Second-half explosion fueled by shared surnames
Robbinsville – It took just over 32 minutes for the first touchdown of Friday night’s game to make it onto the scoreboard – and it was by Cherokee.
In the remaining 15:53, Robbinsville scored 30 unanswered points – all from the same bloodline.
The home conference opener took a while to get going for the Black Knights, but the defensive stalemate of the first half seemed like a distant memory by the conclusion: 30-13, Robbinsville.
“Their defense was really out there; they knew everything we were doing from the start,” Brock Adams said. “We started getting a little bit of momentum, so when adversity would hit, we would keep fighting and fighting.”
The Knights maintained the opening possession for the first 8:19 of the game, trudging 42 yards in the process. Along the way, the final throw of quarterback Donovan Carpenter’s junior season temporarily kept the drive going – a heave to Brock Adams on 4th and 6.
Just a few plays earlier, Carpenter ate a nasty tackle on a keeper, as he was wrapped up from behind and dropped with no way to soften his fall. The end result was a broken collarbone.
As Carpenter’s immediate backup, sophomore Bryce Adams suddenly found himself thrust into the spotlight. He and classmate Roman Jones had both made abbreviated appearances during the latter part of victories the Knights had already well put to bed, but having to call an audible concerning your main gun early in a divisional showdown is an arduous task.
“It was crazy,” Bryce said of the sudden promotion. “The only thing that helped me get through it was my team. They kept giving me confidence, telling me to keep going and showing me a lot of faith.”
There was an adjustment period, no doubt. Cherokee was promptly forced to punt on a 3-and-out in its first series and Robbinsville’s next drive spilled into the second, before Luke Smith deflected Bryce’s pass on 4th and goal. The Braves took over at their own 9 yard line, but soon had to punt again. The Knights finished out the half in control of the offense, but another deep push was thwarted when Zeke Silvers was tackled at the Cherokee 5 yard line at the halftime buzzer.
The first quick shift of the affair came when Quinn Jumper recovered a Cherokee fumble on a kickoff return. But once again, Robbinsville (6-1, 2-0) was stymied by a stubborn Braves defense. Cherokee finally cracked the scoreboard on a 12-yard Kaden Smith keeper and Mato Grant’s extra point gave the Braves a 7-0 lead with 3:53 to go in the third stanza.
That was all the Knights needed.
Cuttler Adams had been limited on the ground throughout the game, but snagged the ensuing kickoff and dashed 68 yards to the Braves’ 7. Pushed back by a false-start penalty, Cuttler immediately took the handoff and scored his own 12-yard touchdown, before hurdling in the conversion run.
In just 18 seconds, Robbinsville had the lead – but the Knights were just getting started.
Brock picked off a Smith pass during the next drive, placing Robbinsville at its own 24. After a brief march upfield, Bryce shifted through a field of linemen for a 3-yard touchdown. With 20 seconds left in the quarter, Cuttler ran in the conversion and the Black Knights carried a 16-7 lead into the fourth – stamped by a Jude Campbell sack on Smith in the waning seconds.
Soon enough, Jones recovered a Cherokee fumble and in a moment the brothers – Cuttler is the cousin, just to be clear – were both beaming about after the game, Bryce hit Brock with an eventual 58-yard touchdown pass, as the three-time state hurdles champion was not interested in slowing down before crossing the goal line.
“It was awesome. I’ve never been able to do that before,” Bryce said of the moment. “This is the first full game I’ve ever got to play with him.”
“It’s always a special moment when you’ve dreamed of catching a pass from your little brother – and then it actually happens,” Brock added.
And to put the final touches on the Adams’ family showcase, Bryce intercepted Smith on the next Braves drive, before Cuttler toted the ball 14 yards into the end zone. His conversion run made it 30-7, Robbinsville.
The Knights were shutout for the first 34:25 of the game, but did all of their damage in a window of just 11:26.
“Cuttler really set the tone with that kickoff (return) and our whole team got really fired up,” Bryce said. “We were ready to go after that.”
“We really stepped up on defense – that was a heck of a job on defense,” Brock added.
Cherokee (1-6, 0-2) tacked on a touchdown with 1:18 left, when Smith found Michael Driver on an 8-yard scoring pass.
Biting the Dogs
Robbinsville will only have two home conference games this season – and the second one is this week.
The Knights welcome familiar Smoky Mountain Conference foe Murphy to Modeal Walsh Memorial Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Robbinsville finishes the regular season – and its quest of a fourth-straight divisional title – with trips to Andrews on Oct. 21 and Hayesville on Oct. 28.
Murphy (5-2, 2-0) is mixing in more passing into its offense than seen in years – perhaps decades – as Cole Laney already has 896 yards in the air this year. Balancing the attack is Hunter Stalcup, who has 858 rushing yards. John Ledford (50 tackles) and Stalcup (49) lead the Bulldogs defense.
It will already be an emotionally charged evening under the Big Oaks before kickoff, as Friday is Senior Night. Robbinsville is looking to carry that emotion into the game.
“It’s a big game. I think we’re going to be ready,” Bryce Adams said. “We’ve just got to figure out some stuff and get ready to play.”
“Donny is a really good quarterback, and we’re going to miss him,” Brock said. “Losing him is really going to hurt us, but it’s like coach (Dee Walsh) said, ‘It’s always the next man up.’ We just have to go back to work Monday and fix what needs to be fixed.”
If you cannot make it to the game, you can purchase the livestream link at grahamstarsports.com.