Bryson City – For Swain and Murphy it was just another chapter in what has been a long and storied history between the two rivals. Friday’s meeting was the 70th between the two since 1960. In the end it was just like most of those 70 meetings in that it was a close hard fought game with lots of hard hitting. Swain scored in the 3rd quarter to take a 20-13 lead and made it stand up in the 4th quarter to take the win.
Swain caught a break on the first play from scrimmage. Junior Corbin Wildcatt forced a Bulldog fumble which teammate Caleb Woodard would fall on giving Swain excellent field position. Six plays later sophomore Keshaun Beaner scored from 4 yards out to give Swain an early lead.
Murphy roared back to score 13 points on Kadrian McRae runs in the 2nd quarter.
Swain answered when Brodie Bowman, making his first start at quarterback, hit Jordan Cody in stride for a 57 yard touchdown pass. The teams went into halftime tied at 13.
It would be a Bowman to Cody strike that put the Devils ahead for good in the 3rd quarter.
For the game Bowman finished with 108 yards on 6 of 9 passing and 2 touchdowns. It was Bowman’s first 100 yard passing game. Keshaun Beaner added his first 100 yard rushing performance as the sophomore back finished with 103 yards on 19 carries, both career highs. Derek Fortner added 52 yards on 15 carries. Jordan Cody had 5 catches for 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Maroon Devil defense kept the high octane Murphy offense in check for much of the night. Murphy finished with 186 rushing yards, almost half of their normal total. Ross Ensley finished with 11 tackles, while Johnny Woodard had 9, and Jordan Cody and Caleb Woodard had 8 each. Clayton Catolster notched the first interception of his career.
Swain will finish the regular season this week as they travel to Robbinsville, with the winner of that contest being the Smoky Mountain Conference Champion.