williams threw for 116 and scored on a 1-yard run for Asheville.