Robbinsville – Squandered opportunities.
That’s the biggest takeaway from Robbinsville’s junior varsity loss to Murphy on Sept. 23. The Knights were deep in Bulldogs territory on several occasions, but were unable to cash in and ultimately fell 22-0.
“We had our chances, but failed to execute inside the red zone,” Knights head coach Wren Millsaps said. “You can’t compete with good teams when this happens.”
Robbinsville drove inside Murphy’s 15-yard line in the first quarter, but ultimately turned the ball over on downs. Kellen Ensley would snag a Bulldogs fumble in the second, but the Knights’ were stopped in a goal-line stance by Murphy.
The game remained scoreless until the third quarter, when Jonah Hedden broke the goal line on a 1-yard push with 3:37 left. Ryan Payne would pick off a pass on Robbinsville’s next drive, with the Bulldogs cashing in during the fourth quarter on a 23-yard pass from Brady Grant to Payne.
The Knights coughed up the ball later in the segment, with Waylon Spivey recording the recovery. Murphy’s final score came in the form of a 2-yard run from Cameron Clem with 3:08 left in the game.
“This is a resilient group of young men that I fully expect to come back swinging for the remainder of the season,” Millsaps added.