PILOT MOUNTAIN — East Surry kicked off the 2024 football season by outlasting Robbinsville 21-19.
The Cardinals trailed for less than 20 seconds in the Aug. 23 nonconference battle. Both teams scored in the first minute of action, then East remained in the driver’s seat and even led by two touchdowns at one point during the first half.
Robbinsville made a run at a comeback in the second half, but East’s veteran defense stood strong and secured the victory.
East Surry is the first North Carolina team to defeat Robbinsville in the regular season since 2022. The only other in-state team to hand Robbinsville a loss this past season was Mount Airy in the 1A West Regional Championship.
“It’s good to get a win, and I think it proved to the kids that we’re on the right track but have a long way to go,” said East Surry’s Caleb Pardue, who picked up his first win as the Cardinals’ head coach.
Pardue called Friday’s game gritty and physical, which he said played to East Surry’s strengths.
“The guys did a great job of embracing the idea that we’re going to be more physical than them,” Pardue said. “I’ve told them since the beginning that I want that to be our calling card. If you look at the game as a 10-round boxing match those little hits add up.
“There in the second half they were cramping and had some guys tired while we were able to stay fresh. That really helped us, especially on the lines, even though we didn’t play as clean as we were capable of in the second half.”
East Surry forced two fumbles, grabbed one interception, blocked a PAT, stopped a pivotal 2-point conversion and blocked a punt against Robbinsville. The interception from Noah Felts ended the game as Robbinsville looked to set up a game-winning attack in the fourth quarter.
The Black Knights took their only lead in Friday’s game right off the bat as Cooper Adams ran back the opening kickoff. The Cardinals quickly countered as Carter Motsinger, who made his first varsity start at quarterback, threw a 64-yard touchdown to Stevie Keener. Motsinger then connected with Felts for the 2-point conversion.
East held Robbinsville after the touchdown then Braden Snow blocked a punt that was recovered by Porter Gibson. East failed to capitalize on its good field position, but got the ball back after Snow forced a fumble that was recovered by Keener on Robbinsville’s next drive. The fumble set Troy Watson up for a 38-yard touchdown run with 3:47 left in the opening quarter. Watson and Felts combined to record 21 carries for 124 rushing yards.
The Cardinals made another stand on defense after Watson’s touchdown. The home team charged into Black Knights territory and scored their third touchdown, this time an option run by Motsinger.
The Cardinals split their offense with 145 passing yards and 159 rushing yards.
“We did a good job of taking what the defense gave us,” Pardue said. “[Motsinger] did a great job of getting the ball where it needed to go and running the offense; he’s very cerebral and has a lot of game in him. There are still a few things to clean up though.”
Robbinsville scored its second touchdown of the evening just before halftime, but East’s Lucas Chappell blocked the PAT to keep East up 21-13.
Pardue called the second half “a war of attrition.” East struggled on offense at times, but kept the visitors at bay for most of the half until Robbinsville scored on a 53-yard passing touchdown with just over five minutes remaining in the game. East Surry’s defense stepped up again to stop Robbinsville on the potential game-tying 2-point conversion.
Robbinsville got the ball back with less than two minutes to play but East forced a turnover-on-downs. The Black Knights got another shot after using all their timeouts, but Felts ended the game with an interception.
“There were some growing pains exposed there in the second half,” Pardue said. “To go through that and still win speaks to their resilience.”
Robbinsville made up one-half of the 2023 1A West Regional Championship game, and the team next on East Surry’s schedule is the squad that topped Robbinsville in that game: two-time defending 1A State Champion Mount Airy.
Mount Airy opened the season with a 50-14 win at North Surry.
Scoring
Robbinsville — 7, 6, 0, 6 — 19
East Surry — 15, 6, 0, 0 — 21
1Q
11:45 RV 0-7 — Cooper Adams 81-yard kickoff return, Angel Cervantes PAT
11:28 ES 8-7 — Stevie Keener 64-yard TD reception on Carter Motsinger pass, Noah Felts 2-point conversion reception on Carter Motsinger pass
3:47 ES 15-7 — Troy Watson 38-yard TD run, Braden Snow PAT
2Q
5:23 ES 21-7 — Carter Motsinger 22-yard TD run, PAT no good
1:09 RV 21-13 — Cooper Adams 1-yard TD run, PAT no good
3Q
No scoring
4Q
5:23 RV 21-19 — Cooper Adams 53-yard TD reception on Bryce Adams pass, failed 2-point conversion
Offensive Stats
Robbinsville Black Knights
TEAM
115 passing yards on eight completions, one touchdown, one interception
161 rushing yards on 33 carries, one touchdown, two fumbles
276 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Bryce Adams 8-of-13 for 115 yards, one touchdown, one interception; Luke Lovin 0-of-1
Receiving: Cooper Adams one reception for 53 yards, one touchdown; Darion Ledbetter five receptions for 51 yards; Tanner Hedden one reception for 11 yards
Rushing: Cooper Adams 11 carries for 95 yards; Bryce Adams 12 carries for 28 yards, one touchdown; Darion Ledbetter three carries for 22 yards; Roman Jones five carries for 13 yards; Quinn Jumper two carries for 3 yards
Kicking: Angel Cervantes 1-of-2 PATs
East Surry Cardinals
TEAM
145 passing yards on 11 completions, one touchdown, one 2-point conversion
159 rushing yards on 25 carries, two touchdowns
304 total yards
INDIVIDUAL
Passing: Carter Motsinger 11-of-14 for 145 yards, one touchdown, one 2-point conversion
Receiving: Stevie Keener four receptions for 105 yards, one touchdown; Zach Keener three receptions for 19 yards; Braxton Davis two receptions for 19 yards; Luke Bruner one reception for 1 yard; Chris George one reception for 1 yard; Noah Felts one 2-point conversion
Rushing: Noah Felts 10 carries for 69 yards; Troy Watson 11 carries for 55 yards, one touchdown; Chris George two carries for 12 yards; Carter Motsinger two carries for 23 yards, one touchdown
Kicking: Braden Snow 1-of-2 PATs
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