Knights blindside Alleghany, advance to third-round rematch against Dogs
Robbinsville – It’s time for Knights/Bulldogs II. Only this time, it will be under the Big Oaks.
Robbinsville (12-0) knocked off the visiting Alleghany Trojans (4-9) in the second round of the 1A state playoffs on Nov. 21, scoring two quick touchdowns to seize a lead that the Knights never relinquished in a 40-22 win.
“I think we got two scores up real quick and I think our kids relaxed, thinking, ‘They aren’t going to give us anything,’ but then, all of a sudden, they played,” Robbinsville head coach Dee Walsh said. “But we needed that. We won, we scored 40 points. We won the game.
“People can be unhappy if they want to, but we’re advancing. That’s the way I look at it.”
The victory sets up a huge third-round showdown against Smoky Mountain Conference rival Murphy (10-2), which defeated the Winston-Salem Prep Phoenix (8-5) in a 64-44 battle Nov. 21.
Robbinsville beat the Bulldogs on the road to win its first division title since 2015 just three weeks ago, 17-14.
The Knights’ last Smoky Mountain Conference crown is also the most recent campaign in which Robbinsville defeated Murphy twice in the same year, which coincidentally also occurred in the third round. That same feat was also achieved in 2014.
“We’re excited about the opportunity (to play Murphy again),” Walsh said. “They’ve got a good program and we think we have a good program. That’s what it should come down to.
“They come here this time, but if you want to win, it doesn’t matter where you play. If you’re good enough to win the game, you shouldn’t let that affect you. We’re supposed to defend our home. Our fans are good fans, they support us and we just want to make them proud.”
Round two action
The Knights were without prolific running back Rylee Anderson against the Trojans, who suffered an ankle sprain in practice Nov. 19.
Walsh was confident Anderson would be ready to suit up against the Bulldogs.
“We certainly think he’ll be back,” Walsh said. “We feel – and his parents also – feel like he had to have played (against Alleghany), then he would have played. We just wanted to make sure he wasn’t damaged any worse and get him as healthy as possible for next week.”
Robbinsville scored on its first two drives while facing the Trojans, thanks to a 20-yard run from Lex Hooper and a 44-yard sprint into the end zone by Clayson Lane.
Though the Knights had a 14-0 lead six minutes into the game, Alleghany kept the fight coming with a lengthy possession that ended when Jared Foley slipped a 6-yard pass into the hands of Spencer Murphy. Foley’s extra point would cut Robbinsville’s lead in half.
Knights quarterback Nathan Collins scored on a 1-yard keeper early in the second, but the Trojans responded again when Dustin Rector carried the ball across the goal line from four yards out. However, Robbinsville was able to carry a 27-14 lead into the break when Collins escaped pressure on third down and heaved a pass downfield to Seth Lawson, which eventually turned into a 70-yard score, though Alleghany would block the extra point.
Robbinsville stopped the final Trojans drive of the first half on fourth down, but Alleghany was not deterred, as Murphy capped the first drive of the second half with a 1-yard push and a bad snap on the extra point was scooped up by Foley, who ran the ball in for the conversion, which trimmed the Knights’ lead to 27-22.
A 3-yard Hooper rush into the end zone would swing the momentum back in Robbinsville’s favor. The Trojans’ offense stalled from that point forward, with a pair of back-to-back fourth-down conversion stopping short of paydirt. Hooper completed the hat trick with a 2-yard carry early in the fourth quarter, tacking on some final insurance for the Knights.