Robbinsville Opens Season With 28–14 Win Over Tuscola

ROBBINSVILLE, N.C. – The Robbinsville Black Knights started their 2025 campaign in strong fashion Friday night, defeating the visiting Tuscola Mountaineers 28–14 in a non-conference showdown.

Robbinsville struck first when senior running back Kyzik Teesateskie broke through the line for a 17-yard touchdown run in the opening quarter. Kicker Zander Lucksavage added the extra point, giving the Knights an early 7–0 lead.

Teesateskie would go on to score again late in the second quarter, and the Knights took a 14-0 lead into the locker room.

The turning point came midway through the fourth quarter. With Tuscola threatening to close the gap, Robbinsville’s Ryelon Waldroup jumped a pass and returned it 35 yards for a pick-six, extending the lead to 21–7 with eight minutes left to play. The play energized the home crowd and effectively put the game out of reach.

Robbinsville added another late score to secure the win, while Tuscola managed one more touchdown before time ran out.

After the game, head coach Lucas Ford praised his team’s effort.

“I’m really proud of our kids and their effort. These kids really like each other. They are getting really close as a team, and that is something we are really pleased to see. This was a good win. It was fun,” Ford said.

Final Stat Lines-

Luke Lovin

3/5 39 yards passing, 8 Rushes for 71 yds

3 Tackles 1 INT

Kyzik Teesateskie

12 rushes for 65 yds 2 TDs

Isiac Collins

16 rushes for 51 yds 1 TD

Benton Gibby

13 Tackles

Cam Allison

5 Rushes 54 yds, 4 Tackles, 1 INT

With the victory, Robbinsville improves to 1–0 on the season and will host Franklin next week. Tuscola drops to 0–1 and will look to rebound on the road against Cherokee.