Bryson City – This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Maroon Devils shocking 27-23 win over Murphy in 1987. While Friday’s upset doesn’t quite live up to the ’87 one, it certainly belongs up there as far as shocking upsets go. Murphy entered Friday’s contest ranked 9th (Maxpreps) in the state 1A and as the defending State Champion, with their only loss this season coming at the hands of Franklin by the score of 28-21. The Maroon Devils, on the other hand, entered the game still looking for their identity.
For the Maroon Devils Friday was their first ever Maroon Friday, a day in which they were to celebrate all the great things about being a Maroon Devil. Coach Neil Blankenship embraced the concept, and challenged his team to play off of their rich tradition. They wore solid maroon uniforms, which they hadn’t won in this season. Forgoing their usual entrance, through the blown up helmet, the Devils marched, with the band and cheerleaders, around the track, the way previous Maroon Devil teams have entered the stadium. Then when the game started, they stayed within themselves, playing assignment football, sticking to their game plan. And in the end they emerged with the biggest upset in recent memory, and perhaps the biggest in the state this week, by downing their rivals 29-27.
The two teams have always been drastically different in their approaches to the game. Murphy with their big strike capabilities, while the Devils prefer long sustained drives. Friday was no different for the two old rivals.
The Maroon Devils got on the scoreboard first, grinding out a 6 play 55 yard drive. Brodie Bowman scored from 9 yards out. Swain missed the extra point to leave the score at 6-0.
Murphy gave a quick stark reminder of just how good and explosive they are, as Joey Curry hit Deandre Jackson with a 58 yard bomb on the first play of their next possession. The extra point gave the Bulldogs the lead at 7-6.
Swain’s defense, which was stellar all night, came up with the first big stop of the game on the Bulldogs next possession. Ice Littlejohn tackled Curry on a 4th and 12 at the Swain 18 yard line, giving the Maroon Devil offense the ball back. Swain then drove 82 yards on only 6 plays to re-take the lead. This time Bryce Sain capped the drive with a 31 yard scamper. Tanner Wiggins nailed the extra point and the Devils were back in front 13-7 at the 9:49 mark of the 2nd quarter.
Murphy came right back, this time with a 5 play 66 yard drive. K.J. Allen carried it in from 3-yards out. The point after was good giving the Bulldogs the lead back at 14-13.
The Maroon Devil offense answered on their next possession. Swain marched 68 yards in 10 plays, with Bowman once again doing the honors. This time he scored from 11 yards out. Wiggins point after was good, giving the Maroon Devils a 20-14 advantage with 2:27 left before the half.
The Bulldogs were far from done. Curry quickly marched his team down the field. He found Micah Nelson in the corner of the endzone for a 17-yard touchdown strike with only seconds remaining before the half. The point after attempt failed, leaving the score tied at 20 as the teams went to halftime.
Swain opened the 2nd half with their longest and best drive of the night. Bowman hooked up with Brier Younce for a big gain of 38 yards on first down. The rest of the drive was made up of 4 yards and a cloud of dust. Bryce Sain, Ian Brooks and Brodie Bowman took turns marching the ball down the field. Bowman once again carried for the Maroon Devils touchdown, this time from 12 yards out. Swain missed the extra point, but took a 26-20 lead.
Murphy was quick to answer. Slade McTaggert scored on a 45 yard run. Jones kicked the extra point, to give the Bulldogs the lead back at 27-26. The whole drive and score took 3 plays and a little over a minute off the clock.
The Maroon Devils took their next possession and 64 yards. But the Bulldogs defense would stop the Devils on the Murphy 7 yard line. Facing a 4th and goal from the 7, Coach Blankenship elected to take a gamble. With regular kicker Holden Petty out, the Devils turned to senior Tanner Wiggins to handle the kicking chores. So Wiggins justified Blankenship’s confidence in him by drilling his first career field goal, from 24 yards, to give the Devils the lead for good.
Neither team was able to score in the fourth quarter, that is not to say the quarter didn’t come with some big plays, it did. Murphy’s best chance to score and take the lead was thwarted when their own played picked up a fumble and raced the wrong way. Many people have made a big deal about this play, but it is important to remember the Bulldogs would have faced a 4th and 8 had they not fumbled. With the wrong way run the Bulldogs faced a 4th and 72 from their own 6-yard line.
Murphy had to punt, and Swain took over on the Murphy 45 yard line. When Swain began this possession their was 5:58 remaining in the game. The Maroon Devils sealed their win by keeping the ball away from the potent Bulldog offense for the remainder of the game. To do so, the Devils had to convert twice on 4th down, and once on 3rd down. The first time was a 4th and 2 from the Bulldog 37, Ian Brooks gained just enough for the 1st down.
Swain then faced a 3rd and 5 from the Murphy 30 yard line. Brodie Bowman hit Brier Younce on a quick out pattern, with Younce running his pattern just deep enough to get 6-yards.
Facing one last gasp, the Maroon Devils had a 4th and 1 from the Bulldog 15 yard line, with over a minute left in the game. Again it was Ian Brooks who bulled his way for a gain of 2 that gave the Maroon Devils a first down. With Murphy out of timeouts the Maroon Devils took a knee to run out the clock.
On the ground the Maroon Devils outgained the Bulldogs, with Swain finishing with 305 yards and 4 touchdowns. Brodie Bowman paced Swain with 23 carries for 146 yards and 3 touchdowns. Bryce Sain rushed for 89 yards on 17 carries, while Ian Brooks had 72 yards on 18 carries. Bowman was 3 of 5 through the air for 56 yards. Brier Younce caught 2 of those 3 passes for 44 yards, while Ian Brooks had a 12 yard reception.
Defensively, the Maroon Devils played without leading tackler Wren Gunter, who was out with an injury. But the Maroon Devil defense played well all evening. Ice Littlejohn finished with a team high 13 tackles, while Tanner Wiggins and Brier Younce finished with 6 each.