For the second straight year, both Andrews and Murphy will compete in the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A playoffs.
Murphy will host Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy on Friday night, while Andrews will travel nearly four hours northeast to face Elkin High School. If the Wildcats and Bulldogs both win, they would play each other next week at Murphy.
The home playoff game was a bit of a surprise for Murphy. For this year’s playoffs, teams that won their respective conference were guaranteed a home game.
However, the Bulldogs finished second in their conference after losing to Robbinsville on Friday. That put them in the draw for the No. 7-9 seeds as the second-place team in the Smoky Mountain Conference, and they randomly drew a high enough seed to earn a home game in the first round.
The 16 teams that qualified for the 1A playoffs were placed into two eight-team brackets. Murphy is the No. 4 seed in its bracket, while Thomas Jefferson is No. 5.
The Gryphons caught a bit of bad luck after finishing 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the Southern Piedmont Conference, as Pine Lake Prep played and won one more game to finish 7-0 and grab a home game in the 1AA bracket. This is the first ever meeting between Murphy and Thomas Jefferson.
Despite coming in at the No. 5 seed, Bulldogs head coach David Gentry thinks Thomas Jefferson is the best team in their bracket. The Gryphons went 12-2 last year, losing to Robbinsville 28-14 in the Final Four.
This year, they’ve outscored opponents 222-58 and are led by several talented offensive players. Junior Bryce Jorgenson (657 yards passing, 357 yards rushing) is a dual threat quarterback, senior running back Isaiah McMullens (501 yards rushing) is averaging over seven yards per carry and 6-foot, 5-inch junior wide receiver Dakota Twitty (30 reception, 473 yards) has offers from 14 Power 5 schools, according to the 247 Sports Composite, one of the lead recruiting websites.
“What you’ve got to do is when you get a team like that, with that many weapons, you gotta control the football, you gotta keep the football and score when you have it,” Gentry said.
For Andrews, Friday’s game against Elkin has the potential for revenge. After beating Cherokee in the first round in last season, the Elks crushed the Wildcats in the second round, 41-13.
“It’s just been a super challenging year for all of us, especially these kids,” Wildcats head coach James Phillips said. “They’ve just been unwavering in their commitment to win and advance the culture at Andrews.”
This year, Elkin went 5-1 and finished second in the Mountain Valley Conference behind 2A Ashe County. After beating Andrews last year, they were knocked out by Thomas Jefferson. The Elks have the No. 1 seed in their side of the bracket, while Andrews is No. 8.
A win would allow Andrews to continue a historic season. With the 40-6 win over Rosman on Friday, the Wildcats finished 4-2 overall and in the Smoky Mountain Conference, their most wins in the conference since 1985.
“With this group of kids, they don’t really care who’s in front of them,” Phillips said. “They just want a chance.”