Bryson City – Needless to say the Maroon Devils home opener was probably the strangest in the long and storied history of our football program. Originally the Devils were scheduled to open with North Buncombe on Friday the 20th of August. North Buncombe had a confirmed case of COVID on Friday morning. So, for contact tracing to run its course the game was rescheduled with North Buncombe for Monday the 24th. Over the weekend, after talking with North, Swain’s Athletic Director Neil Blankenship became concerned that the game would have to be cancelled. He and his staff quickly made some calls and as it turns out Asheville Christian Academy was in need of a game, and were willing to come to Bryson City and play on Monday.
So, the Devils and ACA teed it up Monday night to open both of their seasons. The season opener also marked the return of Neil Blankenship to the Maroon Devil sidelines.
The game itself didn’t start well for the Maroon Devils, Asheville Christian marched downfield on their first possession and scored. The Lions followed that by making good on a two point conversion, leaving the Devils in a 8-0 hole before ever running an offensive play.
But the Devils would respond, with what has been a trademark over the years, a punishing time consuming 12 play 69 yard drive that led to the their first touchdown of the season. Senior running back Carson Taylor did much of the work on the drive, eventually scoring the first of his 3 touchdowns on the night with a 1 yard plunge. Gavin Lanning made good on the first of his 3 extra points on the night.
In the end the Maroon Devils found their rhythm on offense and defense. On the defensive side the Devils kept ACA off the scoreboard the rest of the night and held them to just 121 total yards on the night. On the offensive end Scored five more times to come away with a 40-8 win.
Taylor led the Devils with 75 yards on 12 carries. Lucas Sutton, Josh Collins and Zach Stepp all rushed for more than 20 yards on the evening. Cooper Hyatt had a pair of catches for 55 yards and a touchdown, to go along with an interception, and a nice 30 yard punt return.
It will be a short week for the Devils as they will travel to Smoky Mountain on Friday.