Raptors prey for relief

Robbinsville – Through the first two games of the postseason, the Black Knights have outscored visitors 95-14.

Thursday’s second-round playoff appointment with the Mountain Island Charter Raptors played out much like the round-one showdown with Thomas Jefferson on Nov. 3: Robbinsville scored early and scored often. With the depth chart getting a lot of looks for much of the affair, the Knights once again submitted a well-rounded effort for the record books in a 40-7 dismantling of the guests from Mount Holly.

“The main thing is staying focused,” senior Chase Calhoun said after the game. “We have a great brotherhood and I think that is helping carry us.”

Calhoun had two strikes in the second quarter; one on a 9-yard sprint and another coming thanks to a 1-yard push. Bryce Adams was the only other Knight to have a multi-score evening and it was all about the number six for No. 6 on the roster: he posted a 6-yard, pick-six before halftime, then cradled a 6-yard loft from Donovan Carpenter in the third, which pushed Robbinsville (No. 1 Western seed, 11-1) to a 40-0 advantage.

Carpenter jumpstarted the Black Knights with a 68-yard scoring dash, just three plays into Robbinsville’s first series of the game. Cuttler Adams later drove across the goal line on a 24-yard rumble; his career rushing yardage now sits at 6,308, which leapfrogged the senior from 26th all-time in North Carolina to 23rd. The next target is 6,632 – a mark set by Brevard’s Manny Deshauteurs from 1997-99 and is the most recorded by an athlete in western North Carolina.

Mountain Island Charter’s junior quarter Grayson Harvey entered Thursday’s game with 2,992 passing yards this season – which put him in the top 10 statewide this year. Harvey completed 16-of-35 under the Big Oaks, throwing for 230 yards – but just one touchdown.

The Raptors’ lone score came with 3:01 left to play, when Harvey slipped a no-look pass to Javon Boyd, who weaved through traffic and eventually broke loose on an 88-yard touchdown run. Tanner Baxter’s PAT cemented the final outcome.

Undaunted, Robbinsville picked off Harvey three times in the victory: Black Knights Tanner Hedden, Tillman Adams and Cooper Adams each reeled in a pass from Harvey, who entered the affair with just eight interceptions against him in 2023.

“They’re awesome,” Calhoun said of the players who make an impact when called on for relief. “They get just as many stops as we do. The other team left all their starters in and they scored just one touchdown on us (with non-starters on the field).”

Wide receiver Justice Washington – who carried a 1,196-yard mark into Robbinsville (another top-10 ranking, statewide) – was limited to just 42 yards on five catches, as the Knights’ secondary had him well-scouted.

Robbinsville’s Quinn Jumper dropped Harvey twice on the evening; one solo, one with an assist from Koleson Dooley.

The game was moved to Thursday and kicked off at 7 p.m., due to forecasted rainfall across the area Friday. The Knights were the only Smoky Mountain Conference school to be at home, so the remaining three programs from the division in the mix – No. 9 Swain County (at No. 8 Bessemer City); No. 14 Hayesville (at No. 3 Eastern Randolph); and No. 10 Murphy (at No. 7 Bishop McGuinness) – will all compete Friday.

Robbinsville is scheduled to host the winner of Swain County/Bessemer City on Friday, Nov. 17.

Look for more coverage in the Nov. 16 edition of The Graham Star.

Smoky Mountain Conference Scoreboard

2nd Round of Playoffs: Nov. 9-10, 2023

-Eastern Randolph (No. 3 seed, 11-1) defeats Hayesville (No. 14, 7-5), 39-10;

-Murphy (No. 10, 9-3) knocks off Bishop McGuinness (No. 7, 6-6), 59-22;

-Robbinsville (No. 1, 11-1) beats Mountain Island Charter (No. 16, 8-4), 40-7;

-Swain County (No. 9, 11-1) downs Bessemer City (No. 8, 6-6), 42-7.

3rd Round Schedule

-Murphy at Mount Airy (No. 2, 12-0);

-Robbinsville vs. Swain County.