Shout at the Devils

Robbinsville – What. A. Comeback.

The Black Knights could have easily thrown in the towel after Swain County punched ahead 24-8 in the third round of the 1A state playoffs Friday. The Maroon Devils never led in the Smoky Mountain Conference title game Oct. 27, so a two-score advantage midway through the third quarter might have seem insurmountable to a lesser program.

But the visitors forgot to take into account one glaring difference, an overarching theme in the 2023 campaign: Robbinsville’s “brotherhood.”

A 22-0 run was capped by Cuttler Adams busting free on a 37-yard touchdown with 1:25 left in the affair, which gave the Knights all the advantage needed to secure a wild 30-24 win.

“We just started clicking on all cylinders,” said junior tackle Tytan Teesateskie. “Our line decided it was time to show up, because we didn’t in the first half: we came out soft, but we decided in the locker room (at halftime) that we were going to come out and smack them in the mouth.

“And we did.”

Adams hustled for 147 yards on 29 touches, with two touchdowns to his credit. Chase Calhoun struck for the other two Robbinsville scores: a 2-yard carry in the second and a 1-yard push in the fourth. Adams first found paydirt on a 2-yard rush in the third, which started the Knights’ rally bid.

His pursuit of the all-time Western North Carolina record was trimmed to just 177 yards, as he now stands at 6,455 in his career; Brevard’s Manny Deshauteurs punched 6,632 into the record books between 1997-99.

Swain County (No. 9, 11-2) suffered its only two blemishes this year at the hands of the Black Knights. Perennial threat Joshua Collins was held to just 30 yards on 10 attempts; Josiah Glaspie picked up the slack by running for 109 yards via 12 handoffs. Collins actually fired the opening touchdown from the Maroon Devils to usual-quarterback Reese Winchester: a 37-yard heave in the second quarter. Lineman Nse Uffort nabbed a Donovan Carpenter pass later in the segment and return it 31 yards; Glaspie broke free on a 33-yard sprint for the Devils’ final torching with 8:23 left in the third.

“Adversity is nothing when we have the ‘brotherhood’ we have,” Carpenter said. “Those guys having my back like that? I threw a pick-six and when I got to the locker room at halftime, they had my back. They told me, ‘It’s gonna be alright. We got you.’

“That’s everything; I don’t have to keep my head down, because they pick me up.”

The exorcism solidifies Robbinsville’s return to the fourth round (Elite 8) of the postseason. After reaching the 1A Western Regional Finals in four consecutive seasons (including winning the state crown in 2019), the Black Knights fell in a 30-27, third-round heartbreaker at Eastern Randolph in 2022.

Robbinsville (No. 1 seed in the 1A Western bracket, 12-1) will enjoy all the comforts of home until the state finals. Up next on the docket is the North Rowan Cavaliers (No. 4, 11-2), who prevailed in a 48-39 shootout against Mountain Heritage (No. 5, 10-3). The game is tentatively scheduled to kick off under the Big Oaks at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 24.

The Black Knights traveled to Burnsville on Sept. 1 and defeated the Cougars, 28-17; Robbinsville has not played North Rowan since the third round of the playoffs in two years; the Knights edged the Cavaliers at home 50-47 on Nov. 19, 2021.

Mount Airy (No. 2, 13-0) trampled Murphy (No. 10, 9-4) in a 64-26 route Friday; the Granite Bears host Eastern Randolph (No. 3, 12-1) in the other 1A West, Elite 8 showdown next Friday.

Look for more coverage in the Thanksgiving edition of The Graham Star.