Waynesville – The Maroon Devils opened the 2018 football season last Friday with a trip to Tuscola. The Mountaineers built a 30-7 advantage before having to hold off a furious comeback by the Devils, and taking a hard fought 37-27 win at CE Weatherby Stadium. For the Devils there were plenty of question marks entering the season. Perhaps the two biggest were who would take snaps at quarterback and how would the Devils defense retool with only 3 starters returning. Both questions were addressed Friday, and from the looks the Maroon Devil faithful have little to worry about.
Sophomore Damian Lossiah got the start at quarterback, and handled himself well. With Lossiah under center the Devils rushed for 282 yards on 59 attempts. Lossiah himself, in his first varsity start, rushed for 122 yards on 19 carries. The Maroon Devils only went to the air 6 times on the night with Lossiah completing 2 of those including a 15 yard touchdown pass to Hunter Call.
As for the Devils defense, they got off to a slow start to say the least, but over the game’s final 24 minutes the Devils played well on the defensive side of the ball. Swain was torched in the first have, to the tune of 30 points, including 23 in a disastrous 2nd quarter. After some halftime adjustments the Devils stymied the Mountaineer offense in the 2nd half, limiting them to only 7 points.
Statistically speaking the Maroon Devils out rushed the Mountaineers 282 to 257, it marked the first time in the last two years that Swain rushed for more than 100 yards against Tuscola. Both teams finished with 300 yards of total offense.
The Maroon Devils, behind their massive offensive line, used a fierce ground attack that allowed them to control the ball for over 30 minutes of the 48 total minutes of the game. Turnovers proved costly for the Devils, as they fumbled 3 times losing 2 of those, and tossed an interception.
Bryce Sain finished with a team high 126 yards on 27 carries and 3 touchdowns. Lossiah finished with a career high 122 yards, while Ian Brooks finished with 34 yards on 13 carries. Hunter Call had two receptions, the first of his career, including a touchdown catch. Call also made good on all 4 of his extra point attempts. If your doing the math at home the Devils went for 2 and failed after their 3rd score.
The defense was led by Thomas Allen, one of Swain’s few returning starters on defense. Allen had 14 tackles, while Bryce Sain had 7 and Charlie Lambert finished with 6.