Murphy – The Bulldog were ready from the opening kickoff. After Cherokee’s Kaden Trantham let the opening kick roll to the 1 yard line, he was immediately swarmed by Murphy defenders.
A Braves three-and-out followed, Murphy answered with a touchdown and the rout was on. Moving the game up a day due to potential inclement weather had no effect on the Bulldogs, who dominated Cherokee in a 49-14 win Thursday night.
“It was an unorthodox week,” Murphy head coach Joseph Watson said. “This team has faced a lot of different adversity, a lot of different challenges, a lot of different things. Moving it up a day and being ready to play, it’s a testament to overcome things, and we’re proud of them for that.”
Against a Braves team that needed to win up front and establish the run to compete, Murphy (4-2 overall, 1-0 Smoky Mountain Conference) didn’t let that happen. Cherokee’s (1-5, 0-1) Tso Smith and Chase Calhoun combined for just 93 yards on 25 carries, while Bulldogs had 287 on the ground and 146 through the air.
Junior Hunter Stalcup was the star of the show with 247 yards of offense and five touchdowns. He has 15 TDs through the first six games this season.
“The line was playing great,” Stalcup said. “Every touchdown I had, it was a wide open hole every time. It’s all thanks to them.”
Stalcup’s first touchdown came on a three-yard reception from Cole Laney, taking advantage of short field after the drive started at the Braves’ 33 yard line. The drive took longer than it should have due to penalties, which was the only big issue of the night for Murphy, which committed 10 penalties for 75 yards.
After another Braves three-and-out, the Bulldogs went 88 yards, with Stalcup finding the end zone again on a 12-yard touchdown run and 14-0 lead with 10:25 to go in the second quarter. Murphy thought it had another touchdown on a Laney deep ball to Cameron Grooms with about three minutes to go in the quarter, but it was called back due to holding.
Laney was intercepted on the next play, but the Bulldogs’ defense forced a punt. Then he found Grooms again on another long pass for a 65-yard touchdown.
“We kind of got that coverage we were anticipating,” Watson said, “and I think it could’ve been an even bigger night if we had caught a couple balls.
“Cole did an outstanding job of doing what we asked him to do.”
The offense continued to roll in the second half, with Stalcup breaking free for a 55-yard touchdown on the first offensive play in the third quarter. After Cherokee was stopped on fourth down, Stalcup took a handoff on third-and-28 from the Braves’ 35 yard line and crossed the goal line for the fourth time and a 35-0 lead with 5:05 to go in the third quarter.
The Braves would finally get on the board after Chase Calhoun caught a short pass and broke a few tackles on his way to an 86-yard touchdown with 3:22 to go in the third, but Stalcup would score his fifth and final touchdown of the night on a 10-yard catch and run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Calhoun would score again on a one-yard run after a long kick return, and Will Shore wrapped up the scoring with his first varsity touchdown on a 16-yard run with 2:20 to go.
The last two weeks, Murphy has been ready to get after it and taken care of business. Some players appear to be settling into new roles on both sides of the ball, and that should help moving forward. The Bulldogs travel to Hayesville (4-2, 0-1) next week, a team they have won 15 straight games against by an average of 41.7 points per game.
“We need to stay physical,” senior Mason Thrasher said, “and play like we’ve been
playing.”