Andrews – When Hunter Stalcup took Murphy’s first play of the game 80 yards to the house, it looked like your older brother’s Murphy-Andrews game.
However, on Friday night, it was the Bulldogs trying to break a losing streak in the series, and they did so with a hard-nosed 27-20 win over the host Wildcats at Hugh Hamilton Stadium. It was Murphy’s first win over Andrews since the first game out of COVID in spring 2021.
“They’ve whooped us a couple of times in the past, but we knew we had to end that streak and we got it done,” said Stalcup, who passed 1,000 yards for the season with his 173-yard performance.
The game was rough and tumble from the opening kick, and both teams were content to run it right at each other all night.
“It was a very physical game. Their offensive and defensive lines are really good,” Bulldogs coach Joseph Watson said. “It’s one of the best sets of lines we have seen all year, and they do a good job of running their offense and frustrating you.”
The stats practically belied the outcome of the game, as the Wildcats (4-5, 0-4 Smoky Mountain Conference) doubled up the Bulldogs (6-3, 2-2) on first downs and plays run, and they outgained the visitors as well.
“It was a hard-fought game by both teams. Hats off to Murphy for doing what they had to do to get the win,” Andrews coach James Phillips said. “They were simply better than us at executing in critical moments, and it cost us. I am proud of our kids’ fight, toughness and grit, which are the backbone of our football program.”
Andrews started the grind with an 11-play drive to open the game that ended with a missed field goal. Murphy took over at the 20 and turned Stalcup loose for a shocker and an immediate 7-0 lead.
“On that first play, it was wide open,” Stalcup said. “Our linemen did a great job all night. We had a couple of mistakes that cost us, but we overcame that and we came back from them.”
The teams exchanged three-and-outs before the Wildcats got their offense going again. This time, a 10-play drive ended with Samuel Preston taking it in from 18 yards out for an equalizing score early in the second quarter.
Andrews went into its bag for the first of several tricky kickoffs after the touchdown, but this one backfired, as Trenton Russell returned the ball to the Cats’ 21. Four plays later, Jonah Hedden took it for a short touchdown run and a 14-7 lead.
The Wildcats responded with another long, punishing drive that pushed Dalton Rose (144 yards on 25 carries) into the end zone. The Bulldogs blocked the extra point, though, to maintain a 14-13 lead.
The Wildcats went onside kick this time and gained possession after a scrum where Murphy came out with the ball. But the officials ruled the Wildcat player at the bottom of the pile – Will Roberts – was already down by contact when it came out.
The Cats missed their chance to capitalize, as Murphy forced a fumble and got great field position three plays later.
“We honestly shot ourselves in the foot,” Andrews tackle Tyler West said. “We had plenty of opportunities to come out and win this ball game, but we didn’t execute.”
Murphy unleashed a rare pass for its next score, as Brady Grant hit Ryan Payne for a 26-yard score. The extra point miss left it a seven-point game at halftime.
After the break, Andrews’ special teams struck again with a pop-up kickoff that Graham Burch ran under to secure a free possession for the Cats. They drove it down but got behind the sticks on a holding penalty, leading to a turnover on downs.
“That is the way it is when you play Andrews, you have to keep fighting and hopefully you can get them off schedule and force them into throwing a little bit,” Watson said. “Our guys did a good job of doing that.”
Andrews’ Everett Tatham came up with an interception soon after, though, giving the Cats another chance. Again, Murphy’s defense stood tall on a fourth down to prevent a tying score.
The Wildcats could not capitalize on a short punt later by Murphy, and a fourth-quarter fumble near midfield put their chances in jeopardy. Stalcup added a second touchdown run to put the Bulldogs up for good.
“We have to continue to learn from these big games and continue to chip away at understanding how critical small mistakes can be in huge ball games,” Phillips said. “I am confident in the character, coachability and commitment of our kids.”
Andrews put a nice drive together later, as Rose scored on a nifty 31-yard run with just under two minutes left. The Wildcats went back to the onside kick well one last time and got the funky bounce, but the Bulldogs scampered to get on top of it and seal the game.
Murphy came out in position to get a solid playoff seed if the Bulldogs win next Friday against Cherokee.
“We have to go back and keep working,” Watson said. “Cherokee is a good team, and they will throw it a little more than Andrews does. We just have to meet the challenge every week in the Smoky Mountain Conference.”
“It’s going to be tough, but we have to keep working every week,” Stalcup said. “We just have to go 1-0 every week.”
For Andrews, the 2022 Smoky Mountain champs are winless in the conference, showing the level of difficulty. Andrews, which has Hayesville left on the road, has not gone winless in the SMC since 2017.
“This conference is really tough,” West said. “Every one of these teams is championship material. We played some tough non-conference games that we thought would prepare us for now, but it’s been a tough league this year.”
