Taylor Oros had a game high 15 tackles for Swain
Things started slow for the Maroon Devils Friday night. Smoky Mountain grabbed an early 3-0 lead after the first quarter and looked in control. But after being shutout in the first quarter the Devils found their rhythm over the next three quarters outscoring the Mustangs 34-17 to take a 34-20 win over visiting Smoky Mountain.
In the first quarter the Maroon Devil offense was limited to a mere 4 plays. The Mustangs put together their best drive of the night with a 14 play 54 yard drive that resulted in a Zach Bryson 21 yard field goal.
Senior Blake Wright sparked the Maroon Devil offense in the 2nd quarter. Wright reeled off a 53 yard run that woke the Swain offense. One play later Raymius Smith scored on a 14 yard run. Nelson Pinto added the point after to give Swain a 7-3 lead, one which they would not relinquish.
Spencer McCoy then added the first of his two rushing touchdowns, this one from 4 yards out. Following Pinto’s point after, the Devils took a 14-3 lead. McCoy added his second touchdown on a 33 yard run to open the 3rd quarter, Pinto added the extra point to make it 21-3.
Lee Plank answered for Smoky with a 1 yard plunge to cut the Swain lead to 21-10. But Swain would answer on their next possession when Raymius Smith found senior tight end Dakota Brown with a 41 yard touchdown strike, which Brown capped with an acrobatic catch in the endzone. The extra point attempt failed, leaving the score 27-10 with 1:53 left in the third quarter.
Smoky Mountain rallied with a pair of scores. First on a 29 yard Zach Bryson field goal. Then Chace Morgan capped a 50 yard Mustang drive with a 1 yard plunge to cut the Swain lead to 27-20 with 5:58 left in the game.
The Maroon Devils answered to put the game away on their next possession. Swain mounted a 7 play 68 yard drive. Smith again found Brown for a touchdown pass, this time from 23 yards out. Pinto’s point after made it 34-20 with 2:52 remaining.
Swain pounded out 312 yards rushing on the night. Blake Wright led all rushers with 118 yards on 12 carries, while Spencer McCoy added 113 yards on 13 carries. Raymius Smith was 4 of 5 with 77 yards and 2 touchdown passes to go along with 69 yards rushing.
On the defensive side of the ball linebacker Taylor Oros had his second straight double digit tackle game, this time with a career high 15 tackles. Spencer McCoy had 9 tackles. For the second straight week the Devils defense limited an opponent to under 100 yards rushing as the Mustangs finished with 98.