Murphy – Both Andrews and Murphy will have home games in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A West Playoffs.
The Bulldogs (6-4 overall, 3-2 Smoky Mountain Conference) are the No. 9 seed in the region and will host No. 24 seed Alleghany (2-7). The Wildcats (6-3, 2-3) check in just behind Murphy at the No. 10 seed and will host No. 23 seed Bishop McGuinness (2-7).
Murphy and Alleghany have met six times in the playoffs, with the Bulldogs winning all six meetings. The most recent contest was a 55-7 win in the second round in 2018.
Murphy will be looking to bounce back after losing to Andrews for the first time since 1981. The Bulldogs will enter Friday night’s game as the favorite, as the Trojans have a smaller roster and struggled in the Northwest Conference.
The winner will face the winner of No. 8 seed Mountain Heritage (7-2) and No. 25 seed Ablemarle (2-7). The Cougars were the 2A runners-up in the spring, but dropped down a classification this year.
“Playoffs are a new season,” Murphy head coach Joseph Watson said. “Everybody’s 0-0 going into this playoffs, and everybody will have a chance to win it.
“If you come to work and come to do what you’re supposed to do you’re going to have an opportunity to make a pretty good playoff run here. If not, you’ll be ready for basketball season.”
The Wildcats’ historic win locked in a home playoff game for the program for the second time in three seasons. This is the first time Andrews and the Villains will meet.
Despite being a thorn in the side of Smoky Mountain Conference teams in other sports, the Villains have struggled in football with just two winning seasons in the past decade. The winner will take on the winner of No. 7 seed Starmount (6-4) and No. 26 seed South Stanly (2-7).
Friday’s win over Murphy clinched back-to-back winning seasons for Andrews for the first time since 1966-67. It would also give the Wildcats the most wins they’ve had in a season since they won eight in 2011.
“We got playoffs next week,” Andrews quarterback Donovan Bateman said after beating Murphy. “We knew we had to get another win to get home-field advantage.”