McCracken, Rayburn lift Murphy past Life Christian

    Murphy – When wide receiver Payton McCracken lined up for the Murphy Bulldogs’ first offensive play against the Life Christian Academy Hawks, he liked what he saw.
    McCracken, who was injured in the third quarter of the Bulldogs’ loss to the Christ School Greenies, tore down the field past his defender and sophomore quarterback Kellen Rumfelt hit him perfectly in stride for a 72-yard touchdown.
    “That was the game plan coming in,” McCracken said smiling. “When I saw it (the defensive formation) I was so excited. I was like, ‘Heck yeah, that’s what I like to
see.’ ”
    And according to Murphy head coach David Gentry, McCracken also saw the future before the game, predicting he’d be scoring on the first play against Life Christian to Gentry earlier in the day.
    “He told me, ‘Coach, first play I’m going to score a touchdown,’ and what happened?” Gentry said of the play. “He had a good week of practice and a good attitude coming into the game.”
    McCracken, who finished with three catches for 89 yards and three touchdowns, and Rumfelt connected twice more in the Bulldogs’ 45-28 victory over Life Christian, connecting on scores in the second and third quarter.
    Murphy also found success in its ground-and-pound game, rushing for 299 yards on 39 rushing attempts.
    Running backs Ray Rathburn and Devonte Murray chipped away chunks of yardage against the Hawks, combining for three touchdowns between the two of them.
    Rathburn led the team with 153 yards on 14 rushing attempts, while Murray was right behind him with 124 yards on 15 attempts.
    “I thought we had a pretty good game running the ball,” Gentry said of the team’s success on the ground. “They kinda had some blitzes that we couldn’t take care of. But it was one of those things where if they missed us we were gonna get long runs.”
    The Bulldogs defense struggled at first keeping up with the Life Christian offense, but found its footing in the second half.
    Lineman Dallas Rayburn terrorized the Hawks’ offensive line, breaking through for three sacks in the victory and partially blocking a punt that lead to a scoring drive for the Bulldogs.
    “I think they just hung in there,” Gentry said of the Dogs’ defensive performance. “They hung in there against a talented bunch of kids. We knew it was going to be tough defending all their athletes, so I thought the defense did good.”
Showdown in Andrews
    The 4-1 Dogs head up Route 129 to take on the 2-2 Andrews Wildcats to open up Smoky Mountain Conference play.
    Since being hired as head coach of the Bulldogs back in 1983, Gentry is 41-0 against the Wildcats and comes into the match two wins away from tying the North Carolina all-time wins record.