Kernersville – After scoring 57 points in round one, Murphy’s high-powered ground game upped that number Friday night in beating Bishop McGuinness 59-22 in the second round of the class 1A N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs.
With the win over No. 7 Bishop McGuinness (6-6), a charter school that has given Murphy fits in playoffs past, the 10th-seeded Bulldogs improve to 9-3 and advance to the third round of the state playoffs. Murphy will take a 540-mile round trip this Friday to face undefeated No. 2 seed Mount Airy (12-0), which squashed Mitchell 42-0 last week.
The first quarter was rough for the Villains.
After an early 20-yard touchdown from freshman running back Cameron Clem made it 6-0, Murphy’s defense got in on the scoring action when senior Hunter Stalcup jumped in front of an Alex Waterfield pass and returned it 84 yards into the end zone for six more points. Less than two minutes later, Clem broke off an 83-yard touchdown run through the heart of the defense.
When he wasn’t playing at defensive back, Stalcup was superb as a running back, scoring the Bulldogs’ final three first-half touchdowns – the longest coming in a 49-yard sprint – to take a 39-14 lead into the break. He then opened the second half with his fifth score of the night, and 35th touchdown of the season, to extend Murphy’s advantage to 46-14.
Senior running back Trenton Russell closed out the offensive explosion with the game’s final two touchdowns, from 45 and 34 yards out. The final score could have been worse, as holding penalties cost Murphy multiple big runs, including another Stalcup touchdown.
The Bulldogs’ ground game has only gotten better as the season has gone on, carrying 34 times for 593 yards. Stalcup had 11 rushes for 225 yards and four touchdowns, Clem carried the ball nine times for 177 yards and two touchdowns, Russell carried four times for 94 yards and two touchdowns, Jonah Hedden carried six times for 53 yards and Dalton Farmer rushed four times for 13 yards.
While the offensive line was opening huge holes for Murphy runners, the Bulldogs’ defense stifled Bishop McGuinness with blitzes that resulted in a loss of yards. Waterfield rarely had time to think before defenders were chasing him down in the backfield.
Among other Smoky Mountain Conference teams in the second round of the state 1A playoffs, Eastern Randolph (No. 3 seed, 11-1) defeated Hayesville (No. 14, 7-5), 39-10; Robbinsville (No. 1, 11-1) beat Mountain Island Charter (No. 16, 8-4), 40-7; and Swain County (No. 9, 11-1) downed Bessemer City (No. 8, 6-6), 42-7. Robbinsville will play host to Swain this week in round three.
The winner of Mount Airy vs. Murphy will move on to face the winner of No. 3 Eastern Randolph (11-1) vs. No. 11 Thomasville (9-3), which defeated Andrews in the first round.