Bryson City, NC- When the Black Knights and the Maroon Devils take the field, you better get the popcorn ready because you know you’re in for a good show. This year it was no different, as both teams entered the game ranked in the MaxPreps 1A top ten and fired up for opening night of conference play.

For 48 minutes on Thursday night, Robbinsville and Swain went at it. Both team’s defenses really showed out on Friday night, as neither offense accrued more than 188 total yards. Sophomores Titan Teesateskie and Quinn Jumper helped the Robbinsville defense bottle up the Swain County offense, as did Juniors Cuttler Adams and Zeke Silvers.

Donovan Carpenter kept the Robbinsville offense moving when things seemed to stall out and had an all-around great night, going 6 of 9 through the air for 70 yards and also tacking on 43 yards with his legs. Cuttler Adams is the heartbeat of the Robbinsville offense (which he proved last night by accounting for all 3 of the Knight’s touchdowns) but Robbinsville couldn’t have gotten it done without Carpenters poise and leadership Thursday night.

For Swain, their defense was led by Lucas Sutton and Gabe Lillard, who combined for a 23 tackles, including 3 tackles for loss. The defensive effort the Maroon Devils had on display on Thursday cannot be understated, as they held Cuttler Adams under 100 yards for the first time this season. The Black Knights star was averaging nearly 200 yards per game on the ground coming into this one, and the Devils D held him to a total of only 74 ground yards. Joshua Collins was responsible for most of the Maroon Devils offense, rushing 14 times for 92 yards and a score. Reese Winchester and Josiah Glaspie also hooked up a few times through the air, including a 25 yard touchdown the got the Maroon Devils on the board in the first quarter.

Up next for Robbinsville (5-1, 1-0) will be a home bout with Cherokee (1-5, 0-1), while Swain (3-3, 0-1) will look to play spoiler vs undefeated Andrews on the road.

Robbinsville vs Swain video Highlights-