Robertsville beats Fort Loudoun
Robertsville Middle School opened the 2024 football season on a winning note at home Thursday night.
The Rams outlasted Fort Loudoun 34-28 in the season opener for both schools at Blankenship Field.
First-year Coach Ron Gray was pleased to see Robertsville win its first Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference game Thursday against the Braves.
But like all season-opening games, Gray left knowing that his team still has plenty of room for improvement.
“We had some first-game mistakes and some things that we’ve got to shore up,” Gray said. “We only gave up six points on defense.
“But we gave up kickoff returns and punt returns for touchdowns,” he said.
“We overkicked our coverage a little bit. Spenser Hatmaker, one of our offensive linemen, did a good job kicking off for us. He actually probably did too good of a job. He had one kickoff that landed on the 10-yard line, and a kid picked it up and ran 90 yards with it.”
It was Robertsville that made the first big play of the game on special teams, however.
Josiah McClure returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. His scoring covered 65 yards.
Later, he had another return for a touchdown as he toted a Braves punt 45 yards.
McClure, the Rams’ starting quarterback, was 2-of-7 through the air for 47 yards, and threw a touchdown pass.
He did the majority of his damage in the running game as he had seven carries for 153 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Rams, who led 16-6 in the first half before seeing Fort Loudoun rally to pull to within 22-18 by halftime.
They also got a 30-yard scoring reception from Kamoni Willis.
Jaxon Billingsley rushed for 45 yards on 13 carries for the Rams and scored two 2-point conversions.
Gray singled out some players for their performances, both on offense and defense after the victory over the Braves.
“Ben Hartman and Everett Hartman both played well on defense,” he said.
“Our overall defense was pretty good; the defense only gave up six points,” Gray said. “Our center, Caleb Cooper, and our offensive tackle, Malik Teasley, played well.”
