Andrews – Blake Davis ran for 91 yards and scored two of the junior varsity Bulldogs touchdowns to lead Murphy to a 22-0 win over Andrews on Thursday.
Andrews received the opening kick, but was unable to sustain the drive, as Murphy only allowed one first down before stopping the Wildcats. After the punt, Murphy took over at its own 33 yard line.
Five plays later, Adrian Nguyen busted loose for a 32-yard run that put the Dogs in business at Andrews 22. After two penalties pushed the Dogs back to the 35, Blake Davis finished the deal as he ran it in from there. The two-point conversion failed, and Murphy led 6-0 with 9:27 left in the first half.
Murphy’s defense would score the next touchdown. Andrews tried a pass on a third-down play, and it went into the wrong hands. Andrews quarterback Will Phillips’ pass was stolen by Murphy’s Kato Curtis, who returned it 27 yards for the second Bulldogs touchdown. Murphy added a two-point conversion and led 14-0 with 7:58 left in the half.
Andrews was unable to move the ball for most of the first half, with several three and outs. Murphy would threaten one more time, but the drive stalled at the Andrews 25 when Murphy failed to convert a fourth-down play.
Andrews came to life in the last minute of the first half. After picking up two first downs, the Cats were faced with a fourth and two.
Tanner Postell took a pitch from Phillips, and the halfback threw a perfect pass to Alex Garrett, who raced toward the goal line. He was stopped just short of the score as time ran out in the half.
Murphy’s next score came on its opening drove in the second half. After picking up a first down, Peyton Baine found Jake Messer for a 40-yard pass that set the Dogs up at the 5 yard line.
Three plays later, Blake Davis carried the ball and found pay-dirt. Trenton Cook added a two-point conversion, which netted the final 22-0. Neither team would get close to the goal line for the rest of the second half.
Murphy finished the season with a 5-2 record after suffering two close loses at the hands of Swain and Robbinsville. Meanwhile, Andrews finished 0-5.