Caldwell County put a first-half shock into Murray in Friday’s Class 2A 1st District matchup.
But Caldwell’s first-half success may have shaken Murray out of its offensive doldrums.
Caldwell led 7-0 late in the first half, but Murray tied things 7-7 at the break. The homestanding black-and-gold Tigers then rode its running game to a 27-7 victory over the blue-and-gold Tigers.
Murray got 365 of its 399 yards in the contest on the ground while improving to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the district.
Kainoa Olive ran for 206 yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Jeremiah Jones rushed for 121 yards and two scores in the victory.
But Caldwell fans were thinking upset when their team struck first in the contest.
A 3-yard touchdown run by Kam Wilson with 3:01 left in the first half capped a 12-play, 62-yard march by Caldwell. A 12-yard pass from Daelyn Lander to Wilson gave Caldwell a first down at the 3-yard line. Wilson bulled his way into the end zone two plays later. Timothy Nichols added the point-after to make it 7-0.
But Caldwell couldn’t ride that momentum into halftime.
Instead, Murray answered with a seven-play drive — all on the ground — that covered 63 yards.
Olive’s 15-yard run was his first score of the night. Hank Fronza kicked the PAT tied the game with just 57 seconds left in the half.
Murray continued to pound away on the ground after halftime.
A 12-play drive covering 68 yards put Murray in front for the first time. Jones scored on a 6-yard run on 3rd-and-3 as Murray went up 14-7 at the 7:47 mark of the third period.
Caldwell then went three-and-out, and a blocked punt gave Murray the ball at the Caldwell 24-yard line. A penalty backed Murray up to the 39, but Olive scored four runs later on a 5-yard carry.
The PAT missed, but Murray led 20-7 with 5:12 left in the third quarter.
A Murray interception led to another score. A quick three-play drive covered 55 yards, with Jones breaking several tackles on his way to a 48-yard touchdown run. That extended the margin to 27-7 at the 2:16 mark of the third period.
Murray’s three touchdowns in 5:31 was enough to basically put the game out of reach against a Caldwell offense that has had its struggles this season.
Caldwell finished the night with just 94 total yards. A Caldwell running game that had seen improvements in recent games was held to just 39 yards.
Maurice Seals led the Caldwell defense with 14 tackles, including one tackle for loss. Jack Roach made 13 stops while Cooper Mobley and Gus Fox each had 11 tackles.
Eli Stevens had an interception for Caldwell.
Caldwell, now 0-8 and 0-2, will play its final district game at Crittenden County next week but is a longshot to get out of the No. 4 seed for the playoffs.
Caldwell ends the regular season in two weeks with a home date against Trigg County.
