Murphy – We’re heading into the dog days of summer, but football season is coming up quick.
After a 12th-straight Elite Eight appearance last year, Murphy has a tough slate of games this fall. The Bulldogs finished 9-5 in an up-and-down year, with the highs including two road playoff wins and the lows including their first loss to Andrews since 1981.
The 2022 schedule has some challenging non-conference games as well as the usual Smoky Mountain Conference slate, meaning Murphy will be tested throughout the year and hopefully be prepared come playoff time.
The Bulldogs will make the nearly four hour trek to Watauga, for a scrimmage day with Watauga, Ashe County and West Wilkes on Aug. 12, then host Franklin the next week in the season opener.
Murphy has played Franklin every year since at least 1952, and the Panthers topped the Bulldogs 35-15 in both teams’ 2021 season opener. Franklin finished 6-5 and lost in the first round of the playoffs last year, its first in 3A.
On Aug. 26, Murphy will make its first road trip of the year, trekking about 90 miles to Commerce High School in Georgia. While the Tigers may not have Murphy’s state championship tradition, they have been a successful program with nine straight Georgia High School Association playoff appearances.
Murphy has open dates on Sept. 2 as well as Sept. 23, meaning the Bulldogs have four non-conference games instead of five like last year. Murphy was supposed to host Union County, Ga., but that game was dropped from both teams’ schedules.
Head coach Joseph Watson has been looking to add another game for a few months, and is still looking to fill one of the open dates. If he does, it will likely be a home game, as the Bulldogs already have three non-conference road games.
As scheduled, Murphy will return to the gridiron when it travels past Chattanooga, Tenn., to South Pittsburg High School on Sept. 9. The two teams were supposed to meet last season, but it was canceled due to COVID-19 cases in the Pirates’ program.
South Pittsburg won last year’s Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association 1A state championship after losing the same game in 2020. The Pirates have a proud football tradition, with six state championships and seven appearances in the title game.
The next week on Sept. 16, the Bulldogs will travel just into Georgia to take on Fannin County. Murphy played the Rebels each year from 2010-13, winning three of the four matchups.
Even if Murphy is able to add another game, the non-conference schedule looks like a step up from last year. All four teams qualified for their respective playoff fields, and should be competitive again this year.
The Bulldogs will start the Smoky Mountain Conference gauntlet on Sept. 30 with a home game against Cherokee. The schedule is the same as last year, with the location of each game flipped. After hosting the Braves, Murphy will travel to Hayesville on Oct. 7 and Robbinsville on Oct. 14, then host Swain County on Oct. 21 and Andrews on Oct. 28 to end the regular season.
The Bulldogs have not lost to Cherokee since 2007 and Hayesville since 2006. While they escaped 29-28 in a road contest against the Braves last season, Murphy demolished the Yellow Jackets 56-14. That continued the Bulldogs’ dominance over Hayesville, as they have won 15 straight against their foe by an average of 43.3 points per game.
Murphy’s final three conference games will be their toughest. Murphy lost twice to Robbinsville last season, including a 28-14 loss in the Elite Eight of the state playoffs. The Bulldogs have beaten the Black Knights just once in the team’s last six meetings.
Swain County is a bit of an unknown this year under new coach Sherman Holt, though historically is Murphy’s biggest rival. The Bulldogs have won four straight against the Maroon Devils, their longest winning streak in the rivalry since winning six straight in 1966-71.
Andrews could have its best team in a decade, and returns the bulk of the group that made history last season. It’ll be senior night at David Gentry Field at Bob Hendrix Memorial Stadium, though Murphy won’t need any more motivation after what happened against the Wildcats last year.
The Bulldogs graduated 11 seniors, and have holes to fill all over the field. With a tough early slate, Murphy will get answers to those questions early.