Written by Rowan Ellis

Photo by Joanna McMahan

Looking to bounce back from a week 1 loss, the Swain County Maroon Devils host the Smoky Mountain Mustangs. With packed stands on both sides, the Mustangs win the toss and elect to receive the ball after halftime, looking to stop the Swain offense early. That they did, forcing the Devils to go 3 and out early, and get great field positioning off the punt. Pounding the ball on the ground looked like all Smoky needed to do as 3 different rushers collected a first down, but on a gritty 4th down attempt, Mustang running back Ayden Johnson came up just short of the first, deep into Swain territory.

As Smoky Mountain has Swain pinned back deep on their own side of the field, the big men up front stuff the rushes by Swain forcing them to punt on just 3 plays. With great field positioning once again, a rush by Johnson and Malachi Mcneely each for a first down, the Mustangs find themselves in the red zone again. But this time they capitalize, with a rush outside from Ayden Johnson to get Smoky Mountain on the board first, leading 7-0.

Getting the ball, looking for a spark on offense, the Devils can’t do anything against the Mustang as they punt once again on only 3 plays. As Smoky Mountain looks to carry over their momentum, Senior Quarterback Jarek Jones could not be stopped on the ground. Rushing for multiple first downs, and eventually finding the endzone on his feet, Smoky Mountain extends their lead 14-0.

However, the Devils look to respond with first down rushes from Quarterback Andruw Cody and Mason Cochran. This momentum soon gets lost as Cody exits the game with an injury, and backup Qb Jon Stephson gets picked off on a deep ball by Mustangs’ Malachi Mcneely. After the Half, neither team can start anything as they both punt early, but getting the ball back right before the 3rd quarter comes to a close, handing the ball off to Ayden Johnson was all they needed to do. Picking up 3 consecutive first downs on the ground, allowing a carry by Mcneely to get in the endzone, Mustangs lead 21-0.

With time running down, Swain County still could not get anything going late. Smoky mountain getting the ball and running out the time, they secured the victory on the road with a final score 21-0.

Look Ahead: The Swain County Maroon Devils will travel to Franklin to take on the Undefeated Panthers and the Smoky Mountain Mustangs will stay on the road and travel to Asheville to face off against T.C Roberson.