By: Chris Napier

CHATSWORTH- Big performances by North Murray offensive stars helped power The Mountaineers to a win over The Coahulla Creek Colts on Friday. A total of 82 points were scored between the two teams marking the highest total ever between the two schools.

The Colts opened the scoring on their first possession of the game as Tyler Locklear capped the drive with a 4-yard rushing Touchdown. Seth Griffin and the Mountaineer offense wasted no time getting on the board themselves when Griffin found Michael McDade all alone on a 47-yard touchdown tying the game at 7-7.

The next Colt possession would lead into the second quarter and would eventually result in a Logan Fowler field goal after the Colt drive stalled in the red zone. The 10-7 Colt lead would only last a little over 3-minutes before Jadyn Rice weaved his way through the Colt defense, bouncing off defenders for a 19-yard touchdown. The Rice touchdown run gave the Mountaineers their first lead of the night at 14-10. After a Colt punt,  the Mountaineer passing attack took to the air once again as Griffin connected with Rice down to the Colt 8-yard line. An Ethan Dempsey run picked up a couple, then on the next play Griffin found McDade for the 6-yard touchdown bringing the score to 21-10. The ensuing kickoff was all Owen Hannah, as the senior kicker recovered his own onside kick giving the Mountaineers another scoring opportunity before the half. The Mountaineers capitalized on the next play when Griffin hit Judson Petty on a 50-yard touchdown strike putting the Mountaineers up 28-10. Owen Hannah closed out the scoring in the first half with a short field goal as time expired, sending North Murray to halftime with a commanding 31-10 lead. 

It took less than a minute into the second half for Griffin and McDade to get back in the endzone. Griffin hit McDade on a short pass and he took it from there, evading defenders and breaking tackles for a 32-yards touchdown extending the North Murray lead to 38-10. The remainder of the third quarter would belong to Kace Kinnamon and the Colts. Kinnamon would go on to throw Touchdown passes to Robbie WIggins and Manny Dominguez before the end of the Quarter, cutting into the North Murray lead which now stood at 38-24. 

The two teams spent the first part of the final quarter trading touchdown rushes. Rice found the endzone for his second rushing touchdown for the Mountaineers, followed by Locklear adding his second Touchdown rush of the evening for the Colts. With the score 45-30 in favor of North Murray, any points this late in the game could seal it for the Mountaineers, and that’s exactly what Griffin and McDade had in mind. The two would hook up one more time for a 65-yard touchdown giving the Mountaineers a 52-30 advantage and closing the door on the Colts chances. 

Seth Griffin finished the game 22 of 31 passing for 390 yards and 5 TD, Michael McDade racked up 210 yards on 10 catches and 4 TD. The win moves North Murray to 2-1 on the season and they will host Sonoraville next week. The loss for Coahulla Creek drops them to 2-2 on the season and the Colts will host LFO next week. 

By: Chris Napier

When North Murray and Ringgold get together, excitement tends to follow. The two Region 6-AAA rivals have treated fans to many great battles over the years, and this installment of the rivalry didn’t disappoint. Ringgold prevailed after a last second Landon Eaker field goal secured the 31-28 victory.  

The opening drives for each team were met with energetic defenses. The Mountaineers first drive resulted in a punt and the Ringgold Tigers opening possession resulted in a Taylor Frazier interception. The North Murray offense got on track on their next possession as QB Seth Griffin connected with wide receivers Judson Petty and Jadyn Rice to move quickly into Ringgold territory. A few plays later, North Murray’s Devin Hunte punched it in from 3 yards out to put North Murray up 7-0.

Both offenses traded punts early in the second quarter. After a Ringgold punt from their own endzone, Judson Petty put North Murray in great field position by returning the punt to the Ringgold 27-yard line. Quarterback Seth Griffin wasted no time as he hooked up with wide receiver Michael McDade on the next play for the Touchdown putting the Mountaineers up 14-0. North Murray would threaten again just before the half, but a fumble near the goal line would end the drive as Ringgold recovered and maintained possession to end the Half. 

In the opening possession of the third quarter, Ringgold marched quickly down field and the drive culminated in a 28-yard Mason Parker Touchdown run bringing the score to 14-7. North Murray would return the favor as the Griffin to McDade connection helped move the ball down to the Ringgold 2-yard line where Griffin pushed his way into the endzone to put the Mountaineers up 21-7. Later in the quarter, Ringgold would strike again after a long run by Peyton Williams set up a Kori Dumas 4-yard touchdown rush, bringing the score to 21-14 to end the third quarter. 

Early in the fourth quarter, North Murray’s Owen Hannah had his second punt of the game downed at the 1-yard line. Just four plays later, Ringgold’s Peyton Williams broke free and streaked 79 yards for the touchdown to tie the game at 21. The Mountaineers jumped back in front just a couple of minutes later as Griffin hit Jadyn Rice on a 35-yard acrobatic catch in the front of the endzone making it 28-21 with under three minutes to play. Ringgold’s next possession mirrored a previous possession as a big Williams run set up another Dumas touchdown, this time from 31-yards out. With the score knotted at 28, the ensuing North Murray possession ended when a Griffin pass sailed high and into the hands of a leaping Marcus Fortson for Ringgold. The Tigers would move into field goal range and with 7 seconds remaining, Landon Eaker would nail the 44-yard field goal to seal the 31-28 win for Ringgold. 

North Murray falls to 1-1 on the season and will host Coahulla Creek next Friday. Ringgold moves to 3-0 and will host LFO next Friday

By: Chris Napier

After opening the season with consecutive bye weeks, the North Murray Mountaineers were back in action at Northwest Whitfield Friday night. The Mountaineers walked away with the win in a high scoring game against the Bruins by a score of 31-30. 

The Mountaineers opened the scoring on their first drive of the game when QB Seth Griffin connected with WR Judson Petty for a 27-yard touchdown pass. The Bruins wasted no time finding the endzone themselves as Northwest’s ensuing drive culminated in an Adrian Reyes 9-yard touchdown run. After a Jase Talley 2-point conversion Northwest took the lead 8-7. After a North Murray punt Northwest moved quickly as Bruin QB Owen Brooker hit Hudson Gray on a 41-yard touchdown down the visiting sideline giving Northwest a 15-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. 

The Northwest offense continued to put up points in the second quarter when Brooker found his favorite target Ray Morrison on a long touchdown in double coverage bringing the score to 22-7 Northwest. The teams then traded punts then North Murray drew closer when Griffin connected with WR Jadyn Rice and he streaked down the sideline for the score. The Bruins would head into Halftime leading 22-14.

On the first play of the third quarter a big hit on Brooker forced a fumble which was recovered by North Murray. The North Murray drive stalled after a costly penalty and the Mountaineers settled for an Owen Hannah field goal bringing the Mountaineers to within 5 points at 22-17. The ensuing Northwest possession resulted in another fumble recovered by North Murray at the Northwest 30-yard line. North Murray wasted no time with the short field as Griffin found the endzone a few plays later on a 1-yard TD plunge. The Mountaineers took their first lead since early in the 1st quarter at 24-22. Later in the quarter Northwest reclaimed the lead on an Owen Brooker 9-yard Touchdown run. After another successful 2-point conversion Northwest went back up 30-24. The next Possession for North Murray proved to be the game winner. The Mountaineers started the drive at their own 20-yard line but quickly marched down field as the Griffin to Rice connection ate up big chunks of yards. It was only fitting that the two would hook up on the score as Griffin found Rice in the front of the endzone for the North Murray touchdown just before the end of the third quarter giving The Mountaineers the slim lead of 31-30. 

The final stanza was controlled by the defenses as both offenses failed to generate much production. The Bruins had one last shot, but a Brooker pass intended for Morrison was intercepted by Griffin as time expired. 

North Murray moves to 1-0 on the season and will be Home next week against Ringgold. Northwest falls to 1-2 and will be home next week hosting Chattooga.