Comeback bid falls short for Black Knights
Robbinsville – Not only did Friday evening’s festivities include the crowning of a school queen, but it was also a different type of “homecoming” for the Black Knights.
The defending Smoky Mountain Conference champions returned for the first home game in six weeks – a gap spurned by a combination of a district-wide COVID pause and previously scheduled open dates – and was to be the divisional opener against neighboring Swain County.
But with the pandemic forcing the postponement of play against the Maroon Devils to Tuesday, Oct. 26, Robbinsville was forced to scramble and find an opponent within a 36-hour window earlier last week. Fortunately, the 3A Broome (S.C.) Centurions answered the call and made the trek from Spartanburg to give the Knights just their fourth game of the season.
Things did not go in Robbinsville’s favor. Four lost fumbles and a pair of sacks by the Centurions on the Knights’ final drive halted any hopes of a happy return to Graham County, as Robbinsville fell 46-43.
“We had an opportunity to win; we just didn’t take care of the football,” Knights head coach Dee Walsh said. “We also didn’t make big plays when we needed to. I guess this is why you play non-conference games against good teams.”
The outlook was promising in the early going. The Knights forced a turnover at the 48-yard line on Broome’s opening drive, but the first of two fumble recoveries by Centurion senior Dalton Crawford at the 5-yard line seemed to halt Robbinsville’s momentum.
However, Dalton Hill would pick off Broome quarterback Dylan Ramirez during the next possession and returned the ball to the Centurion 6-yard line. Two plays later, Cuttler Adams crossed the goal line for his first of four touchdowns and with 3:59 left in the first stanza, Robbinsville led 6-0.
Then things unraveled. Quickly.
Broome needed just three plays to end the shutout – a 17-yard pass from Ramirez to Braxtin Turner and extra point made it 7-6, Centurions – before Jay Prater recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and returned it 30 yards for another Broome touchdown. The extra point made it 14-6, but the Centurions were not finished: Crawford’s second fumble recovery came just three plays later, before another Ramirez-Turner connection and Dickson extra point ended a streak of 21 unanswered points in a span of 1:54.
Adams chopped the deficit on the Knights’ next snap, breaking free and sprinting 65 yards to the house. His conversion run then made it 21-14, finally ending the heavyweight battle that was the first quarter.
Jude Campbell sacked Ramirez to end Broome’s next drive early in the second, before the Knights churned downfield and eventually handed the ball to Adams for his second, 6-yard scoring run of the first half. Cody Cline’s second extra point of the game knotted things at 21-all, but the Centurions made sure the docket did not stand for long.
Ramirez dove across the goal line roughly three minutes later and though a bad snap left Broome with a 6-point lead, the Centurions forced a turnover and later added points 33 and 34 to the board with 17 seconds left in the half, when Ramirez hit Darren Crook on a 48-yard scoring pass and Dickson extra point. The half ended on a sour note when Steven O’Dell stripped the ball out of Dasan Gross’ hands on the final play of the quarter.
The visitors did not let up, as Heath Brigman fell on top of another Knights’ fumble to begin the second half. Broome scored again with 9:07 left in the third – a 10-yard pass from Ramirez to Wilkins – but Robbinsville did not give up. Adams – who finished the night with a whopping 270 rushing yards – dashed 36 yards to the end zone with 5:48 left in the segment.
The Knights forced a Centurion punt and carried their next possession into the fourth, with Gross later opting to keep the ball and score from five yards out with exactly 10 minutes left in the game. Cline’s extra point cut the duel to 40-35, but Broome started to dictate a methodical pace with its next drive. Almost six minutes later, another 1-yard scoring keeper by Ramirez ran the Centurions’ advantage up to 11.
Starting at the 40, Robbinsville wasted no time pulling off some successful trickery. Gross snapped a quick pass to his left – reaching Isaac Wiggins, who turned and found an unguarded Brock Adams conveniently waiting downfield. Brock’s eventual 60-yard touchdown and Cline’s extra point trimmed the score to 46-43 with 3:47 left.
Broome was held to a 3-and-out and the Knights took back over with a chance to win. But after crossing midfield, both Garrett Sontag and Ke’Anthony Stringer broke through the line and dropped Gross for a loss – the latter forcing a turnover with mere seconds left in the game.
“We were lucky to get to play this game,” Walsh added. “They brought us some good competition in here. We put the ball on the ground too much; we’ve done that a lot the last two games. It’s not a normal thing; our kids usually take care of the ball better.”
Familiar face, finally
As it now plays out, Robbinsville (2-2) will begin Smoky Mountain Conference play this week: a trip to Cherokee, to face the Braves (2-3, 0-1). Cherokee dipped its toes in the divisional waters Friday, falling 29-28 at home against Murphy, who Robbinsville will face on the road Oct. 15.
The Knights will then return to Bob Colvin Field for a grueling stretch of three-games-in-seven-days: Andrews on Friday, Oct. 22; Swain County on Tuesday, Oct. 26, and Hayesville on Friday, Oct. 29, which will end the regular season.
“Cherokee is really, really good. Everybody’s talking like that game against Murphy was just a fluke, but that’s not true,” Walsh said. “They’ve got really good athletes and their quarterback is exceptional. They’ve got a huge line and a great blocking scheme. Hopefully we can provide a balanced attack and do what we’re capable of doing.”