HSHUDDLE

WNC high school football: Week 10 storylines

The Citizen-Times

Murphy football coach David Gentry is a win away from 400 career wins.

1. Murphy's Gentry one win from historic mark

Murphy football coach David Gentry can secure his place in North Carolina high school football history this Friday with a win over Swain County. The win would be his 400th in a storied career, making him the third coach to hit that mark in the state's history, and moving him 13 wins away from the state record for wins. Jack Holley, who passed away in 2013, holds the state record with 412 wins. Holley coached for 43 years with stints at Tabor City, Hallsboro, Wallace-Rose Hill, West Columbus , South Columbus and Harrells Christian. Gentry's current record stands at 399-185. He is in his 35th season with the Bulldogs.

2. Reynolds nearing 30th straight conference win

The Rockets (7-1, 5-0) are nearing their fourth-straight conference title, and with that comes some impressive stats. Most notable, is the potential for 30 straight conference wins, which could be earned this Friday against North Buncombe. Reynolds' last conference loss came on Oct. 3, 2014 against Asheville High. Reynolds can close out another undefeated conference title with wins over North Buncombe, West Henderson and Roberson. The Rockets have won seven straight games this season since a 27-24 Week 1 loss to South Durham.

3. Can Brevard keep up its incredible pace?

Last Friday's 55-7 win over Franklin put Brevard on the top of the contender list for the Mountain Six Conference title and highlighted what has been an incredible seven-game stretch for the Blue Devils. Since a Week 1 loss to Mountain Heritage, Brevard has given up only 21 points during the win streak and posted four shutouts while scoring an average of 44.5 points a game. The Blue Devils need two wins against Smoky Mountain and Hendersonville to set-up a de facto conference title game against Pisgah at home in the final game of the regular season.

4. Can Roberson make a run at a playoff spot?

This seemed like an impossible statement to make a few weeks ago, but the Rams have won two of their last three games, putting them in contention for fourth place in the Western Mountain Athletic Conference and an almost automatic bid into the playoffs. Roberson enters Week 10 with a 2-3 conference record, trailing Tuscola (3-2) and North Buncombe (4-2) for fourth place in the WMAC. Only three conference teams get automatic bids into the NCHSAA playoffs, but the No. 4 team will more than likely receive an at-large bid. So, here in the exhausting scenario for a potential tie-breaker: Roberson will have to beat North Henderson this week and Tuscola in Week 11. Tuscola will need to beat West Henderson this week and lose to Roberson and Erwin while North Buncombe will have to lose its two remaining games to Reynolds and Asheville High. If this happens, it would create a three-way tie at 4-4 with all teams finishing with a 1-1 record against the other two. Like last year in the Smoky Mountain Conference, it's likely seeding will be decided by drawing numbers out of a hat. Not ideal, but it's the system we've got at the moment.

5. Third-place fight in Smoky Mountain Conference

While Murphy and Swain County fight it out for first-place this Friday, another game could decide the third-place finisher in the SMC this year. Robbinsville hosts Cherokee on Friday night with both teams entering the game with a 2-1 conference record. The Braves have won their last two games against the Black Knights, but Robbinsville has dominated the all-time series 46-15-1. With a win and a Swain County loss to Murphy this week, Robbinsville could still earn the No. 2 spot in the SMC with a win over the Maroon Devils next week.

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