SMC score.
- Thread starter BK13T-$
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gotta agree with gal durnit on one thing........the defense played great last night. Have to agree with FBfan about those gastly gray uniforms because they are absolutely horrendous. So ugly they make my eyes hurt..... and forget about trying to see the numbers on the back because they are almost invisible.
Robbinsville lost to Dade County 20-6. Dade scored in the 3rd to make it 7-0. Rville scored in the 4th and went for 2 which we didnt get. Then Dade scored 2 more times at the end of the game. Our passing game is so bad right now. We pass to much for a team that only completes 35%(guess) of our passes. Dade alwasys has a really good D. Looking bad for the Knights way two many kids hurt or out.
Thanks for the pic; those jerseys look awesome! I can see the kids taking pride in wearing something like this. Gray, not so much...
it benefits us by getting healthy coming off of Franklin , Hendersonville games, and if you think Murphy's JVs could play with them your in for a rude awakening in a few weeks.
what does this mean exactly?
I won't speak for bulldog42 but personally I never had a problem with Murphy playing one of these types of teams, it's the fact that there is two of them on the schedule. Basically two bye weeks in a row.
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I like these two games. It does Murphy no good to bang their heads against a brick wall five weeks in a row against monster teams that they have next to no chance of beating, IMO. Playing a bunch of big schools also increases the chance of injuries. Murphy has a big game in two weeks against Gilmer (who beat Murphy 49-10 last season) and the games against Carolina and NG allow Murphy to win, get healthy, and gain confidence before Gilmer and the SMC part of the schedule. Gilmer looks beatable this season so if Murphy can go into SMC play at 4-1 that would be huge for them. Carolina and NG may be easy games but games against Hendo (2a team who is the favorite to win it's conference), Franklin (2a team picked to win it's conference and whose first loss last year was in the 2aa western regional final), and Gilmer (4a team who made the playoffs in Georgia last year and is coming off one it's best seasons ever) is still a pretty tough task. Nothing wrong with Murphy's schedule.
Coach, just so you know this is Riley's dad. Just speaking off the cuff after the game. I don't literally think the JV could beat them.
It looked like an ok schedule in preseason but Gilmer sucks this year (beat Fannin County by 3 and lost to Dawson County by 3 TD's) and Hendersonville is proving to not be as strong as thought either (destroyed by West Henderson, good team but still) so let's not sugar coat things, it's one of the weakest schedules Murphy has had.
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it means the step from JV to Varsity is huge, this weeks team is much better more like Q athletically
Maybe, but it's all good considering how much talent Murphy lost. This is a good year for this schedule. This is a rebuilding year no matter how things turn out this season.
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I don't have a big problem with it this season, as long as one of the two gimme games (Carolina or North Georgia) is a one year deal.
I really hope though that Murphy will drop one of the them and really go out and test themselves in 2016. The 'Dogs should have the size and depth to at least be competitive with some of the better programs in the region next year. Go out and schedule a one or two year deal with 1 of the following teams: Asheville, AC Reynolds, Erwin, Signal Mountain TN, East Hamilton TN, Bradley Central TN, Cleveland TN, Dalton GA or Stephens County GA.
All of the teams I just mentioned are good local (within 2 hours) programs but none of them so elite (like a Cartersville GA, Baylor TN, Alcoa TN, etc. would be) that a potentially great Murphy team wouldn't at least be able to compete with them.
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It probably will be a one year deal. I don't know that but will assume that Smoky cancelling the series put Murphy in a bind. This is probably about as good as they could do on short notice. They will get it fixed I'm sure. I would like to see Murphy play South Pittsburgh, TN. They are about the same size as Murphy and have a bunch of state titles. That would be a great matchup. Murphy vs Owen at WCU would be a very nice matchup too!
Meh... South Pittsburg has been very mediocre for a couple of years now, they aren't anywhere close to what they use to be. Murphy would destroy them if they played next year. Owen isn't nearly high profile enough for what I had in mind either. There is a team close to South Pittsburg that wouldn't be a bad choice though, Marion County High. Murphy has played Marion County before and they're much better now than when Murphy previously played them, would be a good series probably.
But yeah I think with what Murphy should have in the pipeline the next two seasons they should be aiming a lot higher than either South Pittsburg/Owen next year (no offense to those programs) otherwise they might as well stick with some mediocre team in North GA or Western NC.
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Yeh Copper Basin actually beat South Pittsburgh in the second round of the playoffs last year. Could just save a lot of gas and play them, but I've been told they aren't real competition...
They aren't, at least compared to Franklin and Hendo. Them beating South Pittsburg once in a blue moon is no different than Hayesville beating Murphy once in a blue moon. I will say this, there was a time when Copper Basin used to be good. Those days are long gone though.
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I think Murphy should be pretty good the next couple of years but I will go ahead and say it, other than McRae, they have no real home run threats at the skill positions. You need multiple home run threats like Murphy had the last few years (and in the early 2000s) to compete with the teams you want Murphy to play in the non-conference. I mean Murphy hasn't even been able to beat Franklin lately and this is despite having skill players galore. How would they, with less dynamic skill players, have a realistic shot of beating Reynolds, Erwin, Asheville, etc. ? Maybe if some of the players who didn't come out this year (Hampton) actually play next year they could compete. But I don't see anything on the current roster besides McRae and Curry (and he is the QB) who will still be a around next year that are truly game changers. Murphy loses a couple of their biggest playmakers this year (Lovingood, Conners).
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Nole your correct, mhs doesnt have the big play makers and game changers its used to having. I do think that there is enough talent spread around that we could make a deep run in the playoffs. I cant remember a season where the small 1a is literally wide open on both ends of the state.
It is wide open this year. That said, as long as Murphy gets healthy and doesn't lose anyone else, they are probably still the favorite, even without the skill talent they have enjoyed over the past few years. 1a just is not very good this year.
I might buy all that Nole if Murphy was losing because of speed or athletes to the likes of Franklin or Gilmer but that's not the case. They're losing those games in the trenches, not because they were out athleted. When even was the last time Murphy lost strictly because of someone's speed and athletes? Hendersonville in '08? When Murphy loses handily it's almost always because of the play up front, not speed. Yeah there have been teams that did just out athlete the 'Dogs but it's incredibly rare. And not many of the teams I listed as potential opponents are capable of doing that to Murphy. I mean we all know that this year is one of Murphy's slowest skill positions groups in recent memory but yet they still had enough speed to hold Erwin in check in their scrimmage and they held up fine against Hendersonville and their skill speed.
Another point in this argument is that the 2014 Murphy team did not have anywhere near the size or depth 2016 or 2017 will have. Yeah, they had three home run threats in Wiley, Johnson and McRae but that trio did next to nothing against Franklin, Gilmer or Robbinsville. Not because they weren't talented enough to do so, but because Murphy got abused in the trenches. Competing up front is the most important thing with the top teams, Murphy will always have solid skill people to compete.
And as for next year's team, I think you're vastly underestimating how good Curry is going to be at QB, he's going to be big time. He's the dual threat playmaker Murphy has lacked at QB since Curtis. Apart from Curry, there's Tanner Creelman who is going to be a playmaker with maturation and experience. He is plenty athletic and only a sophomore. Then there's Chase Roberts who is already on varsity as a freshman, he's going to be a stud at fullback for Murphy in time. Colton Posey and Ian Davis will be back next season as well at wingback and receiver. That's not to mention potential home run speed that you want that could be coming up from the JV team (top 4 in SMC middle school 100 meters in the backfield) with Vining, Blaylock and McTaggart moving up at the end of the JV season.
Maybe 2016 might be asking too much too soon to compete with those teams (I don't think so) but I can pretty much guarantee the 2017 team will have more than enough playmakers to compete with the types of team I listed. It's not about that though, it's about whether or not Murphy is good enough up front to compete with those types of teams. Skill players will not determine it for Murphy, they will almost always have enough of those to compete.
Another point in this argument is that the 2014 Murphy team did not have anywhere near the size or depth 2016 or 2017 will have. Yeah, they had three home run threats in Wiley, Johnson and McRae but that trio did next to nothing against Franklin, Gilmer or Robbinsville. Not because they weren't talented enough to do so, but because Murphy got abused in the trenches. Competing up front is the most important thing with the top teams, Murphy will always have solid skill people to compete.
And as for next year's team, I think you're vastly underestimating how good Curry is going to be at QB, he's going to be big time. He's the dual threat playmaker Murphy has lacked at QB since Curtis. Apart from Curry, there's Tanner Creelman who is going to be a playmaker with maturation and experience. He is plenty athletic and only a sophomore. Then there's Chase Roberts who is already on varsity as a freshman, he's going to be a stud at fullback for Murphy in time. Colton Posey and Ian Davis will be back next season as well at wingback and receiver. That's not to mention potential home run speed that you want that could be coming up from the JV team (top 4 in SMC middle school 100 meters in the backfield) with Vining, Blaylock and McTaggart moving up at the end of the JV season.
Maybe 2016 might be asking too much too soon to compete with those teams (I don't think so) but I can pretty much guarantee the 2017 team will have more than enough playmakers to compete with the types of team I listed. It's not about that though, it's about whether or not Murphy is good enough up front to compete with those types of teams. Skill players will not determine it for Murphy, they will almost always have enough of those to compete.
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Good points. It all starts upfront and Murphy does look pretty solid there (although Franklin still had their way last week). But still, to beat teams like Asheville, Reynolds, etc you need to have size and ability upfront and good skill players. Maybe that fast JV group you mentioned will pan out and Murphy will have everything it takes to not only compete, but win against the biggest, fastest teams it can schedule by 2017. I hope so. As for Curry, I agree that if he stays healthy he will be a great QB both running and throwing for Murphy.
Murphy's line has good size but they're young, they should be much improved next season. And I already covered the skill position aspect, a duo of Curry/McRae is going to be plenty potent, if they can find one more home run threat to complement them (Creelman? Hampton? one of the JV kids?) they will be in business next season.
Need to find a good pass catching TE to replace Lovingood and a good WR to replace Conners as well. If they do then next year (and beyond) could be special.
Tight end will be the toughest position for Murphy to replace next season. If Davis comes back healthy he will be just fine at WR.
That's right. I almost forgot that Davis is a WR and was only playing WB because Posey has been out. So yeah, they just need to find a good TE and they will be set. Hopefully the kicker will grow and improve a little more by next year too. Poor kid has a hard act to follow though. A kicker like Stroup doesn't came around a 1a program very often. Murphy was very lucky to have him for the past few years.
I forgot about the kicking game (probably because I want to forget). I'm not going to talk down about a high school kid trying their best but the kicking game needs a lot of improvement, whether it's the same kicker or someone else next season. The length on the kickoffs is giving opponents prime field position every game, it is a huge detriment.
Teams don't usually win titles or compete with elite competition without some semblance of a kicking game. If nothing else at least find someone who can get the ball inside the opponent's 15 yard line on a kickoff or have the current kicker really work on his leg strength over the next 12 months. It is imperative.
If there is one criticism I have of the Murphy program it's the lack of attention to identifying and developing a kicker. When Murphy has a good kicker, it's because one has fallen into their laps. I've yet to see the program really develop one over the period of a varsity career. They need to target one of the soccer players as a freshman and groom him from then on. By the time that player is an upperclassmen they should be developed to the point that they're at least competent. When that player is going into their senior season, you find another freshman and start the process over again. If that were to happen there would be a competent kicking game at Murphy every season. Obviously not all of these kids are going to be great but I'm sure most of them would develop into at least a solid kicker with this approach if the appropriate time was put into developing them.
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I am biased in what I'm about to write so please forgive me I would suggest putting #40 at TE next year. Let JV #42 run FB. He's strong and has breakaway speed. #40 is a good athlete and I'm assuming he has the hands for it. Of course the coaches are working with the kids everyday and can make unbiased decisions. I'm sure they'll have it all figured out.
The kicking game is a very important yet commonly overlooked part of tbe game. Not for me (being a Nole fan you know why lol! My team didn't always have an Aguayo or a Janakowski kicking for them) but it is for a lot of people. I've often wondered what would have happened if the 2001 Murphy team had stayed fully intact and played the TA McClendon Albemarle team from that season. Looking back on it, Albemarle would have had a major advantage in the kicking game (Tyler Lewis) and that would have probably been the difference. He routinely put kickoffs into the endzone and had about a 50 yard FG range. Murphy usually went for two after every score that season because they didn't have a good kicker. Heck just look no further than 2013 to see what a good kicker can do for you. Murphy had one and Plymouth didn't. It was the difference in the game. Very important position.
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I believe the kicker will continue to improve as the season moves forward. He is involved in the soccer program, which should be beneficial to the fb program. I believe he hit the last 3 or 4 pats in a row against Carolina. They were good kicks with plenty of height. He did boot a couple of deep kicks at Franklin and against Carolina if I recall. Probably be a long time before we see a kicker like Foster again. As far as the punting game goes, Matt has done an excellent job.
I believe #40 and #75 both are on varsity due to age and not ability. Now Roberts is a good ballplayer but I believe it would have been his 3rd year of JV
