Robbinsville – This far into the 2021-22 season, one question lingers: is there anyone that can stop Robbinsville?
The No. 1-ranked team in 1A started its latest tear with a 70-6 victory in the annual “Battle of the Knights” at North Henderson on Jan. 5.
Robbinsville (17-1) then trounced 4-of-5 different teams at the Enka Duals in Candler on Saturday, adding yet another accolade to an already-cramped resume this year.
“We had three of our normal starters out (at Enka), so we knew we were “under the gun,’” noted Robbinsville head coach Todd Odom. “At the same time, we asked our young guys to step up and some other guys to pick up the slack, and they did.
“I was really pleased with the kids that stepped up, because that (a dual loss) has some long-term implications: it could hurt our seeding criteria. But sometimes you don’t have the horses in the stable; we’ve got a bunch of thoroughbreds.”
The programs that fell to the Black Knights on Saturday were North Buncombe, via a 65-18 match score; Polk County, 72-12; Swain County, 54-21; Enka, 38-37; and Erwin 72-3 in the finale. The match against the hosting Jets ended in a 37-37 deadlock, but Robbinsville won via criteria tiebreaker.
Out of 14 bouts contested Jan. 5 at North Henderson, Robbinsville won via pinfall in 10 of them.
“That’s the largest margin we’ve ever beaten North (Henderson) by,” Odom pointed out. “They had a couple of kids out of the lineup; with COVID, there’s kids jumping in and out. But he always puts great kids on the mat and we’ll continue to dual them, year in and year out.”
Tuesday against Cherokee, the Knights triumphed on senior night, 81-0. The only escape from a perfect score was a hard-fought bout at 170 pounds, which Jacob Hall won for Robbinsville 7-2.
“We’ve got a great group of seniors – and a great group of kids on the team – but these seniors have wrestled together all their life,” Odom explained. “I coached 90 percent of them in the kids program.
“It’s a special group to me, especially when four of the seniors are my kids.”