Rosman – It was a game not for the faint at heart, and one that each of the two fanbases would love. Rosman and Swain combined for less than 100 yards passing and ran for over 450 total yards and a whole lot of hard hitting. Most every one of the yards were of the hard earned variety. In the end Swain controlled the line of scrimmage just enough to earn a tough hard fought 28-21 win over home standing Rosman.
Swain got 251 yards rushing from 7 different rushers, while the Tigers finished with 224 yards and 178 coming from Gage Orr. Brody Sitton paced Swain with 92 yards on 10 carries, followed closely by Derek Fortner who bulled his way to 86 yards on 19 carries. Brodie Bowman (39 yards) and Keshaun Beaner (22 yards) each contributed a touchdown run, to go along with touchdowns from Sitton and Fortner.
The Maroon Devils only pass completion of the night was a big one. Bowman hit Derek Fortner, who appeared to be stopped for a loss on a crucial 3rd and 9 play, but broke free and raced 34 yards to set up a Maroon Devil score.
Both offenses provided the scoring, but it was the two defenses who were outstanding. Swain’s defense in particular did an outstanding job of containing a Tiger offense that was averaging over 330 rushing yards per game. Johnny Woodard (12 tackles) and Issiah Bradley (11 tackles) combined for 23 tackles, limiting the Tigers rushing between the tackles. Senior linebacker Ross Ensley, did exactly what was needed of him, going sideline to sideline making plays. Ensley finished with 19 tackles.
The Maroon Devils move to 6-3 overall and more importantly are now 4-0 in conference play.