Murphy – Heading into halftime with a 14-7 lead over undefeated Robbinsville, the Bulldogs were sitting in a good spot Friday night.
Murphy had successfully limited the Black Knights’ threatening run offense in the first half and were poised to extend their one score lead, receiving the ball to start the second.
However, a series of unfortunate events for the Dogs turned the tables against Murphy and ultimately allowed Robbinsville to escape with a 17-14 lead and the Smoky Mountain Conference Title in their possession.
A short kick to open the second half was mishandled by Murphy and the Black Knights recovered the loose ball in the Bulldogs’ territory.
Murphy’s stout defense managed to preserve the Bulldogs’ lead at 14-10, holding Robbinsville’s offense to a 33-yard field goal that squeezed through the uprights.
On Murphy’s first offensive possession to open the second half, the Bulldogs struggled to find momentum and were forced to punt from their own side of the field.
A Robbinsville defender managed to sneak around the Murphy line and get a hand on the ball, sending it careening back to the 9-yard line, where the Black Knights took possession.
“You can’t fumble the opening kickoff on the 30-yard line,” Murphy coach David Gentry said after the game about the special team struggles. “In big ball games, its going to come down to special teams and they won the special teams.”
The Bulldogs’ defense attempted to hold against the Black Knights in the short-field situation, but Robbinsville’s quarterback managed to find his way into the end zone to give the Knights’ a 17-14 advantage.
After a nice kick off return by Chandler Wood, the Dogs began putting together a responding drive to retake the lead.
Nearing the end of the third quarter, Murphy drove all the way down to the red zone thanks to a nice connection by quarterback Kellen Rumfelt and receiver Payton McCracken on fourth down, but disaster struck once against for the Dogs.
Running back Devonte Murray, who had been shaken up earlier in the drive, took the handoff and picked up a nice chunk of yardage to get Murphy within the Robbinsville 10-yard line.
As Murray was churning for more yardage, the ball was knocked from his hands and the Black Knights recovered the loose ball on their own six-yard line.
Murphy’s defense came up with a few huge stops in the fourth quarter that prevented the Black Knights from extending their lead, but the Dogs’ offense struggled to gain yardage and Robbinsville departed with the narrow victory.
“I just think the defense played well,” Gentry said. “They kept us in it.”
Dogs earn No. 4 seed, bye
The Bulldogs’ 9-2 record earned Murphy the fourth seed and a first-round bye in the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s class 1A football playoffs.
The Dogs will face the winner of No. 5 Winston-Salem Prep and No. 12 West Columbus. “You can go one of two ways, it’s up to them,” Gentry said of the team’s mindset entering the playoffs following the loss. “They can get fired up and do something about it, or they can not work hard and that be it.”