Murphy – Trailing the Panthers 17-7 early in the fourth quarter, Murphy looked like it had something going on offense for the first time in the second half. A roughing the passer penalty moved the ball to Franklin’s 21-yard line, and Cole Laney handed off to his brother Ty on first and 10.
Ty never got back to the line of scrimmage. Franklin’s Jacob Gibson blew past the Murphy offensive line, stuffing Laney a few yards into the backfield and ripping the ball away from him. Franklin would add another touchdown on the following drive to put the game out of reach.
The fumble was one of three Murphy turnovers, and Franklin combined that with a steady ground attack to best the Bulldogs 24-7 in the season opener for both teams Friday night.
“They had no turnovers and that’s gonna continue to move the chains for you,” head coach Joseph Watson said. “And we had a couple interceptions and a fumble. Three turnovers to no turnovers, that’s how you lose.”
The game was delayed an hour due to lightning in the area, making it a slick field and inviting one team to dominate on the ground in typical “mountain football” fashion. Franklin answered the bell, running for 259 yards, including 217 from senior Ty Handley. Meanwhile, Murphy finished with just 181 total yards and never got a consistent push up front.
“They’re tough downhill, and they just kind of wear on you and lean on you and run on you,” Watson said. “They’re OK with getting 2 yards, but you can do that when you’re ahead in the game.”
The Panthers established themselves up front from the first drive. The Bulldogs were able to get a stop on fourth-and-1 at their 41-yard line to start the game, but couldn’t muster anything on their opening drive. Franklin went 42 yards in a methodical 13 plays on the next drive, with Daniel Riddle capping it off with a 38-yard field goal with 1:19 to go in the first quarter.
Despite a few penalties, Murphy was able to respond. Cole Laney hit Hunter Stalcup on a short pass, and Stalcup weaved his way through defenders for a 16-yard touchdown and 7-3 lead with 7:28 to go in the quarter.
However, like it did all night, Franklin had an answer. On second and 19 from its own 26, Ty Handley took a sweep around the right side 74 yards for a touchdown, giving the Panthers a 10-7 lead.
After another fourth-down stop in the final minutes of the first half, Murphy couldn’t take advantage. Their opening drive of the third quarter stalled out in Franklin territory, and the Panthers countered by going 73 yards in 12 plays, with Breyden Watts finishing the drive with a 1-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 17-7 with 1:13 to go in the third quarter.
Ty Laney’s fumble ended Murphy’s next drive, and Franklin capitalized again. Davis Anders hit Beau Paulson for a 23-yard touchdown for the exclamation point with 1:56 to go, only his second completion of the night.
Entering this week, Watson said he likes playing Franklin because it shows what kind of team you have. The Panthers showed Watson that he has a team that plays hard, which he can work with. But when a team continues to wear you down, effort only gets you so far.
“What they told us is we gotta get in better shape,” Watson said. “We gotta get in better shape up front in the secondary, wide receivers and running backs. We gotta get in better shape, and we gotta keep working.”
Murphy continues its season with a 90-mile trip southeast to Commerce, Ga., next week. The Tigers have had a winning record each of the last nine seasons, and opened the season by beating two-time South Carolina class A state champion Southside Christian Academy 21-17. The loss also snapped the Sabres’ 23-game winning streak.