ASHEVILLE — Pisgah was short-handed at wide receiver and defensive back in its scrimmage Friday against Asheville High at the Pat Ryan Buncombe County Jamboree at Reynolds.
The Bears played without star wide receiver and defensive back Sawyer Belue. The senior was seen on the sideline in street clothes with a large black knee brace on his left leg.
They also did not have wide receiver and defensive back Kenyon Moore. He was seen in casual clothing with his right knee heavily taped up.
First-year Pisgah coach Ricky Brindley declined to comment on how the injuries happened or how long the players would be out.
“We’ve been banged-up a little bit,” he said. “We’ve lost some crucial kids. We don’t really know the extent of how long it might be. But we know we lost some excellent players.”
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Belue recorded 40 tackles and three interceptions last season and was named third-team All-WNC on defense. He added 493 receiving yards and five touchdowns on offense.
Moore had 66 tackles, five interceptions and a fumble recovery. He also had 173 receiving yards and two touchdowns as a receiver.
Other notable jamboree injury notes
Hendersonville took on Erwin in its scrimmage without star running back Hezzie Rudisill.
Rudisill roamed the sideline in a jersey, basketball shorts and sneakers.
Coach Kirron Ward said Rudisill will be OK and ready for Week 1 against North Henderson.
Toward the end of the scrimmage, the Bearcats collectively held their breath after star quarterback JaRon Ward took a hit to the head. He was slow to get up and stumbled twice while walking to the sideline. He was seen getting screened for a concussion by a Hendersonville athletic trainer.
Ward said after the game that he was “all right.”
In its final tuneup before the regular season, Murphy faced Reynolds without defensive lineman Camden Breazeale, last season’s leading tackler with 108.
Breazeale was “a little banged-up,” according to coach Joseph Watson, and is likely to miss Murphy’s season opener against Franklin next week, but should be able to return to action after that.
Roberson faced Robbinsville without one of its top running backs. Senior Zeb Swangim stood on the sideline in casual clothing.
Roberson coach JD Dinwiddie said he held Swangim out as a precaution after he rolled his ankle during a scrimmage Tuesday.
“We weren’t gonna push it,” Dinwiddie said. “There was no reason to with the scrimmage.”
Sports reporter Evan Gerike contributed to this report.
Zachary Huber is a high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times and Hendersonville Times-News. Email him at zhuber@gannett.com or follow him on X @zacharyahuber. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times and Times-News.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Pisgah’s Sawyer Belue, top players sit Pat Ryan football jamboree
