Black Knights run amuck on Cougars for 1st win of season
Robbinsville – Heading into the Sept. 12 showdown with Copper Basin, Tenn., the Black Knights were laser-focused on avoiding their first 0-4 start in 29 years.
The Cougars never stood a chance.
Robbinsville piled on from the opening whistle, finding the end zone four times in the first quarter alone and saving enough for more damage to come from the reserves in a 46-0 blanking on Bob Colvin Field.
“We knew it was going to be a fun game, but we also practiced really hard all week,” Black Knights head coach Dee Walsh said. “We’re trying to get our wounds healed and get better. We’re still trying to find some depth and improve as a team.”
Precious little time had ticked off the clock before the Knights showed who was boss. Two plays into the game, John Dominguez dropped Copper Basin quarterback Cade Dean for a sack. Dominguez went on to snuff out Dean’s backfield antics three times.
On the next snap, Roman Jones leapt into the sky to pick off Dean’s first pass attempt of the night. Five plays later, Darion Ledbetter was dancing in the end zone – thanks to a 20-yard scoring rush.
Copper Basin (0-4) progressed very little on its next effort, which turned into a 46-yard touchdown heave from Bryce Adams to tight end Isiac Collins. The Cougars struggled to keep up, while Ledbetter trotted across the goal line for the second time with 2:53 left in the first – this time from 28 yards out.
Dominguez and Collins both conquered Dean in the background on back-to-back snaps during Basin’s next attempt, while Robbinsville (1-3) needed just two plays to send Roman Jones across the threshold.
The action finally escaped the first quarter shortly thereafter, but the Black Knights were not through. Another Cougars punt morphed into Robbinsville scoring on its fifth consecutive possession, with Jones dashing 51 yards before a tackle at the 1-yard line; and Adams creeping into the end zone on the next play.
Dominguez’s final sack came during the next series and even with the Knights’ depth chart debuting on the field, the onslaught carried on. The Earth was churned by Luke Green and Ryleon Waldroup until Luke Lovin rolled out and found an unguarded Tucker Jones downfield, resulting in a 42-yard touchdown reception. A bobbled kickoff was then recovered by Quinn Jumper, but Robbinsville let off the accelerator for the first time all night after reaching the Copper Basin 2 yard line just before halftime. Instead of piling on, the Knights opted to kneel.
With a running clock ticking away for the entire second half, Robbinsville made one final strike when Green found himself present in the end zone on a 15-yard carry. Everett Taylor went on to intercept a Dean pass on the next Cougars’ drive; while Avery Webster found Copper Basin’s quarterback for the final sack of the night with two minutes left to go in the blowout.
Angel Cervantes was 4-of-7 on extra points.
“It’s great that everyone got to play and had success,” Walsh said. “I was proud for our second-team kids.”
The win extended Robbinsville’s all-time score differential over the Cougars to 96-0, which includes an away/home series in 1989 and 1990. The loss was Copper Basin’s third shutout of the year, as the Cougars have been outscored 181-6 in 2024.
On the flip side, the Black Knights are able to move forward with a lot more confidence. Robbinsville has caught some tough breaks in the early part of the season; penalties spread across losses to Franklin and Mountain Heritage jeopardized those outcomes, while the Knights only fell by two in the season opener at East Surry.
“I think now, they believe in themselves,” Walsh said. “They were questioning themselves after those first couple of games, which were not uneven. But dealing with adversity is what’s going to make us better.”
Non-division wrap-up
With the proverbial monkey off its back, Robbinsville shifts focus to staying in the win column. To do so, the Black Knights will travel 3 ½ hours to Western Georgia for a 7:30 p.m. clash against Trion High School.
The Region 7-1A Bulldogs went 10-0 in the regular season last year before falling in the second round of the playoffs to Elbert County in an overtime heartbreaker, 42-41.
“This is about making ourselves better,” Walsh said. “We’re playing some tough opponents, but they’re on the schedule for a reason. We can beat them if we do everything right.
“We’re improving everyday and that’s the objective. We had some kids in the program (last year) making really big plays that aren’t here now. So, now it’s time for these kids to start making those same big plays.”
If you cannot make the trip, the game will be live-streamed via grahamstarsports.com.