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Can someone explain the Smoky Mountain Conference?

HowerinJr

HowerinJr

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I see a lot of posts here regarding SMC. The discussions often refer to SMC in a historical way. As someone in the east, where realignment changes the makeup, name, travel, rival constantly, can someone explain the history of SMC? I would guess the geography kind of makes realignment less problematic. Just asking from a point of ignorance and curiousity.
 
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recycled2_anon

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HowerinJr said:
I see a lot of posts here regarding SMC. The discussions often refer to SMC in a historical way. As someone in the east, where realignment changes the makeup, name, travel, rival constantly, can someone explain the history of SMC? I would guess the geography kind of makes realignment less problematic. Just asking from a point of ignorance and curiousity.
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The SMC is the 7 western most 1A football playing schools. Years ago we were a 1A/2A conference that included Sylva Webster, Franklin (both 2A along with Murphy and Swain) and Cullowhee. There is also a “Little” SMC that is comprised of non-football playing schools. As long as they field at least 4 teams in a sport they are a separate conference. In sports where they have 3 or less teams, they are rolled into the SMC to form one conference. Our conference has seen a few years where teams such as Hendersonville and Polk were conference members (I think for 4 years) and times when Cherokee and Rosman were members of the now defunct Appalachian conference. I hope this answers your question. If not let’s us know and we will try to address them.

Historically, the SMC has produced many state champions. I believe that the following schools all won state football titles as members of the SMC:
Cherokee
Franklin
Murphy
Robbinsville
Swain
Sylva Webster, not 100% sure

Several of these schools have multiple titles as members of the SMC.
 
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HowerinJr

HowerinJr

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I only ask because east of 95, there are tons of 1A and 2A size schools. Because of the geography and ADM fluctuations, conferences and rivalries are always changing. I guess when you are all out there in the far west together, you are kind of stuck with each other.
 
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SitOut

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Yeah the conference hardly ever changes.

Another interesting concept is the JV program. Its really not JV football. Its actually a Middle School or Junior High setup made up of 7th, 8th, and 9th grade players. All 10th graders play on varsity regardless of ability or age..
 
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recycled2_anon

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HowerinJr said:
I only ask because east of 95, there are tons of 1A and 2A size schools. Because of the geography and ADM fluctuations, conferences and rivalries are always changing. I guess when you are all out there in the far west together, you are kind of stuck with each other.
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I guess you could say we are stuck with each other. However we like it. We compete with each other and we know the history of the sports and have our rivilaries. Generations of players get to play on the same field or court that their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles played on. It is our traditions that make us special not our location. We might be stuck together but most of us wouldn’t have it any other way.
 
HowerinJr

HowerinJr

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recycled2 said:
I guess you could say we are stuck with each other. However we like it. We compete with each other and we know the history of the sports and have our rivilaries. Generations of players get to play on the same field or court that their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles played on. It is our traditions that make us special not our location. We might be stuck together but most of us wouldn’t have it any other way.
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I wasn't using the word "stuck" as a bad thing. As a Tarboro guy, I just notice that regardless what classification we are in, we get used to playing certain teams, then we get shuffled out. Since I was in school (1982) Tarboro has been in;

  • Northeastern 3A
  • Tar-Roanoke 3A
  • Colonial Athletic 3A
  • Big Eight 3A
  • Eastern Plains 2A
  • Two Rivers 1A
  • Coastal Plains 1A
When we were 3A, we our regular conference opponents were Ahoskie (Hertford County), Bertie, SWE in conference. In 2A, it was Goldsboro, Greene Central and SWE. In 1A, we've played South Creek and Riverside. I guess that's just the nature of realignment, but there are so many great games from my youth that we will likely never see again. That's one reason I enjoy when Edenton comes to town during the playoffs, because they were part of the earliest conference I can remember. I kind of miss those old rivalry games.
 
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knine1

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TRADITION is the one word to me that would describe the SMC.....Many times you will have 2 kids facing each other on the same field that thier 2 fathers and grandfathers played on against each other....Grandfathers, fathers, and kids all left family blood on the same fields against the same teams.....Rivalries is the second word I would use to describe the SMC....there is no better atomsphere at any level of football in America than a big Murphy/Swain Murphy/Robbinsville or Swain/Robbinsville game.....these games aren't just "games" to our communities, they are events, a way of life handed down generation to generation......you can bet your last dollar that this very day the upcoming 2019 Murphy/Robbinsville game is being discussed and debated by hundreds of fans in both communitites..And it will be discussed and debated tommorrow, the day after that, etc etc till game time....there is no "off season" in Murphy Robbinsville or Swain county when it comes to football. We eat, sleep, breath it 24/7 365 days a year...when a father or grandfather shows a kid his state championship ring and tells stories of how it was won, and who it was won against, that kid is gonna bust his a$$ to get himself one of those rings....As that late, great southerner Lewis Grizzard said, football aint a matter of life and death to us, it's more important...Long live the SMC !
 
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heelzfor2

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While I agree the SMC and the rivalries between Murphy, Swain, Cherokee and Robbinsville are great, not sure that it's the best in America. For that you need to slide over to Haywood Co and the Tuscola vs Pisgah game, I mean where else in America does the 50/50 winner take home $20,000?

https://www.citizen-times.com/story...-50-winner-takes-home-over-20-000/1165930002/
 
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knine1

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Yes Pisgah and Tuscola is a great rivalry....But it's missing one thing that Murphy, Robbinsville and Swain games bring to the table: CHAMPIONSHIPS of the conference and the state of north carolina are usually on the line every year...been over 40 years between drinks of the state championship cup for a haywood county team..it just doesn't carry the high stakes statewide that the Big 3 of the SMC are used to playing in most every year....kinda like comparing the great Army/Navy rivalry to say Alabama/Auburn or Ohio St/Michigan....the championship stakes are MUCH higher than Army/Navy game...Pisgah/Tuscola is a big deal to them locally, but when Murphy Robbinsville or Swain are playing each other for the SMC title or in a playoff or Western final, football fans from the mountains to the coast are checking for that score about 11 pm on that friday night....I can be in any town in NC and when I tell em Im from Murphy they immediatly recognize my hometown for championship football teams... (not a 50/50 drawing)...You cant buy that at no store for any price.....
 
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heelzfor2

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Agree with you Knine, I would only add that rivalries are usually local and the teams records or what's on the line in terms of playoffs do not diminish the fan interest in the game. It would not matter if both teams were 0-for, there would be 12,000 people in the stands. Please do not get me wrong, I love the history of the SMC and pull for you guys all the time when you go to Asheville or down the Mtn. History is great, as are the ships, no one can question that. First time I saw Murphy play was in the late 80's when you came to a little town called Bladenboro, all the locals said you were not fast enough, what they did not know is that Bladenboro was not strong enough to keep the dogs from running it right down their throats all night long.

I grew up watching Scotland and Richmond games and thought that was the marquee rivalry, it was not until I moved to Wayneville and took in my first Tuscola vs Pisgah game to realize I was wrong. Also, realized that WNC football has so much more fan support in all the towns, its just at a different level fan wise than games down East IMHO.
 
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mbdfan_rivals121259

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heelzfor2 said:
Agree with you Knine, I would only add that rivalries are usually local and the teams records or what's on the line in terms of playoffs do not diminish the fan interest in the game. It would not matter if both teams were 0-for, there would be 12,000 people in the stands. Please do not get me wrong, I love the history of the SMC and pull for you guys all the time when you go to Asheville or down the Mtn. History is great, as are the ships, no one can question that. First time I saw Murphy play was in the late 80's when you came to a little town called Bladenboro, all the locals said you were not fast enough, what they did not know is that Bladenboro was not strong enough to keep the dogs from running it right down their throats all night long.

I grew up watching Scotland and Richmond games and thought that was the marquee rivalry, it was not until I moved to Wayneville and took in my first Tuscola vs Pisgah game to realize I was wrong. Also, realized that WNC football has so much more fan support in all the towns, its just at a different level fan wise than games down East IMHO.
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Solid post but the only time Murphy ever played Bladenboro was '94
 
Mavrick69

Mavrick69

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HowerinJr said:
I wasn't using the word "stuck" as a bad thing. As a Tarboro guy, I just notice that regardless what classification we are in, we get used to playing certain teams, then we get shuffled out. Since I was in school (1982) Tarboro has been in;

  • Northeastern 3A
  • Tar-Roanoke 3A
  • Colonial Athletic 3A
  • Big Eight 3A
  • Eastern Plains 2A
  • Two Rivers 1A
  • Coastal Plains 1A
When we were 3A, we our regular conference opponents were Ahoskie (Hertford County), Bertie, SWE in conference. In 2A, it was Goldsboro, Greene Central and SWE. In 1A, we've played South Creek and Riverside. I guess that's just the nature of realignment, but there are so many great games from my youth that we will likely never see again. That's one reason I enjoy when Edenton comes to town during the playoffs, because they were part of the earliest conference I can remember. I kind of miss those old rivalry games.
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What would be the reason for Tarboro to drop all the way to 1aa when as your post states that Tarboro was a 3a team for it seems like a long period of time..Is it something more than economics the lose of jobs have been devisating to a lot of highschool football programs I know when I played for Mountain Heritage in the early 80's we played in a 3a conference now we have barely over 600 students but the crazy thing is we have a hundred times better football program now than we did when we had around 900 students I do think having a great coach that knows what he's doing trumps all things at least at Mountain Heritage that's been the case.and for Tarboro there just one of the elite football programs in the state no matter what level they play....
 
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TD-FridayNight

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Mavrick69 said:
What would be the reason for Tarboro to drop all the way to 1aa when as your post states that Tarboro was a 3a team for it seems like a long period of time..Is it something more than economics the lose of jobs have been devisating to a lot of highschool football programs I know when I played for Mountain Heritage in the early 80's we played in a 3a conference now we have barely over 600 students but the crazy thing is we have a hundred times better football program now than we did when we had around 900 students I do think having a great coach that knows what he's doing trumps all things at least at Mountain Heritage that's been the case.and for Tarboro there just one of the elite football programs in the state no matter what level they play....
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Tarboro's ADM dropped from 3A (717) in 2009 to (1A) 557 in 2018 . They lost 160 students. Seems like all the best football players stuck around. OR is there a ?
 
HowerinJr

HowerinJr

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TD-FridayNight said:
Tarboro's ADM dropped from 3A (717) in 2009 to (1A) 557 in 2018 . They lost 160 students. Seems like all the best football players stuck around. OR is there a ?
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That's not right. Tarboro went 2A in 1997. I can't speak to the ADM numbers then, but when I graduated in 1987, the ADM was around 900.
 
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TD-FridayNight

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HowerinJr said:
That's not right. Tarboro went 2A in 1997. I can't speak to the ADM numbers then, but when I graduated in 1987, the ADM was around 900.
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Tarboro ADMs 2001 to 2018 and this is as far back as I found.
2018-557
2017-594
2016-609
2015-599
2014-577
2013-626
2012-672
2011-660
2010-679
2009-717
2008-746
2007-802
2006-815
2005-791
2004-827
2003-788
2002-801
2001-826
Dropped from 3A to 2A somewhere between 1993 &1998
1998 NCHSAA ( 2A )State Runner-Up
Did not make it to the Regional Finals from 1994,1995,1996 & 1997
1993 NCHSAA ( 3A ) Regional Finals
 
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TD-FridayNight

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TD-FridayNight said:
Tarboro's ADM dropped from 3A (717) in 2009 to (1A) 557 in 2018 . They lost 160 students. Seems like all the best football players stuck around. OR is there a ?
Click to expand...
Sorry , not sure what I was looking at but it should have said Tarboro's ADM dropped from 2A (717) between 2009 & 2013 or 14 to (1A)....It was 557 in 2018 .
 
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