Murphy – The Bulldogs were almost their own worst enemy Friday night. Nine penalties, three turnovers and a few busted plays on defense kept the contest against the Maroon Devils close.
After a seven-yard touchdown run by Cole Laney as time expired in the third quarter gave Murphy a 20-14 lead, the Bulldogs defense held strong in the fourth quarter, keeping Swain County off the scoreboard to preserve the win. Murphy has now won five straight against the Maroon Devils, its longest win streak in the series since winning six straight from 1966-71.
“Even though it wasn’t pretty, they hung in there and finished it out,” head coach Joseph Watson said. “Like they always say, I’d rather have an ugly win than a pretty loss.”
This year in Smoky Mountain Conference play, the Bulldogs (7-2 overall, 4-0 Smoky Mountain Conference) have alternated dominant wins with sloppy ones. Coming off a 48-16 win at Robbinsville, Watson said Murphy did some things well against Swain County but could never put the game away.
Hunter Stalcup had another strong performance with 167 yards on the ground, a rushing touchdown and a kickoff return for a touchdown. Laney, though, was not as sharp as he’d been in recent weeks, completing just eight of 19 passes for 119 yards. The Bulldogs had some opportunities to put some breathing room between themselves and the Maroon Devils (3-6, 0-4) with Swain County committing four turnovers of their own, but couldn’t take advantage.
Watson said the Maroon Devils did a good job putting a lot of players on the line of scrimmage when Murphy went under center, with their all-conference defensive end Nathan Bogdanowicz causing issues all night. When they did have success, penalties got in the way too.
“We’ve had way too many of those the past three weeks,” Watson said of the penalties. ‘And we’re not going to be able to beat a quality team making mistakes like that.”
Stalcup ran for a 43-yard touchdown on the Bulldogs’ first offensive play of the game, putting them in front 7-0 with 7:52 left in the first quarter. Josiah Glaspie would answer for the Maroon Devils with a seven-yard touchdown run with eight minutes
left in the second quarter to tie the game, only for Stalcup to return the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown and put the Bulldogs back in front. Joshua Collins’ 71-yard touchdown run for Swain County tied the game with 6:04 left in the second quarter.
From there, Murphy’s defense held strong, despite playing all night without one of their top linemen, senior Mason Thrasher. After a
fourth quarter stop, the Bulldogs were able to go into victory formation for their fifth straight win, setting up an SMC Championship showdown against Andrews this Friday. It’s a scenario not many thought would happen when conference play started, but Murphy stayed the course and continued to find ways to win.
“It’s been tough,” Watson said. “And they’ve continued playing the last couple weeks, continued playing hard and it’s paid off, and they get to play in a big game like this. I know we’re excited for it, and they’re excited as well. It’s going to be a good one.”