Caldwell County survived a wild, sometimes confusing, rollercoaster of a game for its biggest win of the season Friday night.
Only after Murray came up short on a 42-yard field goal attempt with just 11 seconds left in the game did Caldwell celebrate a 23-20 victory at Tiger Stadium in Princeton.
Murray (4-4 overall, 2-1 district) ran out to an early 14-0 lead and looked like it might be difficult to stop.
But Caldwell (3-6, 3-1) came up with timely plays on both sides of the football to claim its third victory in its last four games.
Murray dominated time of possession (over 36 minutes to just under 12 for Caldwell), first downs (25-7) and total yards (437 to 225).
However, Caldwell began to turn the momentum in the battle of Tigers when Jamus Carneyhan busted a run up the middle on the way to a 53-yard scoring jaunt 59 seconds into the second quarter. That helped Caldwell cut Murray’s lead to 14-7 and seemed to breathe life into the blue-and-gold sideline.
A 31-yard field by Timothy Nichols got Caldwell within 14-10. Murray drove deep late in the first half, but a 28-yard field goal try was wide to the right, sending Caldwell to the locker room with the momentum even though Murray still held a four-point lead.
Caldwell needed just two plays to take the lead to start the second half. Both were runs by Carneyhan, who finished the night with 140 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries.
His 43-yard run around the right side and down the sideline helped push Caldwell in front 17-14. That came just 34 seconds into the third period.
Murray regrouped and took the lead late in the third quarter. Murray was helped when it was awarded a first down on a fourth-down run that appeared to be short of the line to gain. However, officials ruled it a first down without even bringing in the chains to measure it.
That was one of several peculiar decisions by the officials on a night when both sides felt like some calls weren’t going their way.
Collin Wilson scored on a 5-yard run at the 3:14 mark. However, the extra-point kick missed to the right, giving Murray a 20-17 advantage.
A Murray fumble led to Caldwell’s last touchdown. Carneyhan recovered the ball at the Murray 41-yard with 10:30 to play.
A fumble and a penalty backed Caldwell up, but on 2nd-and-25 from their own 44, the homestanding Tigers came up with another big play.
Quarterback Luke Parker found Gus Fox deep down the middle. After juggling the ball for several steps, Fox put the ball away, then fought off a Murray defender before breaking free and sprinting the final 25 yards to the end zone.
Caldwell’s extra-kick was blocked, though, leaving it a three-point game with 9:18 to play.
The Caldwell defense stopped Murray a yard short on 4th-and-5 near midfield with 3:38 to play.
But Murray forced a three-and-out to get the ball back one more time.
Nichols’ punt pinned Murray at its own 6-yard line with just 1:43 to play.
However, Murray strung together a nine-play drive that got it within striking distance at the Caldwell 25. On 4th-and-8, Murray brought in the field-goal unit. Ben Davis had his boot on line, but it came up short as Caldwell held on in the Class 2A 1st District contest.
Caldwell takes a major step toward the No. 2 seed in the district and home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. However, Murray will go to Mayfield next week with a chance to steal home-field back with an upset over the Cardinals.
Murray took its 14-0 lead on Friday on a 6-yard scoring run by Kainoa Olive midway through the first quarter and a 37-yard pass connection from Wilson to Xavier Biggers at the 5:06 mark of the opening stanza.
Murray rushed for 384 yards in the contest. Olive had 136 yards while Gage Sokolowski had 96 and Biggers 71.
Murray ran 73 offensive plays in the contest while Caldwell had just 24.
Caldwell’s Parker attempted just six passes, but connected on five of them for 88 yards and a score.
Wilson was 4 of 9 for Murray for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Caldwell’s Carneyhan added 16 tackles, a fumble recovery and a deflection to his 140 yards on the ground. He also caught a pass for 11 yards.
Camden Woford made 12 tackles for Caldwell.
Caldwell will take next week off before finishing the regular season on Oct. 28 by hosting Trigg County for the 139 Bowl.
