Gentry sets record in instant-classic 15-14 win against Swain

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  • Coach David Gentry celebrates with coaches and fans after winnings his 413th game at Swain County on Friday night.
    Coach David Gentry celebrates with coaches and fans after winnings his 413th game at Swain County on Friday night.
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   Bryson City – The world stopped as a Swain passing attempt sailed through the air toward the end zone with time expiring and the Murphy Bulldogs leading the Maroon Devils 15-14.

   Then the world came crashing back as the pass attempt sailed past the intended receiver and hit the ground with the sound of the buzzer exploding in the background. 

   Players on the field and on the sideline engulfed Murphy Coach David Gentry and he disappeared into a swarm of gold and white.

   Gentry had just made history.

   In an instant-classic, Gentry and his Murphy Bulldogs took down the previously undefeated Swain County Maroon Devils in Bryson City for the first time since 2005 and boosted Gentry atop the North Carolina all-time coaching wins record with his 413th victory.

   "We've had a lot of good games, a lot of classics," Gentry told his players and the massive crowd that surrounded the Bulldogs following the victory. "And THAT one was up there with the best of them."

   Murphy had been trailing in the fourth quarter and found their way into the end zone on a scoring pass from sophomore quarterback Kellen Rumfelt to senior receiver Justice Dorsey with 1:10 remaining in the game.

   The Bulldogs lined up to kick the extra point and did the same thing they do with every PAT, slapped down on their pads when crouching into position.

   The movement triggered a false start by Swain and at that moment, the entire crowd knew that Coach Gentry was going to go for the two-point conversion and the lead.

   After a Murphy timeout, senior running back Devonte Murray punched in the two-point conversion and the Bulldogs took the 15-14 lead that ended up as the final that will go down in history.

   "No ... No there's not one," Gentry said when asked if there could have been a better game to have achieved the record in. "This (Swain) has been our big rival since I came here so to get it at Swain ... to break the record, there's no place better. They're the only team that's really been with us in the conference so to win against a team that you've battled so hard against, that means a lot."