Photo from Jenny Collins Millsaps

Tuesday night football, one more ripple effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Robbinsville Black Knights were scheduled to play the Swain County Maroon Devils on October first but, due to COVID protocols on the Maroon Devil side, the game was postponed and rescheduled for tomorrow night.

Tomorrow nights game will mark three games in seven days for both teams, as the Knights are coming off of a 24-14 win over Andrews on Friday, while the Devils were knocked off by Murphy, 28-21.

There’s a lot riding on the line every time these two teams play each other, but perhaps there’s a little more hype around this game than usual. Yes, it’s a Tuesday night game so that means all eyes on Big Oaks Stadium, but this game also will have huge playoff implications.

The Black Knights basically control their own destiny at this point. They currently sit atop the conference at 2-1 alongside Murphy (3-1) and Swain (2-1), but unlike Swain they hold the tiebreaker over the Bulldogs for first place in the conference. Long story short, if they beat Swain tomorrow night and beat Hayesville three days later, they’ll be the Smoky Mountain Conference champs for the third year in a row.

As far as Swan is concerned, they’ll need more than just a win against the Black Knights tomorrow in order to secure an SMC title. Even if they do beat Robbinsville and Cherokee in a span of four days, they’ll need the Andrews Wildcats to knock off Murphy for the first time in 40 years.

When it comes to who might win the SMC, there are too many scenarios to list.

If you’re a Murphy Bulldog fan, tomorrow night you might just slip on some maroon for the first time in your life. Murphy needs Swain to beat Robbinsville, which will put the Dogs in a position to win the title if they can beat Andrews on Friday night.

If you’re a fan of chaos however, the scenario in which there is a four-way tie for first isn’t as simple, but it is possible. Buckle up, i’m about to tell you what need to happen in order for 4 teams to be sitting at the top. If Swain beats Robbinsville and losses to Cherokee, they finish the season at 3-2. If Robbinsville losses to Swain and beats Hayesville, they finish the season at 3-2. If Cherokee beats Swain they finish at 3-2. And if Murphy losses to Andrews they finish at 3-2. This scenario puts all four teams at 3-2 in the conference, and would lead to a tie for first place. Not likely, but still possible.

One thing is for certain- All eyes will be on Robbinsville and Swain tomorrow night.

The Black Knights will lean heavily on their run game as they have all year, with Sophomore Cuttler Adams receiving the bulk of the work. Adams has 968 rushing yards and 13 TDs on 138 carries through 6 games this year. Defensively, Seniors Ben Wachacha, Eddie Brooms and Carlos Wesley will need to be strong up front and help limit the big plays from the Swain offense. If Robbinsville’s defensive line can get a good push and their linebackers can help contain Swain’s shifty QB, that will spell success for the Knights. Another thing to watch in this one will be how much Cuttler Adams plays on both sides of the football. We saw him take a step back from his defensive duties Friday against Andrews, and it will be interesting to see if he’s a full go tomorrow.

As far as Swain is concerned, they will need quarterback Gabe Lillard to take care of the football if they want to win this ballgame. Against a team like Robbinsville, you cant turn the ball over if you want to win, and luckily for the Devils, Lillard makes smart decisions and isn’t prone to coughing up the football. Swain also has to find a way to get Groenwald and Hyatt the ball. Those are your big time play-makers, and they are capable of going for 6 anytime they touch the pigskin. Defensively for the Maroon Machine, they have to find a way to stop the run. Robbinsville is averaging 244 yards per game on the ground compared to 99 yards through the air, so the recipe for success against the Knights is obviously to make them throw the football.

Massey ratings has Robbinsville as a 12 point favorite heading into this one, and I would say that’s pretty fair. Everyone knows how hard it is to play at the Big Oaks, and I don’t think Swain is equipped defensively to stop the Black Knights rushing attack. If Robbinsville can control the line of scrimmage and win the time of possession battle, they’ll win by two or three scores. BUT, if they come out of the gates slow and allow this scrappy Swain team to hang around, who knows what will happen. Team FYN Sports will be on site with live updates and coverage of the game, so make sure to follow our Facebook and Twitter pages, and subscribe to our YouTube for a postgame highlight video!