Hayden Neadeau
BRYSON CITY – Swain used a strong and physical second half to down a pesky Avery squad in the 2nd round of the NCHSAA 1AA playoffs friday night. The Devils and Vikings finished the 1st half tied at 3. But Swain opened the 2nd half with 2 of their best drives of the season to post 14 unanswered points and pull away for a 31-10 win.
On the opening drive of the 2nd half the Devils went 8 plays and covered 79 yards. Spencer McCoy bulled his way in from 6 yards out. The McCoy touchdown and Nelson Pinto kick gave the Devils a 10-3 lead.
The Swain defense, which was dominate all night, forced Avery to give the ball back on their first drive of the 2nd half. Swain then mounted a 19 play 86 yard drive that resulted in a Taylor Oros touchdown. The drive seemed to take all of the momentum out of the Vikings, who managed to return a Swain fumble for touchdown for their only score of the 2nd half.
Swain tacked on two more touchdowns on runs by Blake Wright and another by Taylor Oros. The Maroon Devils rushed for 305 yards while limiting the Vikings to only 38 on the night.
Nelson Pinto kicked his 2nd field goal of the season, this one a 28 yard boot that gave the Devils their first lead of the night. Pinto added 4 extra points as well.
Spencer McCoy finished with 110 yards on 16 carries, while Blake Wright added 95 yards on 26 carries and Taylor Oros had 80 yards on 7 carries.
Raymius Smith threw for 87 yards on 8 of 17 passing. Dakota Brown had a career high 7 catches for all 87 passing yards.
The Maroon Devils defense was solid all night, limiting the Vikings to 5 first downs and only 80 yards of total offense. Zach Weeks, Hayden Neadeau, and Brent Gunter led the Swain defense. Weeks finished with 8 tackles, while Neadeau, Gunter, and Taylor Oros finished with 5 tackles. Angel Bowers and Dylan Morgan each had an interception.
Swain advances to the 3rd round of the NCHSAA 1AA playoffs for the 3rd consecutive year. The Devils will host Starmount (10-3) this friday at 7:30 from Swain County Memorial Stadium.