Hendersonville – Cameron Clem had a coming-out party Friday night as he rushed for 140 yards, scored two rushing touchdowns and got another TD through the air as Murphy shocked West Henderson 36-33.
West Henderson (2-1) came into the game the 37th-ranked team in North Carolina. Clem’s teammates added to the onslaught, as the Dogs out-rushed the Falcons 364 yards to 242 yards. The only thing that seemed to stop the Bulldogs’ rushing attack was Murphy mistakes.
Murphy (2-1) took the opening kickoff and could manage only one first down before having to punt, but the Falcons fumbled the punt return and Will Shore recovered the fumble at the Falcons’ 18 yard line. Clem moved the Dogs into the red zone with a 13-yard run to the 7 yard line.
Two plays later, Brady Grant rolled left and found Clem in the corner of the end zone to put the Dogs up 6-0. Murphy, which always runs the swinging gate formation for the extra point, found the Falcons napping as the ball was snapped directly to Clem for a two-point conversion to put the Dogs up 8-0.
West Henderson drove the ball down to Murphy’s 6 yard line, but back-to-back unsportsmanlike conduct penalties cost the Falcons 30 yards and one of their lineman. Gaven Glover had the first penalty, then had an altercation with the official that won him an early trip to the locker room.
The penalty, a dead ball foul, happened after the Falcons’ third-down play. Faced with fourth and goal from the 39 yard line, the Falcons punted.
Murphy and West Henderson exchanged possessions to move into the second quarter. After a missed field goal attempt by the Falcons, the Dogs were back in business at their 20.
Will Shore broke the drive open when he raced 39 yards to move the Dogs to the Falcons’ 38 yard line. On the next play, Landen Lape threw a block to spring Clem to the Dogs’ 6.
Head coach Joseph Watson liked the way the play looked going to the right side, so he ran the exact same play to the left side, and once again Lape sealed the edge to give Clem his first rushing touchdown of the night. Murphy added the extra point to go up 15-0.
West Henderson would score on their ensuing drive but missed the point after to make the score 15-6. That’s when disaster struck for the Dogs – twice.
Murphy had driven down to the Eagles’ 30 yard line but fumbled the ball away with less than 3 minutes remaining in the half. Three plays later, the Falcons were in the end zone, adding an extra point to make the score 16-13.
A penalty moved the Falcons’ kickoff line back to the 30, and Cameron Clem returned it back to the Eagles’ 30. With less than a minute left in the half, it looked like the Dogs would at least take a 15-14 lead into the half and may have another crack at the end zone, but disaster struck again.
Two plays later, the Dogs fumbled again, and the Falcons scooped it up and ran 65 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the first half. The point after gave them a 20-15 led into halftime.
The character of a team is shown in the way they respond to adversity, and more came Murphy’s way. Watson’s Dogs came out in the second half and fell behind even further, as the Falcons scored first to take a 27-15 lead.
Murphy held the Falcons on their opening possession in the second half and, after a punt started their opening drive on the 25 yard line, they couldn’t pick up a first down after a couple of penalty calls and had to punt the ball back to West. He scored two plays later on a 49 yard touchdown pass and added the extra point to put West Henderson up 27-15.
It would have been easy for the Dogs to fold at that point, but it seemed to light a fire underneath them. After a first down, Shore busted a 49-yard run to put the Dogs on the Falcons 14. Three plays later, Clem punched it in from the 5. Murphy missed the extra point, but still closed the lead to 21-27.
The Dogs weren’t through, as they executed an onside kick to perfection and were back in business at their own 47. Two plays later, Kadence Leatherwood had a 21-yard run down to the Falcons’ 21. On the next play, Brady Grant scored on a 21-yard bootleg to the left side. The Dogs added an extra point to go up 28-27.
The Falcons would not go quietly, as they scored on their next possession to go back up 33-28 over the Dogs. They tried a two-point conversion, but the Dogs’ defense held.
Murphy took the ensuing kickoff and, on the second play from scrimmage, Watson thought it might be a good idea to throw it since West had started stacking eight in the box to stop Murphy’s potent rushing attack. Grant delivered as he found Ryan Payne streaking down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown pass.
That proved to be the game winner. Grant found Clem in the end zone for the two-point conversion, and the Dogs led 36-33.
The Bulldogs’ defense stopped West Henderson on their ensuing drive, when the Falcons went for it on fourth and 1. Kadence Leatherwood would not have it, as he met the Falcons’ running back in the hole to give the Dogs the ball back on West’s 46 yard line.
After three plays, the Dogs were faced with a fourth and four and tried to pick it up with a fake punt, but Clem was stopped short of the line. West had been giving the Dogs fits with their passing game, which was where three of their touchdowns had come from.
After successfully driving the ball to the Dogs’ 25 yard line, the Falcons completed a pass to their 6-foot, 5-inch tight end Tyler Nash. Nash caught the ball, but Murphy’s Charlie Graves stripped him and Leatherwood covered the fumble to put the Dogs back in business at their own 17. Shore got the Dogs in Eagles’ territory with a 45-yard run down to the Falcons’ 35 yard line.
Three plays later, Murphy was faced with a fourth and four with a little over two minutes to play. Clem took the ball and followed big tackle Janthony Gooden for a huge nine-yard gain to give Murphy a first down. The Dogs ran out the clock at that point to seal the win.
Shore led all rushers with 158 yards on nine carries. Clem had 140 yards rushing on 24 carries and two touchdowns, adding a receiving touchdown and two-point conversion to lead all Bulldog scorers.
In addition to returning kicks four time for a total of 38 yards, Payne led all Murphy receivers with 75 yards and a touchdown. Clem had two catches for 16 yards and a touchdown. Grant went 2-4 for 91 yards and two touchdowns, also rushing for 24 yards and a score.
“I’m so proud of our guys’ effort. They played like they had something to prove, battling back after halftime,” said Watson, who added that he was proud of the way his team responded to adversity after halftime.
“These kids refuse to give up, and that’s what makes this team so special.”
The Dogs will continue to face larger schools as the travel to Sylva to face Smoky Mountain on Friday, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m.