Murphy defeats Panthers handily by score of 48-14
Murphy – Sometimes in sports, it’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish – and for the Murphy Bulldogs, the second half of their games this season have been dominant performances.
The Bulldogs continued their strong start to the shortened 2020-21 season on Friday, demolishing the Franklin Panther at home by a score of 48-14.
At the half, Murphy held a 21-14 lead over the Panthers, but strong running and stout defense allowed the Bulldogs to blow the game wide-open in the second half as they outscored Franklin 27-0 in the half.
“You obviously want to get off to a good start, but we have not got off to great starts in either of our two games in the first half,” Murphy coach David Gentry said. “We’ve only played alright. Our kids continue to play and play hard, which I’m real pleased about that, but they’re playing as a team and everyone tries to do what they’re supposed to do. That might be the MO of our team, some teams start fast, but this team seems to start OK and get better in the second half.”
On offense, Murphy was paced by senior Ray Rathburn, who ran for 183 yards and finished with four rushing touchdowns.
John Ledford added 152 yards and a pair of scores on the ground, Juan Allen tallied 84 rushing yards and a touchdown and Ty Laney ran for 68 rushing yards and a pair of scores as well.
“That’s what you want out of a Wing-T offense,” Gentry said of his backs. “You’ve got to have three good backs, a fullback, tail back and a wing back. The only problem on our offense is our lack of depth in the back field.
Quarterback Kellen Rumfelt found his rhythm against the Panthers, throwing for 137 yards and two touchdowns – both to senior Isaac Aguilar, who finished with 67 receiving yards – and rushing for 72 yards and a score himself.
“We’re improving,” Gentry said. “Our team shows some physicality, which I like, upfront especially. We improved from the first game to the second game, which is what you want to see.”
The Bulldogs (2-0) will look to continue their strong start to the season on the road against a winless Hayesville Yellow Jacket (0-2) team this week.