Murphy –Cameron Clem rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter as Murphy steamrolled Highland Tech 62-6 in first-round action of the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs on Friday night.
Murphy jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead via a 98-yard touchdown scamper by Clem to open the scoring. Kadence Leatherwood added another touchdown with a 18-yard run later in the quarter. Brady Grant got into the action with the first play of the second quarter as he found Grayson Hall for a 22-yard touchdown pass to put the Dogs up 21-0, after the Jerry Bui PAT.
On the next series, Janthony Gooden blocked a Highland Tech punt to put the Dogs in business at the Rams seven-yard line. Clem scored his second rushing touchdown of the night on the next play, but he wasn’t done. He also caught the Rams defense off guard and added the two-point conversion to give the Dogs a 29-0 lead at the 8:36 mark of the second quarter.
Ryan Payne retuned the next punt 43 yards to set the Dogs up at the nine-yard line. Leatherwood did the rest for his second touchdown of the night. Bui added the PAT to put the Dogs up 36-0.
After Payne had set the Dogs up for their previous score, he decided he would just handle the next score himself. Payne returned he next punt 59 yards for a touchdown. Bui missed the PAT and Murphy led 42-0 at the 4:23 mark of the second quarter, but the Dogs were not done with their scoring in the first half.
Highland Tech made the wise decision to punt the ball away from Payne on the next series, but it didn’t matter. On the second play from scrimmage, Clem took the handoff and raced 59 yards for his third touchdown of the night. Bui added the PAT to give Murphy a 49-0 halftime lead.
Head coach Joseph Watson gave his starters a rest in he second half as he gave his reserves playing time and the younger Dogs responded. On the opening drive of the rolling clock second half, Murphy drove 59 yards on seven plays and Blake Davis punched it in from one-yard out. Bui added the PAT and Murphy went up 56-0.
Highland Tech finally got on the board with 1:59 left in the game. They missed the PAT and the score was 56-6, but the younger Dogs were not done scoring. On the ensuing kickoff, Way Herron took the kick and returned it 84 yards for the final Bulldog touchdown. Bui added the point after to net the final 63-6.
Clem led all rushers with 177 yards and freshman Blake Davis had 54 yards on five carries. Ryan Payne was impressive in his punt return duties with 91 yards on six returns, one for the touchdown. Brady Grand finished the night 2/3 for 45 yards and one touchdown.
After Friday night’s win, Watson said the team played well.
“We came in and executed what we were trying to do and got out of the game pretty much unscathed health wise. I feel like in the playoffs you gotta win and play again next week,” Watson said.
In the second half, most of Murphy’s starters took the bench and allowed for many underclassmen to get playoff experience. Speaking of the group that played in the second half, Watson said, “They did a good job. Those kids practice hard too every week and deserve to have an opportunity to play and have a drive down the field and score, which was a great job by them. Then stopping them on the goal line and getting the fumble recovery.”
To prepare for their second-round matchup against No. 19 seed Christ the King, Watson said, “We gotta look at the film and kind of see what they do. For us, we have a routine, we have a process that we go through each week and make sure we kind of stay with that. We prepare for every team the same no matter who we’re playing. It’s just a process we go through to prepare our kids so that hopefully we’re at our best on Friday.”
The first-round games are usually an easy out for the home team and this one proved to be no different. The next games will pose a more significant challenge. Murphy’s next opponent is No. 19 seed Christ the King. They defeated Alleghany 30-28 in the first round. The enter the game with a 5-6 record.