Robertsville falls in overtime shootout

An overtime loss in a shootout ended the Robertsville Middle School football team’s season-opening three-game winning streak.

RMS (3-1) came up short in a 64-58 decision against Grace Christian Academy in a battle of Rams Thursday night in Northwest Knox County.

Robertsville battled injuries and adversity in its lone non-conference game of the 2024 campaign.

“We battled and now we’ve got to recoup a little,” Robertsville coach Ron Gray said. “I’ve coached a lot of football. I’ve coached in high school and I’ve coached in college, but I’ve never been involved in a game like this.”

Despite the loss, Robertsville’s Rams made multiple explosive plays and had several stellar performances.

Lemiere Porter had 14 carries for 223 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns on the ground. He also saw time at quarterback, going 2-for-4 through the air for 67 yards, with both completions resulting in touchdowns. Additionally, he had a 55-yard kickoff return for a score and successfully executed all five of Robertsville’s two-point conversion attempts. Porter accounted for 345 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns.

Tavin Seaman, a sixth grader, also played quarterback and threw a 55-yard touchdown against Grace Christian.

Kamoni Willis had three carries for 102 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 13 yards, returned two kickoffs for 110 yards, and had a kickoff return for a touchdown.

Robertsville will hit the road again this week to face the Clinton Hawks (1-3) on Thursday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Hawks notched their first win of the 2024 campaign last week, defeating Carter 37-14 on homecoming night.