Gary Ayers
The Maroon Machine ran with some sludge in its’ crankcase Friday night instead of running smoothly, and the result was something Swain fans haven’t dealt with much, especially against rival Smoky Mountain, a 21-0 shutout. While it hasn’t been that long since a home shutout, a 14-0 loss to Dade County, Georgia on Sept. 16, 2022, shutouts have been few and far between since the Foxhole Forty won Swains’ first state title in 1979 and moved into Swain Memorial Stadium in 1980.
Smoky Mountain used solid line play on offense and defense as the Mustangs rushed for 273 yards while holding the Swain runners to only 70 yards. The passing game was never a factor for either team, as Swain had a negative one yard passing on 10 attempts to Smoky Mountain’s five for five passing for 29 yards.
The game started slowing for Swain as the Maroon Devils had a three and out and had to punt on the first possession. Smoky took over at the 31-yard-line and two big plays, a jet sweep by Malachi McNeely and a 17-yard sprint by quarterback Jarek Jones set Smoky up at Swain’s 19-yard line. McNeely ran nine yards to the Swain 12-yard line. But there the Maroon Devil defense stiffened. The Mustangs had a fourth down and two at the Swain 11-yard line and Jones was stopped at the 10-yard line and Swain took over on downs.
Again, it was three and out for the Maroon offense. Smoky took over at the Swain 49-yard line after a fine punt by Brendan Lanning, who punted well all night averaging 30.8 yards per punt with a long of 46 yards on four punts.
After positive rushing plays by Jones and McNeely, McNeely broke another jet sweep for a 16-yard gain to the Swain 14-yard line. Two plays later Ayden Johnson punched in a four-yard TD run and Devlin Bright added the PAT for a 7-0 Smoky lead.
After a Swain punt early in the second quarter, the Mustangs took over at the Swain 44-yard line. Another jet sweep figured into this drive as Smoky had success running at the edge of the Maroon Devil defensive front several times during the game. After a jet sweep of 15 yards to lead the drive, Jones scored on a quarterback run from 10 yards out for a 13-0 lead which turned into a 14-0 lead after the PAT.
The Swain offense showed some life on the next series with positive yardage gained on the ground by quarterback Druw Cody, along with running backs Mason Cochran and Skeet Cook. But just as momentum swung Swain’s way, Cody was injured and was replace by quarterback Jon Stephenson. Just a couple of plays later Stephenson’s pass was intercepted at the goal line by the Mustangs McNeely.
Three running plays later and both teams headed to the halftime locker room. The early minutes of the third quarter saw Smoky running the ball behind their big, physical offensive line. But the Swain defense stepped up again on a big fourth down plan at the Swain 39-yard line as the Mustangs fumbled a jet sweep.
Bad luck again struck the Devils as Keyanthae Graham was injured and joined Cody on the sideline. After Zeke Glaspie picked up one of Swain’s five first downs on the night on the following drive, Swain punted back to Smoky. Johnson led the way with a 16-yard gain, assisted by an 11-yard gain by Johnson, and a 15-yard jet sweep as McNeely scored on a 15-yard run. The PAT was good for a 21-0 lead by the Mustangs.
Both teams played solid defense as time ran out with Smoky inside the Swain 20-yard line. The Maroon Machine defense was led by Grady Lewis with 13 tackles, Trent Jones with 12, Mason Cochran and Skeet Cook had 9 tackles each. It was rough night for Devil offense with only 32 total plays for 69 total yards while Smoky had 54 plays for 302 yards. Smoky dominated time of possession 35:22 to 18:59.
Next up, The Maroon Devils will continue their annual run through the Mountain Seven 3-A conference by traveling to Franklin. The Panthers, under veteran coach Josh Brooks, have had their way with two of the other Smoky Mountain conference favorites: beating Murphy 33-13 and Robbinsville 30-7. The Panthers are led by all-purpose back Braydon Hervey, who leads the team with 256 yards rushing, 2 TD’s receiving and is also their leading punt and kickoff return player. Quarterback Anderson Terrell a sophomore, has passed for 208 yards and 3TD’s.