ASHEVILLE – Coming up through elementary, middle and now high school, Murphy senior Luke Charles always sought to apply what he learned in science classes.
Forget the Monarch Butterfly or other examples, though. Charles had never been a witness to a true metamorphosis until Bulldogs football coach David Gentry promoted the quarterback to his varsity team as a sophomore.
“I tell my mom all the time, if you don’t play football you might not understand (Gentry),” Charles said. “When he gets out there in a game or practice, he just turns into a genius. It’s incredible. Everything he calls, it works.”
Though Gentry coyly insists the record holds little or no meaning, the 62-year-old is nonetheless closing fast on Babe Howell’s hallowed mark for career wins by a Western North Carolina football coach (301).
