ere for the taking Friday night for Murphy and Robbinsville.
A Smoky Mountain Conference championship. An undefeated regular season. Beating the best team on their schedule heading into the playoffs.
However, the Bulldogs didn’t step up to the challenge, losing to the Black Knights 17-7.
“It’s the biggest game of the year, and we didn’t play like it was the biggest game of the year,” Murphy head coach David Gentry said. “We made more mistakes in this game than we probably made all year long.”
As has been the case in recent years, this was the game each team circled on their calendar. Both teams were crushing opponents, with Murphy (6-1 overall, 5-1 conference) winning by an average of 33 points per game and Robbinsville (7-0, 6-0 conference) by an average of 28.2 points.
The Black Knights imposed their will on the first drive, running the ball right down the Bulldogs’ throats. All 11 plays were runs, and quarterback Nathan Collins capped off the 74-yard drive with a one-yard keeper to give Robbinsville a 7-0 lead.
The drive set the tone for the night, as the Black Knights were the better team in the trenches. Collins and senior running back Lex Hooper had better holes to run through, while Collins was able to take advantage of the protection to complete some timely passes.
Murphy’s yards were hard-earned, though Ray Rathburn did eventually find some success in the second half and finished with 97 yards on nine carries. Quarterback Kellen Rumfelt rarely had a clean pocket to throw and struggled with pressure all night.
“They did a lot of stunting, a lot of slanting on the line that we weren’t prepared for,” Rumfelt said of Robbinsville’s pressure.
The Bulldogs went three and out after Robbinsville’s opening drive touchdown, but had a window of opportunity after the Black Knights missed a field goal. After picking up one first down on a face mask, Murphy couldn’t get another and was forced to punt. Robbinsville marched right down the field again, going 61 yards in nine plays, with Hooper scoring from one yard out to give the Black Knights a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs were set up well on the next drive, which is when they started shooting themselves in the foot. A 19-yard run by Rathburn sandwiched between two penalties brought the ball to the Robbinsville 15-yard line, but a fumble gave the ball back to the Black Knights. After stopping Robbinsville, Murphy fumbled the punt.
“We just didn’t execute whatsoever,” Rumfelt said. “And the fumbles really killed us. We didn’t do anything we wanted to do the whole game and they had their way every play.”
Rathburn gave Murphy a jolt with a 42-yard run on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, and Rumfelt capped off the drive by hitting Cole Laney for a 25-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-7. After stopping Robbinsville on the next drive, it felt like the Bulldogs had taken the momentum.
Once again, however, Murphy couldn’t capitalize, getting stopped on a fourth-and-2 on its own 46-yard line near the end of the third quarter. Robbinsville took advantage of the good field position, and a 29-yard field goal by Cody Cline gave the Black Knights a 17-7 lead and seal the win.
The Bulldogs will reset for the playoffs, taking on Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy next week.
“I told the kids I thought they played well at times,” Gentry said. “They did not play consistently enough to win a big ballgame. We have to be more consistent on both offense and defense to win a big game.”