Black Knights handed first loss of season

Robbinsville – All things considered, Friday’s loss can easily be viewed as a win for the Black Knights.

For the first time since 2018, Robbinsville was paired against Rabun Gap, Ga. The Knights won the last showdown between the programs 43-34, on the road Sept. 14, 2018.

Rabun Gap has spent the last five years seething – and also stacking its roster with world-class athletes.

All of the Eagles’ work and vigor was on full display under the Big Oaks on Friday. The Black Knights’ return from a bye week was spoiled in the process, with the No. 1-ranked team in North Carolina – for all classifications – improving to 6-0 on the year in a 36-0 win.

Robbinsville (4-1) had only surrendered 29 points to opponents in its first four games of the year before Friday and hung tough with the Eagles in the first half, including blanking Rabun Gap’s offense for the entirety of the opening segment. The Eagles soon opted to use their ground game for the first strikes of the affair: a 6-yard run by Trey Horne with 8:20 remaining in the half, before a 5-yard Anthony Quinn, Jr., carry exactly six minutes later helped Rabun Gap carry a 14-0 nod into the locker room.

The Black Knights’ last energizing moment came thanks to a thunderous sack of Eagles quarterback Gavin Owens by Bryce Adams and Quinn Jumper, which stunted Rabun Gap’s first drive of the third quarter.

However, Robbinsville simply could not match up to the size of the Eagles’ defense; in fact, the closest the Knights came to visiting the end zone on offense was a march to the Rabun Gap 8-yard line just before halftime.

The Knights ultimately punted the ball away after the sack led to a negative drive; in the aftermath, the Eagles began to pour on the attack: Owens found Joshua Buckhalter for a 29-yard scoring pass with 5:34 left in the third; Horne reeled in a picturesque 65-yard heave at the 7:49 mark of the fourth; and Tyrell Campbell sprinted away on a 69-yard dash to the end zone with 3:16 left in the game.

Robbinsville’s Cuttler Adams picked off Owens to stymie Rabun Gap’s first possession of the evening; the senior running back was limited to just 56 rushing yards on 16 carries, which edged his pursuit of the all-time school and Smoky Mountain Conference record to 5,240 career yards. Rylee Anderson trampled his way to 6,164 to set the current benchmark for Robbinsville between 2016-19.

Horne nabbed a pass early in the fourth quarter, which soon led to his touchdown snag. Eagles kicker Nozomu Mikkaichi was 4-for-4 on PATs; Marshall Pritchett caught an Owens conversion pass midway through the scoreline.

Prior to the shutout, Robbinsville had not failed to score in a game since Nov. 4, 2016, a 14-0 loss to end the regular season at Swain County.

Read more in the Sept. 28 edition of The Graham Star.

Smoky Mountain Football Scoreboard: Sept. 22, 2023

Andrews 28, Hickory Hawks 0

Murphy 51, New Faith Christian Academy 14

Rabun Gap, Ga., 36, Robbinsville 0

Swain County 35, Madison County 16