Cherokee – Two Robbinsville teams qualified for the annual Smokey Mountain Youth Conference Cracker Bowl.
But in an unusual occurrence, the Black Knights returned home empty-handed.
The Robbinsville PeeWees (No. 1, 9-1) were upset by the No. 2-seeded Franklin Panthers (8-2) in a 28-22 loss, while the Black Knight Midgets (No. 2, 8-2) failed to exorcise the Swain County Maroon Devils (No. 1, 10-0) by coming out on the losing end of a 20-6 final.
PeeWees
Things started promising enough for Robbinsville in Saturday's opener at Ray Kinsland Memorial Stadium in Cherokee. Just two plays into the contest, Reed Stewart broke loose on a 58-yard touchdown at the 6:20 mark.
However, the conversion run was stopped short of the goal line and the fired-up Panthers quickly responded with a 59-yard run to the house from Cristian Argueta, which came with 4:45 left in the opening stanza. Tanner O'Connell's conversion run gave Franklin an 8-6 lead – one the underdogs would never relinquish.
In the fallout of a Justin Talley fumble recovery, the Panthers clawed their way back into the end zone on a 4-yard Argueta carry. His subsequent two-point rush opened up a 16-6 Franklin advantage.
Argueta recovered another Knights fumble in the second, but the score held until the third – when O'Connell dashed away from the Robbinsville defense on a 64-yard touchdown sprint at the 6:04 mark. Though the conversion was unsuccessful, the Panthers continued to cash in on the Knights' errors when Argueta stripped the ball and returned it 60 yards for the final strike of the afternoon.
Stewart finally delivered a reply for Robbinsville – in the form of a 63-yard rumble – as the third-quarter horn sounded, with Bass Woods tacking on a conversion rush to cut the deficit in half. The Black Knights ultimately ran out of time to fully complete the comeback bid, with Woods crossing the threshold on a 7-yard carry as just nine seconds remained in the game. He followed with a conversion run to close out the game.
Midgets
Swain County dictated the tempo from the opening whistle of the nightcap, taking the first possession downfield in quick fashion and locating paydirt with 4:43 remaining in the segment on a 7-yard Magnus Clark rush. Stiles Carter's conversion run made the score 8-0, Maroon Devils.
Judah Glaspie tacked on another Swain insult before the first concluded, scoring on an 8-yard burst with 1:04 left on the clock. The conversion failed and the score held at 14-0 until the third quarter.
Though Elijah Cochran and Oaklan Deas were each credited with 1/2 sack after the break, Robbinsville got back in the game when Brayden Allison found some open real estate and ran 45 yards for a touchdown at the 3:25 mark. The Knights' lone attempt at a conversion ended up short of the end zone.
Swain County scored its final touchdown with 1:26 left in the third stanza, thanks to a 4-yard Glaspie run. The conversion failed and the Devils ensured a Robbinsville comeback would not occur in the fourth when Braelyn Lambert picked off a pass.
Copper Basin (No. 1, 10-0) shut out Cherokee (No. 2, 8-2) to capture the Termites championship, 22-0; while Cherokee (No. 1, 10-0) downed Murphy (No. 2, 7-3) to win the Mites Cracker Bowl crown, 30-8.
The Graham Star Sports Network live-streamed all four championship games; they will be available for viewing soon on The Star's YouTube channel.