Robbinsville jousted in 3rd round of playoffs
Murphy – The Black Knights and the Bulldogs meeting for postseason supremacy is almost a rite of passage at this point.
In fact, both the 2018 and 2020 Western Regional title games were contested between the two Smoky Mountain Conference foes; in 2021, they met in the Elite 8.
Still, no matter which round the programs find themselves paired up in, one thing is guaranteed: a hard-hitting football game.
Friday’s third-round chapter of the historic rivalry followed closely to the script for the entire first half: both defenses attempted to keep the ball as frozen as the 20-degree temperatures lingering across Bob Hendrix Stadium. Robbinsville came out of the battle with a 13-6 halftime lead, but Murphy threw everything off-kilter by recovering an onside kick to begin the third.
What followed was 28 unanswered points from the Bulldogs, which put enough of a damper on the Knights’ momentum to end Robbinsville’s playoff run with a 34-21 Murphy triumph.
A 36-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Adams to Darion Ledbetter helped the Knights draw first blood in the opening segment, but the Bulldogs responded right away on a 20-yard Will Shore dash just 34 seconds later. Robbinsville (No. 11 seed, 7-7) kept the upper hand by stopping Cameron Clem’s conversion run moments later.
Adams tacked on some insurance before intermission, using the offensive line to bully his way inside the south end zone for a 1-yard score at the 15-second mark. Turnabout proved to be fair play, though as Murphy (No. 3, 12-1) squandered the extra point to cement the halftime advantage for the Knights.
The Bulldogs’ rally came in the aftermath of recovering the onside kick to begin the third. Just a trio of plays later, Kadence Leatherwood found open room for a 16-yard touchdown. After three penalties, Jerry Bui’s PAT knotted the game at 13-13.
Leatherwood struck again with 2:11 left in the stanza, this time on a 2-yard carry. In the fallout of a Ryan Payne interception, Cameron Clem broke loose for a 63-yard scoring run. Bui continued to keep the uprights split after both successful rushes.
Aayden Williams picked off a pass early in the fourth, which soon gave way to Brady Grant running 65 yards and extending the Bulldogs’ success.
Bui’s PAT failed, but the damage was done: Robbinsville’s final points of the year came on a 2-yard Isiac Collins delivery with 5:23 left in the game. Adams then hit Quinn Jumper for a conversion, but the Black Knights were unable to stop Murphy again before the clock ran out.
Murphy will now travel to Mountain Heritage (No. 2, 11-0) for the fourth round (Elite 8) Friday. Kickoff in Burnsville is set for 7:30 p.m.
Robbinsville has advanced to at least the third round of the playoffs every year since 2016.