Andrews Head Coach James Phillips will serve as an Assistant Coach for the West

By Brandon Stephens

(Greensboro) – –  Murphy’s star Senior Running Back Hunter Stalcup will play Sunday (December 17, 2023) in the 2023 North Carolina Coaches Association (NCCA) East-West All-Star Football game.  Stalcup is one of 72 elite football players from across the entire state and all four high school classifications.  NCCA selects 36 football players from the western and eastern regions of the state.  Hunter is the only football player selected west of Asheville’s A.C. Reynolds High School.  The remainder of the western players were selected from the foothills, western piedmont, or western North Carolina high country mountains.  The complete roster for each team is listed at 2023 NCCA East-West All-Star Football Game. The NCCA East-West All-Star Football game will be played this coming Sunday at 2PM at Grimsley High School in Greensboro.

Hunter Stalcup is an asset for the Murphy Bulldogs since he began playing varsity.  “Hunter (Stalcup) is a truly gifted athlete and is very deserving of playing in this weekend’s East-West All-Star football game.  He has played to his fullest potential in every game and helped the team win many football games.  We wish him the best this weekend and are excited to see where the future takes him,” states Murphy Head Football Coach Joseph Watson.

The numbers through Hunter Stalcup’s high school football career support Coach Watson’s statement of “played to his fullest potential.”  Stalcup’s Senior season is impressive with a number of games played with multiple touchdowns.  From this reporter, he is nicknamed the Rhinestone Cowboy from the Glen Campbell song because maybe one day he would get cards and letters from people he “don’t” even know and offers over the phone.  True, Stalcup is considering some offers to play at various schools in the close regions of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.  There are some possibilities of being a preferred walk-on.  Hunter finished up his high school career as a Murphy Bulldog recently with the team going to the third round of the state football playoffs.

This season’s 13 games gave Stalcup the opportunity to do the following:

• Carried the ball 214 times for 2,036 rushing yards (9.5 yards per carry) and 29 touchdowns.
• Pulled down 22 pass receptions for 406 passing yards (18.5 yards per reception) and 6 touchdowns.
• 2,824 Total all-purpose yards from rushing, pass receptions, and return yards from kick-offs and punt returns and 35 touchdowns.

Stalcup’s career as a varsity football player spans three full seasons and was brought up to varsity at the end of his Freshman season on Junior Varsity.  During the three-and-a-half seasons Stalcup built the following accomplishments:

• 528 carries for 4,920 rushing yards and 65 touchdowns.
• 58 pass receptions for 956 yards and 13 touchdowns.
• 6,449 all-purpose yards and 80 touchdowns (including return touchdowns).

Andrews Head football Coach James Phillips is on the West roster to serve as an assistant coach.  Coach Phillips has recently coached one of the most successful seasons in the school’s history in the 2022 season finishing 13-and-1.  The Andrews Wildcats are rebuilding and finished 4-and-7 this season.

The NCCA East-West All-Star football game, along with all-star games for outstanding basketball and soccer players have been developed to help showcase the state’s best athletes and promote recruiting efforts among those elite players.  The games were also developed as a means to help raise funds for the NCCA in 1949.

Stats and data for this story credit to MaxPreps, Team FYN Sports archives, and Murphy High statistics reports.

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