Knights eliminated in Western final
Robbinsville – It was the wrong time to have a bad game.
The Black Knights (9-1) were ousted from the postseason Friday night by Smoky Mountain Conference rival Murphy in a 24-14 defeat, ending a 24-game winning streak that began with the 2019 season opener and included back-to-back division titles, a 1A Western Regional championship and the program’s 14th state championship.
“We had a good year; we just had a bad night,” Robbinsville head coach Dee Walsh said. “It really hurt after the game. We’ve had some really good kids and that’s what I told them: what I hate worse than anything is how fun this has been.
“These kids have made it worthwhile; they’ve tried hard and had good attitudes. They just came up short.”
Robbinsville trailed 17-0 before getting on the board thanks to a pair of rushing touchdowns from Murphy’s Ty Laney and a 26-yard field goal by Annie Kate Dalton. The Knights’ first strike came with 1:03 left in the first half on a drive that started with a huge 57-yard pass from Nathan Collins to Brock Adams. Two plays later, Lex Hooper crossed the threshold for six, with Cody Cline’s extra point cutting Robbinsville’s deficit to 17-7 at the break.
A scoring drought in the third quarter spilled into the fourth, but was finally broken on a 6-yard touchdown run from Ray Rathburn. Dalton connected for the extra point moments later, but the Black Knights still had an ace up their sleeve.
Robbinsville’s next possession began at the 17-yard line, and Collins promptly sprinted 20 yards to edge the Knights further downfield. An incomplete pass followed, before everyone was caught off guard when Collins slipped a quick pass to his right into the outstretched hands of Wade Hamilton, who turned and launched a spiral into the unguarded hands of Drey Keener for a 63-yard touchdown.
Murphy later turned the ball over late in the game and Robbinsville desperately worked its way toward the end zone, hoping to keep its season alive.
But with 20 seconds left in the season, Hunter Laney would pick off a pass in the end zone and seal the win for the Bulldogs.
The main tale of the game was the work on the front lines.
Murphy’s offensive line opened enough holes for the Bulldogs to outrush Robbinsville 271-153, while Landon Jordan and Rathburn each dropped Collins for a loss in the backfield.
“They came with a little more intensity than we had, and we didn’t match it,” Walsh said. “For various reasons, a lot of our people up front are banged up. We were down a few men in the middle, where it counted.
“They ran their fullback up the middle on us all night; it’s not like it’s something we hadn’t prepared for. We repped that more than anything with our scout offense, trying to get them ready.
“We had people in position; we just weren’t making plays. They just created a hard night for us.”