Murphy – Once the Bulldogs’ offense started rolling, it never stopped Friday night en route to a 57-21 win over Polk County in the first round of the class 1A N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs.
As usual, senior Murphy running back Hunter Stalcup was in the middle of all the fun, rushing for 314 yards on only 18 carries – a staggering 17.4 yards per attempt – for four touchdowns, adding three two-point conversions. The 10th-seeded Bulldogs improve to 8-3 and advance to the second round, where they will face No. 7 seed Bishop McGuinness (6-5) at the Catholic charter school in Kernersville.
Senior quarterback Lawson Carter opened the scoring for Polk County (4-7) with an 11-yard touchdown run, but Stalcup quickly got the game tied after one quarter with a 48-yards scamper into the end zone. From there, the Bulldogs’ offense featured one run after another, with the linemen manhandling the Wolverines at times.
Freshman running back Cameron Clem put Murphy ahead 14-7 with a 24-yard touchdown run. Stalcup was virtually unstoppable only minutes later, scoring from 5 yards out before ripping off a 15-yard run into the end zone to put the Bulldogs up 27-7 at halftime.
Coach Joseph Watson didn’t let Murphy rest on its laurels during the break, as the players came out of the locker room with a look of determination. After Polk County scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Keaundrae Green, Stalcup scored his third touchdown, this one from 15 yards out.
Sophomore quarterback Brady Grant got in on the action with a 31-yard scoring run, his only running attempt of the game, with another Stalcup two-point conversion making it 43-14 Bulldogs. The defense then showed its prowess, with freshman Jude Pinkerton blocking a kick and recovering it in the end zone for a touchdown.
Polk County’s last points came on a 24-yard touchdown pass, before Murphy junior running back Jonah Hedden finished the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run. Hedden finished with 75 yards on the ground, with Clem adding 99, while Grant was 1-for-3 for 7 yards in the air.
Camden Breazeale led the Bulldogs with six tackles and three assists; an astounding 15 other players also contributed a tackle, an assist or both for Murphy’s defense. On special teams, Will Joyner’s 38-yard return and Zach Skogen’s for 39 yards gave their team good field position; unfortunately, Joyner left the game with a leg injury.
Up next is Bishop McGuinness, which thrashed No. 26 South Stokes 50-8 on Friday night. The Villains are led by junior quarterback Alex Waterfield, who has passed for 1,480 yards and 18 touchdowns, while also rushing for 730 yards and nine touchdowns.