Robbinsville vs Murphy JV game
- Thread starter NC nole fan
- Start date
This game is as even a matchup I've seen any way you look at it, if you compare scores both, beat Mountain Heritage by less than 4 points, both blew Mitchell and Cherokee out by almost identical scores.
It's a pretty even match up on paper, we'll see how it plays out. Murphy will have to keep Allison at least somewhat in check to win.
Regardless of how it all shakes down on Monday I'll go ahead and say this is Murphy's best JV team in several years. I do have some questions about this group upfront as it pertains to the varsity level, but overall this team has many of the pieces in place to be a real tough out as upperclassmen with the proper development and growth.
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Robbinsville is the defending champ and is the team to beat until proven otherwise. Allison is a special talent and will be hard to stop. I’m not even sure he can be stopped altogether. Just have to accept that he is gonna make some plays and just hope to limit him. Robbinsville has other good players that can beat you too. Murphy needs to be mindful of that and be ready for anything.
The good thing for Murphy is that the game is at home, and like the Knights, Murphy also has a deep group with excellent size and speed, and a number of players that can beat you. Murphy’s staff has done an excellent job all season getting the most out of this team. These kids have busted their tails since summer workouts and most of them have been getting ready since last season ended.
As for the winner, like most big games with evenly matched teams, it will likely come down to mistakes and whichever team does the little things right. Hopefully this Murphy group is ready for the moment and handles it well. This Robbinsville group is used to this. I’ll call it a coin flip and leave it at that. Hope it’s an exciting game and that nobody on either side gets hurt.
I do not like looking at other scores and trying to judge my team off of that. Robbinsville did fumble the ball 4 times at MH 2 of those was the exchange between qb and center and inside MH 10 if I’m not mistaken. The game could have very well been a 2 score difference. This game will be a close one as it always is. Look forward to Monday and hope for a injury free game for both teams. GO KNIGHTS!!
That’s a good point. Murphy missed a wide open receiver just before the half against MH and had the ball 1st down inside the 10 at the end and took a knee to run out the clock. So that final score is also a little misleading.
I can’t speak specifically on how Robbinsville’s games have gone so far, but Murphy called the dogs off against Cherokee, Mitchell, and Hayesville. Those scores were big in favor of the Dogs but could have been much worse.
Maybe Robbinsville can say the same thing. But, all of that is just semantics and matters none. Like I said, I think it’s a coin flip and can’t wait to see how it plays out.
15-12 Knights over the Dogs at the hill! Good physical game. Be some good matchups for the next several years for sure!
It was a very good game. A little sloppy at times. I thought the knights handled the moment better. Those boys are used to winning. Tough loss for the Dogs. Definitely a heartbreaker. But like you said, it sets up some good match ups for the next few years.
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Went back and watched the FYN broadcast late last night. They did a great job overall but I’m gonna have to disagree with Jake West on one point (I know you post here sometimes Jake lol). He said he thought Davis for Murphy would be a fullback at the next level because of how hard he runs. Totally disagree. Davis is a halfback all the way! Fullbacks barely run the ball. Davis is absolutely a feature back. He does run very hard like a FB but he’s also super fast and elusive, and has excellent vision and acceleration. He’s a threat to take it to the house every play from anywhere on the field. You don’t see many fullbacks back deep on punt returns and kick returns, or playing free safety on defense. He didn’t break loose for any super long TD runs last night because Robbinsville has great overall team speed, but he came close a few times and did rip off a few nice chunk plays.
Kid is also a track star. Last year he finished 4th in the SMC (Middle School track) in the 100 meter dash (could have been 3rd but for a bad first step on the takeoff). Allison of course was first, but Davis wasn’t too far behind….and he just turned 14 in late August so he is a young 9th grader. He will get bigger, stronger, and faster and be a heck of a halfback for the Bulldogs over the next three years. You don’t waste talent like that at fullback.
Kid is also a track star. Last year he finished 4th in the SMC (Middle School track) in the 100 meter dash (could have been 3rd but for a bad first step on the takeoff). Allison of course was first, but Davis wasn’t too far behind….and he just turned 14 in late August so he is a young 9th grader. He will get bigger, stronger, and faster and be a heck of a halfback for the Bulldogs over the next three years. You don’t waste talent like that at fullback.
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I agree with you on Davis' skillset, he's a natural halfback and obviously a good athlete, now having said that I'd point out that just because he's a natural halfback doesn't mean he can't and won't play some fullback and wingback on varsity. With Clem already on varsity you're going to have to get Davis touches somewhere and while I'm sure he will get some touches at halfback next year it wouldn't surprise me at all if Watson starts him at fullback (given his strength and physicality) or wingback (given his speed and agility) next season.
I'd dispute that fullbacks barely get touches, that is not entirely accurate in Murphy's offense. When Murphy has had good talent at the fullback position in the last decade or so they've gotten plenty of touches: Kenton Braswell, Chase Roberts, KJ Allen, Ray Rathburn all got a healthy amount of touches at fullback and if John Ledford hadn't torn his ACL which unfortunately changed his career he too was destined for a similar amount of touches and impact at fullback. Davis would be more like Braswell in that he'd be a natural halfback playing fullback, and we all saw when he played that spot what kind of damage a big time athlete can do at fullback in Murphy's offense. To say it would be a waste for Davis to play fullback next year, if he is getting touches I can't agree with that statement personally.
As far as next year I actually think Clem would be a pretty good fit at fullback with his size, north and south running style and straight line speed and I'm of the opinion that Davis is the more natural halfback of the two players, but I'm highly doubtful the coaching staff would go that route. What's more likely to happen is Davis will be moved around between all 3 (half, full and wing) to make sure he is on the field and getting touches. When Braswell was on varsity he had Gaige Cox back there with him and the best way to get both on the field was to have Braswell at fullback. I think you will see something similar with Davis seeing a healthy dose of reps at fullback, wingback or both the next 2 years before he takes over at halfback his senior year, similar to how things went for Devonte Murray.
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Those are excellent points. I can’t disagree with anything you said. You’re right about fullbacks in Murphy’s offense. They tend to get a lot more carries than most and I can also see Davis playing some at all three backfield positions in order to get touches and be on the field with Clem. I guess the reason I called Jake out is because ordinarily, when you think of fullback, you think mostly short yardage and blocking back only in most offenses. I’m not sure how many times Jake has seen Davis play. If last night was the first time, then I could see how he would come to the conclusion that Davis would be a good traditional FB, since he ran over and thru a lot of guys but didn’t break any long TD runs. I was just pointing out that Davis has Allison ability too (can take it to the house at any time). He’s done it all season until last night and has since he’s been playing football.
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I agree with all of that, if last night was someone's first time watching Davis they probably don't have an accurate feel for how good he actually is. Robbinsville had a good defense and limited his impact somewhat. My only critique is he and all the Murphy JV backs for that matter still hesitate a bit too much waiting on blocks to set up and end up pitter pattering and dancing around in the backfield a little too often, once Davis develops more of a foot in the ground, one cut and go mentality he's going to be really hard to handle.
Are you by any chance related to Blake nolefan? I talked with his grandpa and dad at the game last night, both of em nice guys.
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I might know him just a little bit 😉
I agree about the backs hesitating too much waiting on their blockers. I always told Blake that, as soon as he see’s space, plant and get up field fast. If you beat your blocker, so be it. Tell the blocker to get to his man faster. I’ve asked him about this very thing and he says the coaches want them to wait on the blocker and for the hole to open up, which is understandable, but they still have to develop a feel for when to plant and go. The hole won’t always be big, and sometimes you gotta put your shoulders down make your own hole.
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I was very impressed with what Davis done. Look forward to 3-4 more years of Friday nights at the hill of big oaks watching these 2 teams go at it
I appreciate your comments!
While I think Blake could definitely be the feature back on any team in the area in the next few years, I think he fits into the MHS offense at full because of the other talent he'll be coming up with. Like mbdfan mentioned, fullbacks at Murphy get their shine and their touches. I wish there was another word to use aside from fullback to describe that position in the MHS offense, because i think the fullback term in general has a negative connotation around it. Davis is definitely going to be the 'go to guy' for most of his time at Murphy, but it wouldnt surprise me if he got in the mix on Varsity at the end of this year at the FB position.
PS who says the "feature back" cant come out of the FB position? 😂
If he gets down hill to quick on the Buck backside guard can't get there, if you want to help him tell him to get on the guards hip, Guards will take you home.
I know. My post didn’t age very well lol. I was just trying to say that he is too good of a runner to be a short yardage/blocking back who gets only a nominal amount of touches, like an I-Formation FB. I’m well aware that Murphy uses their FBs differently than most. He would be an excellent FB in the Wing T and could have a Braswell like impact if he stays healthy.
Thanks for the reply Jake. I get what you are saying. Mbd fan and dogtuff reminded me of Kenton Braswell (and a few other excellent backs to play FB at Murphy). Murphy runs their FBs like most teams run their half backs. Blake would be an awesome FB in Murphy’s offense, or an awesome WB, HB, or even WR. He’s versatile and athletic enough to play any skill position. I wouldn’t even mind seeing him line up in the wildcat on occasion. The kid loves football and would do well just about anywhere you line him up. What he does this year on the varsity really depends on how quickly he can adjust to the speed of the varsity level. Would love to see him line up at FB with Clem at HB at the end of this season. That could be exciting and would make Murphy a hard team to beat come conference and playoff time!
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