Bryson City – With a 28-0 win over Swain County, the Murphy varsity football team secured their second consecutive Smoky Mountain Conference championship Friday night.
Despite a slow first half, the Dogs came out and dominated the second half en route to victory.
“It feels good,” Bulldogs head coach Joseph Watson said after winning the conference championship. “I’m just proud of the kids and the coaches that have done a great job. We got other things we want to do, but it feels really good.”
Dogs quarterback Brady Grant said, “It feels amazing. We had this goal at the beginning of the year, and for it to actually work out and everybody fight for it and all work together, it’s an amazing feeling.”
The lone score of the first half came in the second quarter, after the first quarter was slowed down by penalties on both sides. Those penalties continued into the second quarter, but the Dogs finally broke through to put points on the board late.
Senior Landen Lape recovered a Swain fumble to help put the Dogs in a good position to score.
The Dogs started their drive on Swain’s 22 yard line, then Cameron Clem rushed it in. Kicker Jerry Bui made the extra point to give the Dogs a 7-0 lead with 1:37 left before halftime.
The Dogs had a late chance to add to their lead, but they missed a field goal as time expired in the first half.
Watson’s message to the team at halftime was they had to limit their mistakes. I they did that, then they’ll be all right.
To start the second half, the Dogs came out strong, and Clem rushed in another touchdown on the opening drive. Bui made the extra point and they took a 14-0 lead.
The rest of the third quarter saw three punts and a Swain fumble recovery, but Murphy capitalized on a turnover late in the quarter. Aayden Williams got an interception late in the third quarter to get Murphy the ball back and put them in good position for another score.
On the first play after the pick, Clem rushed in his third touchdown of the night. Bui made the extra point and the Dogs led 21-0 eight seconds into the fourth quarter.
After the Murphy defense shut down Swain like they had been all night, the Maroon Devils punted the ball back to the Dogs.
After working down the field, Blake Davis rushed the ball in from 14 yards out to extend their lead. Bui remained perfect on extra point kicks and the Dogs led 28-0 with 9:46 left.
Murphy’s defense continued to shut down Swain’s offense and they had to punt again.
The Bulldogs put multiple second-string players in the game as the conference championship was in sight. They ran out the clock and the Dogs were crowned SMC champs for the second straight season.
After the game, Watson said they made too many mistakes early. Once they settled in, they played a lot better.
“I thought the defense played outstanding the entire game, just offensively had to kind go settle in and do what we do,” Watson said.
Heading into playoffs Grant said they will keep getting better each week, and they will continue to get tougher and give more effort.
Murphy got the No. 1 seed in the 2A West bracket. They will await the winner of No. 16 Albemarle (4-6) and No. 17 Cherokee (3-7). Despite their loss to Murphy, Swain received the No. 8 seed and a first-round bye.