Murphy – On Rabun County’s first play from scrimmage, Gunner Stockton fired a deep pass down the right side. Bulldogs defensive back Juan Allen came down with the ball and an interception, sending his team’s sideline into pandemonium.
A few players screamed, “Gunner who?” in reference to Stockton, who is committed to the University of Georgia and is the No. 5 ranked quarterback in the country, according to the 247 Composite. However, that was the happiest Murphy’s sideline would be all night, as Rabun County dominated from that point on for a 59-14 win.
“It’s not just the quarterback over there,” Murphy head coach Joseph Watson said. “They have a really good team around them, and I expect them to continue winning.”
Watson knew the Wildcats (2-1 overall) would be a stiff challenge. Rabun County has about 200 more students than Murphy and have been one of the top AA schools in Georgia for nearly a decade. The Bulldogs got a taste of that following the interception.
Ty Laney was stuffed for a loss on first down, then Rumfelt was sacked on second down. On third down, Hunter Stalcup fumbled, setting Rabun County up with the ball at the Bulldogs’ 7 yard line. Despite giving up size to Murphy’s offensive line, the Wildcats were always in the Murphy backfield and closing angles on the edges, holding Murphy to 48 yards on 31 carries.
“They played a lot of games upfront,” Watson said. “A lot of slanting, a lot of blitzing, they put a lot of people downhill on us.”
Following the turnover, Lang Widham ran it in from seven yards out to put Rabun County on the board with a 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs (1-2) turned it over two more times in the quarter, and the Wildcats scored again following the third Murphy giveaway. Facing pressure, Stockton slithered out of the backfield, cut up the right side of the field and got around Hunter Laney for a 36-yard touchdown.
It was Stockton’s best play all night. The quarterback was solid, throwing for 366 yards and four touchdowns. But much of Rabun County’s success came when Stockton would throw a short pass to a receiver, on a screen or in the flat, and they had room to make a play.
That happened on the Wildcats’ third touchdown of the night. After Stockton hit Jaden Gibson for a short pass upfield, he broke a few tackles, then outran the rest of Murphy’s defense down the sideline for an 80-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 2:06 to go in the first quarter.
“We knew that coming in, they were going to spread you out and try to sling the ball around, make you run,” Watson said. “Constantly outside-inside, side-to-side and keeping your defense tired, it’s hard to defend that.”
Rabun County added a field goal and two more touchdowns before the end of the first half, leading 38-0 at the break. Despite being the more physical team, the Wildcats also lost their cool at times, with three players ejected.
The Bulldogs were able to score twice in the second half against Rabun County’s second string, but the end result was still a humbling loss. Even with the five turnovers, missed tackles and general poor play, Watson still thinks his team has the right mindset.
“You can work with effort,” he said. “You can work with people that don’t like to lose. I think we have a team that’s not accustomed to losing, and they’re going to continue to fight and try to win every game, every snap and every play.”