Murphy – After having just nine freshman on last spring’s junior varsity team but still walking away with a Smoky Mountain Conference championship, Murphy had similar goals for this year. The Bulldogs went 5-1 last season, but went 6-0 this year on their way to another conference championship.
“Our expectation and goals for the team was to win every single game,” junior varsity head coach Tyler Edwards said. “With that group of kids, as much hard work as they were able to put into it, we were able to achieve that goal.”
Murphy outscored opponents 198-56 in its six victories, though it took a full team effort to bring home a conference title. Due to kids in quarantine because of COVID-19, the Bulldogs never had the full team take the field. What stuck out was the players’ hard work on and off the field.
“It didn’t matter what drill we were doing down there on the field,” Edwards said. “Our seventh-graders were going just as hard as our ninth-graders. They’re a very scrappy bunch.”
Edwards sees freshman running back Jonah Hedden as a player to watch, and Hedden already got varsity carries in Murphy’s 56-14 win over Hayesville on Oct. 8. Kadence Leatherwood was excellent at fullback and the defense’s signal caller at middle linebacker.
The junior varsity team will return starting quarterback Brady Grant next season, and Ryan Payne is another eighth-grader to watch who made contributions all over the field. A total of 10 freshmen were pulled up to varsity at the end of the season.
Though JV success doesn’t always translate to the varsity level, Edwards think this year’s team knows what it takes to be successful. Both teams already run the same offense and defense, and see how the varsity team works. Naturally, they also want to add to the rich legacy of Murphy football as it entered a new era this year without coach David Gentry.
“From day one of workouts and day one of practice, even at the JV level, we talk about tradition.,” Edwards said. “These kids, they know the tradition is to win. So they want to keep that tradition alive.”