The Smoky Mountain Conference opened the second decade of 2000 with a bang.
Murphy won the 1A state championship and Swain won the 1AA championship in 2011. The conference would go on to capture seven state championships through 2020.
Swain was a dominate team in 2011 with its only loss coming to 3A Franklin. Franklin went undefeated until they fell in the third round of the playoffs that year to Burns.
Swain’s Colby Hyatt was named the Most Valuable Player of the Maroon Devils’ championship game. He rushed for 70 yards and passed for another 48 while leading Swain to a 20-14 win over Ayden Grifton.
Murphy was very young in 2011, and the Bulldogs’ season did not began well as they lost their first three games. They did not get a win until the fourth game of the season, when they defeated Smoky Mountain 28-14.
From that point on, the Dogs reeled off six wins – until they ran into old foe Swain. Murphy lost to the Maroon Devils, finishing second in the conference that year.
The most memorable game in the playoffs that year was at Albemarle. The game went into two overtimes; the difference was an extra-point attempt by Albemarle that went wide left, and the Bulldogs won 42-41 to advance to the 1A state championship. Murphy defeated Jones Central 21-6 to claim the title.
Swain won the conference in 2012 as well, while Murphy finished second. Murphy and Swain again advanced to the 1A and 1AA state championship games, but both teams came up short, with Swain losing to Southwest Onslow 44-34 and Murphy falling to Plymouth 20-15.
A questionable fumble call cost Murphy that game. It appeared that James Posey was down near the goal line when the ball came loose, but it was ruled a fumble to thwart the Bulldogs’ drive.
Murphy would make it back to the championship game in 2013 and face the same opponent. They would suffer three losses that year – against Darlington School 50-6, Franklin 41-17 and old nemesis Swain 36-27.
Swain claimed the conference crown that year but was knocked out in the fourth round of the playoffs with a 44-38 loss to West Montgomery. Murphy sailed through the playoffs in 2013, defeating the Vikings of Plymouth 35-34.
In that game, Plymouth went for a two-point conversion with 36 seconds left. The conversion would have given the Vikings the win. Plymouth had a running back who had given Murphy’s defense fits all day, and they called his number for the extra point.
The back went off tackle, where Brody Loudermilk grabbed him by the jersey and hung on for dear life until Malika Beaver showed up to get him on the ground short of the goal line. That play sealed the win for the Dogs. Kenton Braswell won the MVP award, as he rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
Robbinsville would go undefeated in 2014 and claim not only the Smoky Mountain Conference crown for 2014, but also the Black Knights’ first state championship since 1992. Robbinsville celebrated its 75th year as a football team that year, capping it off with a 21-18 win over Plymouth for the title.
Skyler Matheson was named MVP of that game, passing for 93 yards and rushing for 34 more. He also added 12 tackles on defense. Swain would get knocked out of the 1AA playoffs that year when they lost to Starmount 42-14 in the semifinal round.
Robbinsville continued its winning ways in 2015, when they claimed the conference crown and again advanced to the 1A state title game. This time, the Black Knights fell to Plymouth 28-20. Swain, the only conference member playing in 1AA that year, fell to East Wilkes 22-7 in the second round of the playoffs.
The Bulldogs were back to being top dogs in 2016. Murphy had one loss that year, to Franklin, and the closest they came to losing a conference game was against the Maroon Devils, a 35-3 win. The Bulldogs advanced to the state championship game and found who else but Plymouth waiting on them.
David Gentry was going after his 381st win when Murphy entered the game. Many of his players were sophomores going into this game. One of those sophomores was Slade McTaggart, who got the Bulldogs’ scoring going with a 10-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that tied the score at 7.
Murphy turned the ball over to Plymouth several times, and Plymouth went into the half leading 14-7. Joey Curry, Murphy’s starting quarterback, cut his finger in the second quarter to the point he needed stitches, but he bandaged it up and played the rest of the game in a gutsy performance.
Kadrian McCrae was named the MVP for his performance, as he amassed 179 yards on 21 carries and scored the game-winning TD with 49-yard run and 10 minutes to go in the third quarter. Curry ran the two-point conversion to give Murphy a 15-14 win.
Curry was named Most Valuable Offensive Player, while Adam Powell was the Most Valuable Defensive Player for that game. Swain fell in the second round of the 1A playoffs in 2016.
Murphy and Swain were put in 1AA division in 2017. The Bulldogs’ advanced to the fourth round before falling to Mount Airy 49-35, while Swain was knocked out in the third round.
A newcomer to the to the 1A championship ranks showed up that year, as Cherokee went on to win its first state championship.
The Braves’ only loss that year was to Murphy during the regular season. They cruised to the 1A state championship with a win over North Duplin 21-13.
It was the first time Cherokee had been to the dance since 1978, when the Braves lost to Midway 25-6.
The team was led by the exceptional Tye Mintz, quarterback and defensive back for the Braves. He was named the MVP of the game, as he scored two of the Braves’ three touchdowns and finished with 110 yard rushing, 56 passing yards, 13 tackles and an interception on defense. He played for Gentry the next week in the Shrine Bowl.
Murphy was back in the 1A division when 2018 playoff time came around. The Dogs lost only one game that year, the first of the season to Pisgah 15-8. Murphy then rolled off 13 wins en route to a conference crown and the Bulldogs’ ninth state title.
McTaggart, Murphy’s rushing leader and one of the top defensive players that year, was banned from the game because of an incident in the semifinal against Robbinsville. He had kicked a Robbinsville player while lying on the ground in response to an extra twist of an ankle that he injured earlier in the season while being tackled. Murphy appealed the suspension, but it was denied.
Another senior running back, K.J. Allen, picked up the slack for McTaggart in the state title game. Allen was named MVP after he rushed for 153 yards on 18 carries and four touchdowns. Murphy routed Plymouth 60-27 to capture the title, while Swain made it to the second round of the 1AA playoffs in 2018.
Robbinsville secured their second state title of the decade as they went undefeated in 2019 to claim the conference throne and the 1A state title that year. The Black Knights were led by running back Rylee Anderson, who won the MVP for his performance in the 1A state championship game.
Anderson accounted for 176 yards on 33 carries for five touchdowns as Robbinsville routed Northampton County 45-14. Swain made it to the third round in the 1AA division before falling to Mitchell 39-6.
COVID hit in 2020, and football, among other sports was cancelled until the following spring.
Next week: The notorious COVID-19 season through the upcoming 2024 football season, which kicks off in only one month.