'40 years is no more'
Andrews – Wildcats head coach James Phillips had a feeling this week. After looking at the forecast earlier in the week and seeing it could favor Andrews’ smash-mouth style, he told his team something special could happen Friday night.
Special, of course, only meant one thing. The one thing everyone in Andrews has been waiting for since 1981. A win over Murphy.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock – with Andrews ahead, the Gatorade shower, the Wildcat faithful rushing the field, hugs with friends and family and a jubilant postgame huddle – it still hadn’t quite sunk in. Something that hasn’t happened in 40 years can take a little time to process.
A total of 43 straight times Andrews and Murphy met on the football field, and 43 times the Bulldogs came out on top. However, all that ended on Oct. 29, 2021, at Hugh Hamilton Stadium. Andrews finally beat its Cherokee County nemesis, besting Murphy 22-12.
“There’s not enough words to describe how happy I am for these kids,” Phillips said. “How happy I am for this school. For this town.
“That sounds so cliche, and maybe coaches are supposed to say that in moments like this. If someone could open me up and see that, it’s 100 percent sincere. I’m so happy for this town.”
Though it hadn’t happened in 40 years, both teams knew this would be a competitive game. Andrews turned heads after beating Mitchell in non-conference play as part of a 5-0 start, but entered the game with three straight Smoky Mountain Conference losses by a combined 22 points. Murphy had been up and down all season, but put together a solid winning performance at Swain County last week.
It was also Senior Night in Andrews, and though there are only three seniors on the team, the Wildcats were playing for one other special member of the senior class. Connor Pressley passed away in December 2020 and was a member of the Andrews High School Class of 2022. Senior Gage Runge switched from his usual No. 4 to Pressley’s No. 7, and the team broke down its postgame huddle by chanting “for 7.”
“Connor’s been my best friend as soon as we got into high school,” Runge said. “We had every class together. Tonight to honor him, that was something special for me and to the whole team. It means something for everybody.”
On the first drive, it looked like the weight of the moment might be too much for Andrews. Ty Laney ripped for a 61-yard run on the Bulldogs’ first drive, and Kellen Rumfelt punched it in on a 1-yard quarterback keeper two plays later.
But Andrews didn’t flinch. The Wildcats have been a tough and physical defense all season, and Murphy ran for just 37 yards the rest of the night. Rumfelt completed just nine of 17 passes for 172 yards and two key interceptions.
The first interception came late in the first quarter, when Isaac Weaver jumped a route and ran it back to Murphy’s 32-yard line. Two plays later, Donovan Bateman hit Andy Tatham, who sprinted to the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown and a 7-6 lead on the first play of the second quarter.
Though Murphy would score again with 43 seconds left in the half and lead 12-7 at halftime, Phillips thought his team was playing well. The Wildcats had two drives stopped in Bulldogs territory, and even Murphy’s scoring drive at the end of the half was helped by a fumble that gave the Dogs almost 30 extra yards.
After three straight close losses, Phillips has only had one message for his team: finish. Andrews opened the second half with an eight-play 60-yard drive, which was capped off by a five-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion by Weaver.
Murphy drove down to the Wildcats 2-yard line on the ensuing drive, but Laney was stopped one yard short of the goal line on fourth down. After an Andrews punt, the Wildcats recovered a fumble at Murphy’s 36-yard line.
Andrews would put the game away, running the ball right down the Bulldogs’ throats. Weaver was held in check until this drive, ran for eight on the first play and then 11 for a first down.
Then Austin Martin, who returned to his usual role in the backfield this week while playing through an injury, plowed forward for six of his 138 yards on the ground. Two plays later, Weaver scored on a five-yard run to give the Wildcats a 22-12 lead with 3:38 to go.
“After that third touchdown we got, I basically knew that was it,” Weaver said.
If Weaver’s touchdown got Andrews to the precipice of victory, Cole Anderson’s interception with 3:19 sealed the deal.
As the final 199 seconds ticked off the clock and Andrews picked up two more first downs, 40 years of frustration finally started to wash away. The blowout losses. The heartbreaking defeats. Watching Murphy become one of the top high school programs in North Carolina, while Andrews often languished near the conference basement.
None of it mattered this night. Not when time expired and Andrews was in front.
“40 years,” Phillips told his team and the surrounding crowd after the game, “is no more.”