Hayesville – Football was back in Cherokee County on Thursday night, though not what longtime Smoky Mountain Conference fans are used to seeing.
Six teams, including Andrews and Murphy, traveled to Hayesville for the first Fetch Your News/Fellowship of Christian Athletes 7v7 Football Tournament. Seven-on-seven is much different than traditional “mountain football,” as teams have only one lineman and throw on every down.
Teams start at the opponent’s 40-yard line and have to get to the 20-yard line to get a first down, then have to look to the end zone. A touchdown is worth six points, and teams have two options for extra points. They can try to convert from the 5-yard line for one point and the 10-yard line for two points.
Teams can also score five points with an interception or two points for a fourth-down stop. Traditionally, the Smoky Mountain Conference features run-heavy offenses, with games won in the trenches.
That’s why for both head coaches, the event is more about competing and getting players experience than the results. New Murphy head coach Joseph Watson told his team 7-on-7 isn’t “real football.” Andrews head coach James Phillips called it “basketball on grass.”
Each of the six teams played in two games before moving on to the elimination round. Murphy split the first two games, while Andrews lost both. The two teams met in the quarterfinals with the Wildcats besting the Bulldogs 32-13 before falling to Union County, Ga.
“That’s just our culture,” Phillips said. “Our kids are going to fight they’re going to compete, and once we kind of settled down and got the rust kicked off the kids fought pretty hard for a 7-on-7.”
Andrews is trying to build on back-to-back playoff appearances as well as their best conference record since 1985. For Phillips, that means keeping the culture the same while continuing to try to rise up the ranks.
“We’ve got 3 C’s that our culture’s built on,” Phillips said. “Commitment, coachable and character. I feel like if we’re going to compete for championships, we finished third last year and had the best conference record in the last 30 years in Andrews. If we’re going to compete for the top spot, we have to have high character.”
As a new chapter in Murphy football gets underway, Watson said he’s seen good things from his players in workouts. With several key players either injured or out, this event was more about getting young players experience and putting them in situations they haven’t been in before.
“It’s a learning process,” Watson said. “Not only do we have our quarterback out, we have two other players out as well who are not here with us. We have a lot of kids playing positions they haven’t been playing.
“It’s a learning process. We’re building some depth here in some places, and we want to see the kids compete and learn to play hard.”