Black Knights halted in regional finale
Robbinsville – It came down to who could effectively cash in on turnovers.
Both Mount Airy and Robbinsville coughed the ball up on two separate occasions in Friday’s 1A regional final; a clash between the respective No. 2 and No. 1 seeds in the west.
The hometown Knights brought the capacity crowd at Big Oaks Stadium to its feet for one final time with 5:04 left in the third, recovering the second Granite Bears’ miscue of the evening – a bad snap – after a thrilling series of events: Kage Williams delivered a devastating hit on Mount Airy quarterback Ian Gallimore in the scramble for the loose ball, interrupting the proceedings long enough for Chase Calhoun to retrieve the ball and sprint 24 yards to knot things, 14-14.
Cuttler Adams then ran in a conversion that ensured Robbinsville needed just over 17 minutes to stamp a return to the state finals – something that has eluded the Black Knights since 2019, despite making the regional finale in five of the last six seasons.
The Bears had other plans. Mount Airy (15-0) promptly scored 13 unanswered points in the aftermath and the defending 1A state champions ensured their return to the dance with a 27-16 victory on Bob Colvin Field.
“It all goes by so fast,” Calhoun said, moments after the loss. “I feel like if we had this game back, we could have definitely won.”
Robbinsville (13-2) fell behind by one when Walker Stroup split the uprights on a 33-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining in the third. The Knights’ second fumble of the evening proved to be the most costly; though the first hiccup helped the Bears crack the scoreboard in the second, the repeat offense early in the fourth spelled disaster.
D.J. Joyce recovered the loose ball at the Mount Airy 18. A quick zip from Gallimore to perennial running threat Tyler Mason netted 76 yards; Gallimore was in the end zone at the end of the next play on a keeper. Stroup connected for his third point-after of the night; in a span of just 73 seconds, the Granite Bears had quietened the buzz from the home stands, which had operated at a fever pitch from the opening kickoff.
Robbinsville was held to a pair of 3-and-out series’ down the stretch, while Mount Airy permanently put any hopes of a comeback out-of-reach on a 21-yard Stroup field goal with 42 seconds left to go. Prior to Friday, the Bears’ senior kicker had been summoned for just one field goal all year.
The game was contested after a day mostly filled with rain across Graham County, leaving fog in the Friday night air and sloppy conditions along the sidelines. Both programs were cautious in the early going, testing the proverbial waters in a defensive showcase that harkened memories of old-school, hard-nosed football.
Robbinsville seemed to have Mount Airy’s number early on. The community that rallied around Modeal Walsh Memorial Stadium to ensure the demolition and subsequent installation of temporary bleachers above the home sideline – a project that was forced by the stadium being deemed too dangerous for use by an engineer in May – had plenty of chances to roar approval starting out, with Tytan Teesateskie, Tanner Hedden and Calhoun all dropping Gallimore for a loss before Mount Airy scored.
The Bears broke the defense monotony from both programs – neither team had a first down until the second quarter, as a prime example – when Caleb Reid accepted a fumble at the Mount Airy 30. Tyler Mason later drove in a 9-yard touchdown with 5:26 to go in the first half for the Granite Bears.
Robbinsville had the last laugh of the segment, however: Adams barely had to reach for a picturesque Donovan Carpenter loft and turned on the jets to score on a 71-yard reception with 2:26 left in the second. Carpenter dove into the end zone to give the Black Knights an 8-7 lead. Just before halftime, Bryce Adams recovered a fumble at the Robbinsville 5-yard line, when Darion Ledbetter stripped the ball loose from Mason just before the pause.
“I’m definitely disappointed with how it turned out,” Carpenter said after the game. “But I’m also proud of this team and this community coming around; we weren’t even going to have home games and we ended up playing here. This team could have given up so much, but we just fought and created a brotherhood that will last forever.”
Mount Airy needed just two plays to find paydirt in the third, which was aided immensely by Mason taking a Gallimore pitch 45 yards on the first play from scrimmage. The Gallimore keeper that followed was enough to push the Granite Bears back ahead.
Cuttler Adams finished with 57 yards on 19 touches for Robbinsville and did not score a rushing touchdown for the first time since the Knights’ only regular-season loss of the campaign, a 36-0 shutout against Rabun Gap, Ga., on Sept. 22.
Adams’ historic, high-school rushing career ends with 6,844 yards in the books, which places him 14th all-time in North Carolina – and atop the list of runners in western North Carolina, across all classifications.
“It hurts. It really does,” said Adams. “My dream was always to get one (a state championship); to be on the board with the greats. I can’t let this define who I am, though; just have to keep working.
“It’s God’s will for the future,” continued Adams, who has already received three offers to play collegiate football and will appear in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas on Dec. 16. “He gets all the glory, whether it’s a win or a loss.”
Mason ran his single-season rushing tally to 2,080 in the game, hammering out 188 yards on 21 touches. Taeshon Martin posted 126 rushing yards on 10 carries for the Granite Bears, which have not lost since the third game of the 2022 season – a streak of 29 consecutive victories.
Mount Airy will once again face the No. 1 East seed, the Tarboro Vikings (13-0) in the 1A title game, which will be held at noon Saturday, Dec. 9 at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan Memorial Stadium.