Asheville – The Murphy varsity football team hit the road Friday night to scrimmage T.C. Roberson.
The Dogs played strong in the scrimmage. Both first- and second-team players got playing time as the team prepares for its first regular season game Friday, and Bulldogs head coach Joseph Watson said his team did well.
“We were looking for them to play hard and go out there and compete, and we think they did that. Our first-team offense and defense only had two series,’ and then we started subbing and saw some young guys get some playing time and thought they did a good job as well,” he said.
“It was successful and we made it out fairly healthy. It was good to play against a different team.”
Watson said Ryan Payne and the offensive line played well against T.C. Roberson.
“Ryan Payne had a good night offensively. Our offensive line, Brody Orton for sure. Janthony Gooden had a good night,” he said.
“As a whole, I think the kids what we asked them to do, and I think everyone had a pretty good showing. Also, Camden Breazeale made a couple big plays in the scrimmage, and the hustle out of him was good to see.”
The Bulldogs will hit the road six times this season, including another trip to the Asheville area to take on A.C. Reynolds. Watson said it was important to play a scrimmage on the road hours away from Murphy, which is something they will have to get used to this year.
“We’ve got a bunch of road games this year, a bunch of long travels, and one of them is to the Asheville area when we play A.C. Reynolds,” Watson said.
“It’s like a test run to make sure you’ve got everything taken care of and have a routine of how you leave, and the things you do on the bus and people are going to leave stuff, so it’s a good walkthrough in all aspects of just traveling and playing as well.”
Watson said backups played hard Friday.
“That’s just what you want to see them do. Some of them showed they deserve a little more playing time, and some of them didn’t,” Watson said.
“You really just want to see your guys go out there and play hard, and compete against the other team and see how they act against a new offense or a new defense, and get some film on them and be able to teach them what they did right or they did wrong and we’ll start that [on Aug. 18].”
Come Friday night, the Dogs will hit the road and head to Cullowhee for their season opener. They will play Franklin at Western Carolina University.
On how they are preparing for their matchup with Franklin, Watson said, “We’ve already started the preparation for Franklin, but we got their film on them against Rabun, Ga., so we’ll look at that and see their personnel.
“They’re a lot like us, and they basically are the same scheme from year to year. The players change, though, and get a good scouting report for them and see how we’re going to be able to attack them and be able to defend them. That’s a plan we’re working on, and we’ll start [on Aug. 18] and we’ll get some knowledge on them, get that to the kids and start working on it.”
Watson said the team is excited to open their season against Franklin, especially since it’s on a college field.
“Franklin is a team we play every year, and we understand what they do and how they go about their team as well, and I think our kids are really excited. And to get to play at Western Carolina [University], a different venue, a college stadium and a college atmosphere,” Watson said.
“We think it’ll be packed. Once it gets closer and once you finally pull in there and see that, it’ll definitely get them going, and I think they’re up for it.”
The Murphy-Franklin rivalry runs deep, as both teams see each other during the regular season each year.
Murphy’s last win over Franklin came on Aug. 18, 2023, in its season opener. That season, the Dogs finished third in the Smoky Mountain Conference and lost in the third round of the state 1A playoffs to Mount Airy.
Last season, Franklin was Murphy’s only regular season loss. The loss to Franklin was followed up by a 12-game winning streak that went into the playoffs. The team fell in the fourth round of the playoffs to Mountain Heritage on the road.
A familiar face will also likely be at the game. Former Murphy football player Micah Nelson plays defensive end for the Western Carolina Catamounts’ football team.
Another familiar face from the Smoky Mountain Conference is recent Swain County High School graduate Joshua Collins, a linebacker for the Catamounts.
The Dogs will look to kick off the 2025 season strong with a win over Franklin at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Western Carolina University.