North Buncombe – North Buncombe High School celebrated its football homecoming with a parade in downtown Weaverville and a homecoming court, but not with a win on the field. The Black Hawks (0-6) were de-feathered by the Roberson Rams (4-1) 46 to 13. The conference game was marred by personal fouls and the expulsion of at least one North Buncombe player.
The Hawks won the coin toss and elected to receive to start the game, and Hawks’ Senior Cameron Higgins (#10) took the kickoff at the North Buncombe 30 and returned it to their 34. Higgins would get a first down at the North Buncombe 48 when he caught a pass from Hawks Junior Quarterback Alex Rash to keep the drive alive. Spencer Roane (#4) would contribute to the drive along with Heyden Burnette (#22) as they got to the Rams’ 27-yard line, but a sack and an incomplete pass would stall the drive and force North Buncombe to try for a field goal. The 47-yard attempt would fall short and turn the ball over to Roberson.
The Rams started with an incomplete pass and a run that was called back on a holding flag, but the Hawks gave five yards back when they were called offsides on the next play. Roberson would use a combination of runs and passes to score at the end of the first quarter and put a good point-after-attempt (PAT) through the uprights to make it 7-0, Rams.
North Buncombe would be three and out on its next possession, giving the ball back to the Rams, who promptly, on a 65-yard run by Junior Tyrin Credle, scored another touchdown and, with a good PAT, made the score 14-0 Roberson at 9:25 in the second quarter. Credle would have eight carries for 145 yards and two touchdowns when the night was over.
An intercepted pass would give the Rams the ball back and Credle’s second touchdown a play later would add to the score. As the PAT was attempted, the football was fumbled but picked up by the Rams and ran in for a two-point conversion at the 8:32 mark, making it 22-0 Rams.
Another three and out by North Buncombe would set Roberson up for another touchdown, but he missed the PAT at 5:58, giving the Rams a 28-0 lead. The Hawks would finally make it on the board with less than a minute to go into halftime with a Roane touchdown and a good PAT, making it 28-7 Rams. However, Roberson would get the ball back and, with less than two seconds on the clock, kick a field goal to make it 31-7 at the half.
The Rams would add another touchdown and a PAT in the third, making it 38-7 going into the fourth quarter, where the Rams would add another TD and a two-point conversion and the Black Hawks would see a Cameron Higgins two-yard run for a TD but a failed two-point conversion with 3:43 left in the game.
TC Roberson would dominate the night, rushing for nearly 400 yards and passing for 103. North Buncombe rushed for only 126 yards and passed for 60. North Buncombe travels to Marion to take on McDowell (3-2) on Friday night.