Football Recap: Braxton Batchelor's Menacing Defense Leads Mountain Heritage over Hendersonville + How To Watch

Mountain Heritage had won three straight on the road, but on Friday they bumped up to 8-1 to make it four. They enjoyed a cozy 36-20 win over the Hendersonville Bearcats. That's more bragging rights for the Cougars, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.

Cason Jones

Rushing Yards (Career)

10/24/25 @ Hendersonville	152
10/03/25 vs Polk County	124
10/26/24 vs Madison	120
10/17/25 vs Mitchell	118
09/05/25 vs Robbinsville	110

It was another big night for Cason Jones, who rushed for 152 yards and two TDs on only 14 carries, and also picked up 30 receiving yards and one touchdown. Those 152 rushing yards gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Brayden Deyton, who threw for 71 yards and three touchdowns on only five passes.

Mountain Heritage's run defense was locked in: Hendersonville could only muster 2.8 yards per carry. The team can thank Malachi Huskins for the heroic effort on defense: he. Mountain Heritage's ground attack was stronger, having averaged 5.3.

Mountain Heritage's defense didn't let JaRon Ward, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for four sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Braxton Batchelor.

As for Hendersonville, their defeat was their first in the conference, dropping their conference record down to 4-1 and their overall record down to 7-2. The matchup marked their lowest-scoring contest so far this season.

Hendersonville lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Jordan Buford, who rushed for 35 yards and a pair of scores. He is also on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in each of the last three games he's played. Ward was another key player, throwing for 197 yards and one TD while completing 83.3% of his passes.

We've got plenty of inter-conference action coming up soon. Mountain Heritage will take on rival Owen at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Hendersonville is set to face off against their familiar foe Polk County at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. That game will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Buford and Loreynzo Sanchez.