The 1980s saw several changes to the Smoky Mountain Conference, with members re-entering and exiting the conference in the middle of the decade and Smoky Mountain becoming a 1A conference.
Sylva Webster fell back to 2A in 1979 and rejoined the SMC in that year. In 1985, realignment by the N.C. High School Athletic Association put Murphy and Swain County into the 1A ranks, while classifying Sylva Webster as a 2A school and Franklin as 3A, causing both of those schools to find a different conference home.
The SMC also had something happen in the ‘80s that to my knowledge never happened before. Member schools produced two players who went on to the National Football League – Carl Pickens in Murphy and Heath Schuler in Swain.
 |
Robbinsville kept dominating the 1A ranks, as the Black Knights reeled off four state championships in a row from 1980-83. Sylva Webster reclaimed dominance of 2A in the SMC in 1980; after starting the year 0-3, they went on to win the state championship by defeating Currituck in the title game 49-7.
One of Sylva Webster’s losses that year was to Bob Colvin’s Black Knights, which in includes a story that carried into the 1981 season. Babe Howell of Sylva Webster was not only the head football coach, he was also the baseball coach.
When the Golden Eagles traveled to Robbinsville for the baseball game, they found a banner listing the football state championships for the Knights. Right under the 1980 year, someone had scribbled in, “And 2A, too.” Babe was not amused by the banner.
When he returned to Robbinsville for the football game in the 1981 season, there was reportedly a meeting at midfield before the game between the coaches. Colvin told Howell the Black Knights were hit hard by graduation, so take it a little easy on them. Howell replied, “You better get yours, cause I’m gonna get mine.”
I got to know Babe while I was managing a radio station in Sylva. We would run into each other at the Sylva Café from time to time, and I asked him if the conversation occurred. His reply was, “You can’t believe everything you hear.” He beat the Black Knights that year 34-12 in Sylva.
Swain took over the 2A SMC championship in 1981 and held it for through 1982. Sylva Webster regained the title in 1983. Neither team advanced to win another 2A state championship.
Murphy went through some rough times under new head coach Mitch Myers, who took the helm of the Bulldogs in 1978. He won the conference his first year and did not sniff the championship the next two years, falling to a 2-4 conference record in 1979 and finishing with an 0-10 record for the 1982 football season.
After the 0-10 season, there was a changing of the guard in Cherokee County. Longtime schools Superintendent John Jordan was replaced by Roy Pipes, and a man named David Gentry took over the head coaching job at Murphy.
He brought an assistant coach named Bob Henry the first year he was a Bulldog, when they went 4-6, 3-6-1 in the second season.
The year 1985 was when all SMC schools were classified as 1A. Swain and Sylva Webster had been in a battle every year for the 2A conference championship. In 1985, an old rivalry would be rekindled between Swain and Murphy, which would last for years.
Gentry brought on a new defensive coordinator in Bill Gaither. The Dogs started the season at 0-3, but then reeled off seven wins in a row, won the SMC and advanced to the second round of the state 1A playoffs.
The most memorable game that year was in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter at Swain. Pickens caught a pass and limped into the end zone to give Murphy a 27-20 win for the SMC title. Murphy advanced to the second round of the playoffs, when the Bulldogs fell to Rosman 22-18.
Murphy had a terrible fourth quarter after leading most of the game. When we asked Gentry for his recollection, he said, “We played well for the first three quarters of that game.” Swain would defeat Rosman in third round of the playoffs and go on to win the 1A state championship that season.
The next two years, I had the pleasure of watching the most dominant high school football team I have ever personally seen
in the Murphy Bulldogs. Pickens and his class were juniors on the 1986 team, which had several other players who also went onto play college ball, like D.J. Cox, James Shope and Mel Nicely
This team won their next 24 games over the next two seasons before falling to Swain in the conference championship game of the 1987 season. The offense averaged 40 points a game, while only giving up an average of seven points a game. What makes those stats amazing is the first team did not see the field in the second half in all but three games.
The beast they had to get by to win their first state title was a familiar one, Hendersonville.
It was the third round of the playoffs, and Hendersonville came to Murphy with a running back that would also go on to play in the NFL named Sam Gash. The two teams battled back and forth, with Murphy scoring with less than 10 minutes left to go to take the win.
 |
Gash was held to 45 yards rushing on 13 carries. The Dogs claimed their first state title since 1974 with a 27-3 victory over Tabor City.
The 1987 season started out much like the ’86 season, with Murphy demolishing everyone put in the path for the first nine games. That would change on Nov. 7, 1987, in Bryson City.
Before that game, you could have found anyone in Murphy who was a gambling man and got 14 points on Swain – and the players heard that too. Did they go to Swain being a little overconfident, or did they just have a bad game? Regardless, Swain pulled a shocker, beating the Dogs 27-23 to claim the SMC crown. The schools would meet again two weeks later in the second round of the state playoffs.
Murphy players were berated for two weeks about the loss. Everywhere they went, all they heard about was the loss to Swain.
Dietz rubbed the win in the Murphy coaches’ faces at the SMC meeting the next week to name All-Conference players. Every time Murphy would nominate one of their players, Dietz would stand and say, “I had a player that did pretty good at that position against Murphy last Friday night.”
After about the third time of that happening, Murphy’s Gaither, stood, pointed at Dietz and said, “Two weeks.”
It was cold as blue blazes on Nov. 20, 1987, in Bryson City, and the Swain announcer was touting conference championship shirts for sale before the game.
Dietz said in a radio interview before the game that he guessed if they lost Friday night, he would just go “rabbit hunting.” Longtime Bulldogs fan Whitey Scroggs tried to give him a head start, as he tried to smuggle a rabbit into the game but it was confiscated at the gate.
You could tell there was something different about Murphy’s players before this game. There was no horseplay or joking going on. This team was laser focused.
Murphy held Swain to 12 yards total offense in the first half and, after building a commanding lead by halftime, went on to defeat the Maroon Devils 47-6. The Bulldogs would go on to win the state title for the second year in a row by defeating Columbia 56-15.
It is worth noting that late in the game, Swain sent in a freshman quarterback to get a little experience. His first high school pass was intercepted by Jeremy Ledford for
a pick six. That freshman QB, Heath Shuler, would make Murphy pay for the next three years.
Shuler would lead the Maroon Devils to three SMC championships and three state titles from 1988-90. He went on to play at the University of Tennessee before being drafted by the Washington Redskins. Shuler later served six years as the U.S. congressman representing far-western Carolina.
In 1987, Pickens’ accolades were numerous. State high jump champion, Parade All-American, All-Western and All-State in both football and basketball. Pickens went on to play at the University of Tennessee.
From there he took his talents to the NFL, playing for the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans. He also played in two Pro Bowls. Pickens was inducted to the UT Hall of Fame in 2023.
Next week: The 1990s.