Robbinsville – The Maroon Devils and Black Knights found themselves in the midst of something, that in all likelihood had never been done in the rich history of the two programs, which was play 3 games in 8 days. Tuesday was the second leg of the three games for both teams. But, let’s face facts, the challenge was much more daunting for the Maroon Devils. Swain found themselves coming off a heartbreaking loss on Friday to Murphy, while the Black Knights defeated Andrews, not to mention that Swain traveled to Robbinsville for the game.
Any way you want to cut it didn’t add up well for the Maroon Devils. Robbinsville used a punishing ground control game that ate up yards and the clock on their way to a 31-14 win.
How punishing was Robbinsville’s attack you ask. In the first half the Maroon Devil offense was limited to 15 plays, while the Knights offense reeled off 45 which was good for 255 yards.
Despite the disparity the Maroon Devils were able to stay close in the first half. Swain got rushing touchdowns from Carson Taylor and Gabe Lillard to make the score 21-14 at halftime.
Lillard got the Devils on the board in the second quarter with a 28 yard run. Gavin Lanning made the extra point to cut the lead to 14-7.
Following a 15 play 80 yard drive by the Knights that ended with a touchdown, the Maroon Devils struck quickly to score right before the half. Cooper Hyatt took the kickoff and set the Devils up with great field position as he returned it 43 yards to the Knights 37 yard line. From there Lillard hit Hyatt in stride, as Hyatt made a great catch, moving the Devils 34 yards down to the Robbinsville 3 yard line. On the next play Carson Taylor bulled his way for a touchdown. The Lanning extra point left the score at 21-14 at halftime.
Robbinsville added touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarter to put the game away in the second half.
The Black Knights ended up with 75 plays on offense and 417 yards of total offense, with 317 yards coming on the ground. The Maroon Devils ran 33 offensive plays for 162 yards of total offense. Josh Collins paced Swain with 62 yards on 6 carries. Lillard went 4 of 14 for 61 yards through the air. Cooper Hyatt and Donnavin Groenewold each had 2 catches.
Carson Taylor lived up to his All-State billing at linebacker. The senior was involved in 23 tackles on the Knights punishing ground game.
The Maroon Devils take the field again on Friday for their third leg of this marathon week. They will face a very good Cherokee squad with kickoff set for 7:30 from Swain County Memorial Stadium. It will be the regular season finale for both squads.