Boone – Murphy head football coach Joseph Watson had two things he wanted to get out of Friday night’s scrimmage against Watauga and Ashe County.
First, he wanted his team to get a look at somebody different after two weeks of hitting each other. Second, he wanted his team to get acclimated to the routine on long bus, as the Bulldogs have a 90-mile trip to Commerce, Ga., on Friday, Aug. 26, plus a 120-mile trip to South Pittsburg, Tenn., two weeks later. The trip to Watauga was almost 200 miles.
As with any scrimmage, there were some good things to take away, but also a lot to work on before Murphy hosts Franklin this week.
“At first, we had a little bit of a lag, getting off the bus and being ready to play,” Watson said. “Once we settled into that, I think we did a lot better when we got into the scrimmage than we did at the beginning, and Watauga had a lot to do with that as well. They’re going to be a really good team.”
To start the scrimmage, Murphy had 10 plays on offense and defense against Watauga and Ashe County, though the Pioneers started every play from the Bulldogs’ 40-yard line. After that, it was eight plays on offense and defense for the second string. To finish, teams started at their own 20-yard line with four downs to get a first down, like it would be in a normal game.
The Pioneers have won at least eight games in each full season since 2013, and Watson expects them to have a good year after returning most of their personnel. The Huskies went 1-8 last year after three straight winning seasons, struggling after being bumped up to 3A as a result of realignment.
“Those two teams were drastically different teams,” Watson said. “Watauga is a run-heavy team that can throw the ball, and Ashe County is a pass-heavy team that can run the ball. So it’s very good for us to see two different styles of offense, and defensively they were totally different, too.”
Watson liked what he saw from his group of running backs, confirming what he thinks will be a good group this season. He also liked what he saw out of quarterback Cole Laney, who is replacing three-year starter Kellen Rumfelt this fall. Senior tight end Will Johnson made a few impressive catches, though other receivers had a few drops they’ll want back.
Up front, Watson said it was mostly good, though at times the offensive line was out of sorts. The biggest room for improvement is in the secondary, which struggled with open-field tackling.
It’ll be a familiar opponent to open the season, as Murphy and Franklin have played each other every year since at least 1952. The Panthers prevailed 35-15 to open last season, which was Watson’s first game as head coach after taking over for David Gentry.