Greenies Keep the Trophy with 12th Consecutive Win

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For a dozen reasons, a September to remember!

Based off this year's give-and-take, changing the date of "The Game" does not appear to have softened the intensity of the Carolinas’ oldest high school football rivalry. Nor has it affected the current balance of power which remains steadfastly green. 

Saturday was the first time in modern history that Christ School and Asheville School have played in September. On the road, the previously winless Greenies scored 20 unanswered points, including 13 in the second half, to defeat the Blues for the 12th consecutive year, 20-7.

“I feel like this was our catapult moment for the rest of the season. We really needed to break out of our shells,” said Kaden Brown '24, who did much of the rushing for Christ School (1-5) and was the first player to touch the Fayssoux-Arbogast Trophy afterwards.

“I didn’t get to play in this game last year (due to injury), so there was a lot of heart put into this one. A lot of heart put into this entire week.”

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Saturday was the 97th all-time meeting between Christ School and Asheville School, which were both founded 123 years ago. The Blues (2-3) now lead the series, 50-43-4, but the Greenies have won 20 of the 24 games in the 2000s. Their current winning streak is a record for both sides of a rivalry that began in 1911. "The Game" has typically been played on the final Saturday of October. 

There was a lot of pregame speculation and predictions, some of it in local media, that this was Asheville School’s year. The Blues are the defending NCISAA Division II state champions and seized a 7-0 lead at the 7:28 mark of the second quarter.

But then freshman quarterback Mason Holtzclaw ‘27 and the Greenie offense got to work.

Facing fourth down from the Asheville School 23-yard line, Mason lofted a ball into the hands of T.J. Hamilton '24 for a touchdown with 23.9 seconds to go until halftime. Spencer Thompson ‘26 added the extra point and would go onto make field goals from 21 and 22 yards in the second half.

Alabama recruit Cayden Jones ’24 bulled his way into the end zone for Christ School’s second touchdown on a 1-yard carry with 7:50 left in the game. Fellow senior Vincent Lytle '24 made an interception early in the third quarter, the game's only turnover, to sway the momentum. Overall, Christ School's defense held Asheville School to single digits for the second year in a row. 

The Greenies were plagued by penalties, especially in the first half, and turned the ball over on downs at the Asheville School 7-yard line on their opening possession. 

Coach Chad Walker was proud of his team not only for Saturday, but how resolute the players have been through a difficult early-season schedule. The Greenies’ last two opponents – Charlotte Providence Day (6-0) and Rabun Gap (7-0) – are both undefeated and look as though they are on a collision course to the play for the NCISAA Division I state championship.

“I’m just really proud of them,” Coach Walker said with a pause to gather himself emotionally. 

“They never stop fighting. They believe in each other. After the first five weeks, it’s great to get a win. Today we saw guys holding each other accountable in a positive way. There was no finger-pointing. We’re getting closer as a team and we see that every day, but for these guys to continue to battle and fight, I’m just so proud of them. They don’t take a day off. They work hard every day and do what we ask them to do. They’ve never given up and now we’re trending in the right direction.”

Mason had another 100-yard game and was also proud to see how the team responded in his first Asheville School game.

“It’s a great feeling. Our guys on the line really fired off the ball and we were able to fix a lot of mistakes we made in the first half,” he said.

“We talked all week about the tradition and importance of this game. We’ve had that rough part of our season. We know that to keep playing better, we just have to keep fighting harder no matter what.”