Asheville High School (N.C.) named Army National Guard The Next Greatest Generation Team of the Year

The Asheville High School (N.C.) football team has been named an Army National Guard Next Greatest Generation Team of the Year, honoring the program’s response to the effects of Hurricane Helene this fall.

After Hurricane Helene brought devastation to western North Carolina, the team faced significant challenges that disrupted their season and the community’s sense of normalcy. They loaded trucks of supplies, provided community members in need with necessary supplies and even offered their facilities and fields as staging areas for first responders. 

Despite the adversity, the Cougars came together, finishing their season strong and providing a source of hope and connection for their community each Friday night.

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Charles Radford, head football coach for the Cougars, said that receiving this award was a “humbling experience” and that it “brings pride” to the program and the community.

“Receiving this award was a very humbling experience,” Radford said. “Our community has been through a lot and our football program persevered during this tragic time and found a way to continue playing good football while also being a steady presence out in our community helping our neighbors. We know that this was a very selective process with only 10 schools being finalists in the entire nation and to be mentioned as one of the top 10 teams for this award brings pride to our football program and our community.”

Radford added that his players “worked tirelessly” to help the community recover. The storm caused catastrophic flooding in the western portion of the state and damaged roughly 120,000 homes.

“We tell our players all the time that the reward for doing the right thing is that you did the right thing. Our kids worked tirelessly to help our community after Helene and at no point did they do it to receive any award for it. They did it because it was needed and it was the right thing to do. Being recognized months later for the work that they did reminds them of what we can accomplish when we work together as servant leaders to help those in need.”

Asheville finished with a 5-3 record on the field this season after the Cougars missed nearly a month of football in the wake of the storm.