Murphy – It wasn't the prettiest game the Murphy Bulldogs have ever played, but a win is a win.
Penalties, missed blocking assignments, cramps and narrowly-recovered fumbles all slowed down Murphy during its season opener against Pisgah, but the Dogs got their revenge from last season, shutting out the Black Bears by a score of 12-0 at David Gentry Field.
While pleased to open up the season with a victory, Murphy head coach David Gentry wasn't all too happy with the way his team's offense operated in the opener.
"We got tired, we got slow and we didn't do crisp work," Gentry said. "This looked nothing like a Murphy football team on the offensive side of the ball. On defense it did, but not the offense. So we'll have to get better on that side."
One player who certainly wasn't slow on the offensive end was senior running back Devonte Murray, who scored both the Bulldog's touchdowns in the victory.
With 41 seconds left in the first half, the Dogs found themselves on their own 17-yard line with the score still knotted at 0-0.
That was until quarterback Kellen Rumfelt handed the ball off to Murray, who disappeared into the tangle of bodies at the line of scrimmage and emerged with Pisgah defenders in his dust as he sprinted for an 83-yard touchdown to break the tie.
The Dogs' defense was huge throughout the game, forcing and recovering two Pisgah fumbles and coming away with a huge interception in the fourth quarter at the hands of junior Ray Rathburn that stonewalled a brewing Black Bear drive.
Murphy took advantage of that turnover and put Pisgah away, whittling time off of the clock before Murray punched the ball into the endzone for his second touchdown of the game with just 58 seconds remaining.
Numerous Murphy players hit the ground with cramps in different parts of the game, further limiting Gentry's personnel options, which have already taken a huge hit with senior lineman Brady Satterfield out for an extended period of time after suffering an ACL tear in the Bulldog's final scrimmage.
"We were kind of out of shape, I thought," Gentry said of the player's conditioning after the game. "So we need to get back in shape. I'll just have to run them more, put them on the sleds more so we'll be in better shape next week."
Opening the season with a hard-fought win is satisfying enough, but shutting out the only team that defeated them last year on their way to the state title was the cherry on top for Gentry and the Bulldogs.
"That was good. They're two classes above us as far as the number of students they have, so that was good," Gentry said of returning the favor to Pisgah. "We've beaten them two out of three years. Lost to them in a close game last year, so it's good. They're a good football team."
Read more about this game in next week's edition of the Cherokee Scout.