Black Knights handed first loss of season
Robbinsville – The final stats read like something from another level of competition, which is almost exactly what the Black Knights faced in their return from a bye week: 493 total offensive yards, divided between 288 in the air and 205 on the ground.
So all things considered, Friday’s loss can easily be viewed as a win for Robbinsville.
For the first time in five years, the Knights scheduled the Rabun Gap (Ga.) Eagles. Robbinsville won the last showdown between the programs 43-34 on the road on Sept. 14, 2018.
Rabun Gap has spent the interim stacking its roster with world-class athletes – and all of the Eagles’ work and vigor was on full display under the Big Oaks on Friday.
Quarterback Gavin Owens was 19-for-26 with two passing touchdowns and 288 yards, spread across eight different receivers. Tyrell Campbell trampled his way to 110 rushing yards on just eight handoffs.
The Black Knights’ return to play was spoiled in the process, with Rabun Gap 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 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. The Knights ultimately punted the ball away after the sack led to a negative drive.
In the aftermath of the failed opportunity, Rabun Gap 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, before Tyrell Campbell added the final stab, a 69-yard sprint 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 57 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 yards to set the benchmark for Robbinsville from 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 extra points; Marshall Pritchett caught Owens’ conversion pass midway through the scoreline.
The closest the Knights came to visiting the end zone all night was a march to Rabun Gap’s 8 yard line just before halftime. But Robbinsville was relentless in its scoring quest, with the Black Knights attempting on three different occasions to convert on fourth down in the first half; all were passes that fell short of the mark. Quarterback Donovan Carpenter went on to have his busiest aerial game of the year, going 11-for-19.
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.
Conference play begins Friday at Cherokee (4-1).
Kickoff at Ray Kinsland Stadium will be at 7:30 p.m.