Robbinsville falls by one in closing seconds at Brevard
Brevard – For years to come, Black Knight fans will look back at Friday’s game with one simple question: What if?
Five fumbles – and one lost – along with a game-ending interception, a blocked field goal, a bad snap on a extra-point attempt and an unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt all remained a glaring part of the package that led to a 16-15 loss at Brevard.
“Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong,” Robbinsville head coach Dee Walsh said. “It was such a strange day. We had kids getting sent home during the day (for COVID quarantine), and even the bus ride over was different because we made them wear masks on the way.”
Neither Robbinsville (1-1) nor Brevard (1-0) could get things in gear for almost the first 22 minutes of the game. The Knights’ first drive ended with a missed field goal by Cody Cline and though Robbinsville’s defense forced the Blue Devils to go three-and-out on their first possession, the lengthy Knights’ drive that followed – which spilled into the second quarter – ended with a fumble, which Brevard’s Gabe Hoxit scooped up.
Both teams traded punts, before Eddie Brooms shifted the tide with a fumble recovery for the Black Knights. Cline would later break the scoreless drought by nailing a 46-yard field goal with two minutes left in the first half.
Brevard promptly responded just two plays later, when Kyle Lovett snagged a pass from Anson Burgess and ran 63 yards to the end zone. The extra point made it 7-3 Blue Devils; an advantage Brevard would carry into the break after Jake Gravley picked off Dasan Gross at the end of the half.
Brock Adams would pick off Burgess in the third quarter, but Cline’s third field goal attempt on the ensuing possession – which would have been 49 yards – was blocked. Robbinsville pulled back ahead 9-7 with 8:38 left in the fourth quarter, when Cuttler Adams powered his way through the Devils defense for a 20-yard scoring run. A bad snap on the extra-point limited the Knights’ lead to two points.
Brevard chewed nearly five minutes off the clock on its next drive, which culminated with a 21-yard field goal at the 3:41 mark. The Knights’ scramble to respond ended with two minutes left in the game, when Adams again found an opening and ran 43 yards for a touchdown. Robbinsville was unable to record two more on a conversion, leaving the Knights with a 15-10 lead.
Now with the pressure solely on the Blue Devils, Brevard moved downfield quickly thanks to five consecutive passes, the latter which yielded a 13-yard scoring reception for Gravley.
Robbinsville thwarted Brevard’s conversion attempt and frantically tried to get within field-goal range in the closing seconds, but Gross was picked off by Joe Powell to seal the Devils’ win.
COVID cancellations
With Graham County Schools switching to remote-learning only until Sept. 13, the Black Knights will have to cancel two of its non-conference games: a road trip to Mountain Heritage Friday, Sept. 3 and a home game against Smoky Mountain on Sept. 10.
With two open dates on the schedule before the conference portion of the season begins, Walsh indicated Monday that the team would work to find some games to fill the void of the two upcoming games during those open dates.