Robbinsville – For every question posed by Andrews, the Black Knights had an answer.
By the closing moments of the third quarter Friday, Robbinsville had amassed a 36-0 advantage over the visiting Wildcats. That was enough of a lead for many of Robbinsville’s standbys to see playing time for the remainder – and in response, Andrews struck for a trio of touchdowns, which trimmed the final outcome on Bob Colvin Field to 36-19.
The demolition of the defending Smoky Mountain Conference champions was highlighted by a more-balanced attack – than seen the previous week at Murphy – from Robbinsville (7-1, 3-0), with Cuttler Adams rushing twice across the goal line amid a 17-carry, 81-yard outing; fullback Kage Williams kick-starting the offense on a 67-yard rumble with 2:19 left in the first quarter (he went on to lead the team with 85 rushing yards on just four touches); and a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Donovan Carpenter to Williams (at the halftime buzzer) and Darion Ledbetter (the final Robbinsville strike of the game).
Andrews (4-4, 0-3) turned to senior running back Dalton Rose for its first two scores: a 70-yard sprint at the 38-second mark of the third quarter and a 28-yard scoring scamper with 9:18 left to play. Wildcats quarterback Everett Tatham later connected with Graham Burch on a 13-yard touchdown pass with 1:12 remaining; Ty Clark split the uprights for the only extra point of the evening.
Adams’ historic pursuit of the all-time school and Smoky Mountain Conference yardage record – held by Black Knights alum Rylee Anderson, who carried the ball 6,164 yards from 2016-19 – edged to 5,724, only 440 yards away. Carpenter went 7-of-10 in the air, posting 162 passing yards.