Robbinsville re-claims divisional throne
Robbinsville – Friday’s divisional title game was everything it was built up to be – and then some.
Two programs with a decades-old rivalry – Robbinsville and Swain County – spent 48 minutes in combat on Bob Colvin Field, vying for premiere bragging rights in the Smoky Mountain Conference.
The Maroon Devils were on a quest for their first divisional crown since 2017, when they split it three ways, with Murphy and Cherokee; the Black Knights sought their fourth championship in a span of five seasons.
Not to mention, the potential of the No. 1 seed in the 1A West bracket was up for grabs. The stakes literally could not have been higher.
The showdown delivered. A smash-mouth, low-scoring war played out before an overflow crowd at Modeal Walsh Memorial Stadium.
The first and fourth quarters were scoreless. There were more defensive touchdowns than offensive.
But in the end, it was Robbinsville that stood tall.
A short, low pass from Keyanthae Graham to Reese Winchester resulted in a quick tackle by Knights quarterback/free safety Donovan Carpenter.
With 2:27 to play, Swain County’s pursuit of regular-season perfection ended at its own 41-yard line – and the Black Knights were back to prominence once more, champions of the Smoky Mountain Conference for the 27th time since their first divisional title in 1965.
“This is great,” running back Cuttler Adams said. “We’re believing and having faith, keeping the Lord first. We’re going to keep working and getting better every week.”
It would be inaccurate to say that Adams single-handedly lifted Robbinsville (9-1, 5-0) to the conference mountaintop Friday – after all, the Black Knights’ “Swarm” was on full display against Swain County (9-1, 4-1); the Devils finished the night limited to 148 total yards of offense and Robbinsville kept the much-hyped ground attack of Swain senior Josh Collins limited to 75 yards on 18 carries.
After the first drive of the game looked to stall out for Robbinsville, a punt was errantly touched by the Devils – and sophomore linebacker Ryelon Waldroup was more than happy to snag the loose ball and maintain possession for the Knights. Tanner Hedden later picked off Winchester in the fourth quarter, after sacking him in the first.
Hedden’s nab was the second one for Robbinsville. The first one resonated all the way to the finish line – and, yes, it was Adams who recorded it.
When the box score is printed, his name will be next to all the records of the Knights’ final tally. He scored the first – and only offensive – touchdown of the game on a 6-yard high-step with 11:09 left in the second quarter. When tasked with running in the conversion, he was more than happy to oblige.
After receiving the opening kickoff, Robbinsville found itself with a chance to open a 14-0 lead before the break – and more importantly, before Swain County got the ball back to begin the second half.
But with 25 seconds remaining in the second, Josiah Glaspie intercepted a Carpenter pass and weaved 81 yards for the lone Devils touchdown of the evening.
His conversion run sent the Black Knights into the locker room with a sour taste in their mouth, as the game was right back where it started: a deadlock.
“This is a brotherhood,” Adams said. “We have the athleticism and the unity. Coming together is what’s going to help us make it.
“When Don threw that, I told him, ‘Just shake it off, man. We’ll get it back.’ We picked him up at halftime, came back out and won the game.”
Nobody can accuse Swain of rushing its third-quarter efforts. Starting at their own 36 yard line, the Devils slowly crept downfield and after a 20-play, 10:37-minute drive, Winchester sought a short pass on 4th and goal, from the Robbinsville 3. He rolled out to the right, lofted the ball into the air – and Adams was there to greet it.
Showing utter disdain for his opponent’s abilities, Adams high-fived Hedden around the Swain 30-yard line.
He did not stop his sprint until he reached the south end zone – 102 yards later.
“It come down to me and one man; we’ve worked on drills of getting by one man. (Assistant) coach (Dale) Farr has really worked with me on that,” Adams said. “When I got past him, it was open field. I knew that was going to change the game.
“I knew that sealed the deal.”
Adams will have to wait for the playoffs to break the all-time school and conference rushing record. On Friday, he had 117 yards on 25 carries.
The effort drew him to within 107 of Rylee Anderson’s benchmark (6,164 yards, posted from 2016-19); Adams has 6,057 to his credit.
Playoff time
For the first time since winning the class 1A state crown in 2019, Robbinsville enters the postseason with the No. 1 Western seed.
The hunt for the program’s 15th state championship begins Friday. By virtue of the top billing, Robbinsville will enjoy the luxury of hosting its playoff opposition until the 1A title game itself – a huge advantage in a classification that often has postseason matchups requiring 350-400 miles of one-way travel for the visitors.
That will not be the case for the first obstacle, however: Mooresboro’s Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy received the No. 32 seed. The 150-mile trek for the Gryphons (2-8) will be the first time Thomas Jefferson has played Robbinsville since the Western Regional finals in the Knights’ 2019 title run.
The Gryphons’ only victories this year have been against the Greenville (S.C.) Hurricanes, a 45-14 win Sept. 8; and the regular-season finale against winless Highland Tech on Oct. 19, 37-14.
Elsewhere, Thomas Jefferson has endured losses of 50 points or more in five different games – including two games in three weeks where the opposition scored more than 70 points: a 75-8 home loss to Shelby on Sept. 22 and a 70-7 road defeat from Burns on Oct. 6.