For 40 minutes Thursday night, it looked as if the Fort Campbell Falcons were right where they wanted to be in looking for their first playoff win since 2012. The problem is that high school football games are 48 minutes, and those last eight minutes were not what the Falcons needed.
Murray scored twice in just over three minutes in the fourth quarter to break a 15-15 tie and take a 29-15 win over the Falcons. The late-game rally for the Tigers ended Fort Campbell’s chances of picking up their first playoff win since a 57-8 win over Hart County eleven years ago to the night.
It was the Tigers who broke the scoring ice in the contest. Jeremiah Jones connected with Zavion Carman on a 25-yard pass with 6:24 to go in the opening quarter to put Murray up 8-0 after the two-point conversion.
The Falcons responded with a 12-play drive that covered 62 yards. The drive ended with a two-yard touchdown run from quarterback J.P. Perryman with 1:18 to go in the first quarter to cut the lead to 8-7.
A stretch of the game that the Falcons will look back on and wonder “what if” took place early in the second quarter. On the second play of the quarter, Murray fumbled the snap on a punt with the Falcons coming up with the ball on the Tiger 37-yard line.
The Falcons then drove the ball down to the Murray three-yard line and appeared to be on the way to taking the lead and the momentum. However, Fort Campbell fumbled the opportunity away as the Tigers recovered the ball at their own three.
As if losing the ball were not a problem enough, Murray took full advantage of the Falcon miscue. The Tigers drove 97 yards on 12 plays, chewing up more than five minutes of the quarter. The drive ended when Kainoa Olive ripped off an 11-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 15-7 lead that they would take into the locker room at the break.
But the Falcons did not let the turnover and long drive start them on a skid. Fort Campbell would tie the game up at 15-15 on a 48-yard touchdown pass from J.P. Perryman to Maurice Moore with 4:30 to go in the third. The score came on third down and 21 to go.
The two battled back and forth until 8:19 to go in the game when Jeremiah Jones hit Isaiah Martin for a 66-yard score to put Murray up 22-15. The pass was only about five yards with Martin making a couple of Falcon defenders miss and taking the ball the distance.
On the ensuing possession, Fort Campbell would go three and out and Murray would then put the game on ice. After a Falcon punt, the Tigers marched down the field and found the end zone on a 24-yard run from Collin Wilson, pushing the lead to 29-15.
The Falcons would have a couple of chances to try and get back in the game, but both would be short-circuited by interceptions in the waning moments of the game.
Murray outgained Fort Campbell on the night 354 yards to 232 yards. The Tigers had 115 yards rushing and 239 yards passing. The Falcons finished with 101 yards rushing and 131 yards passing.
Keshawn Dixon led the Falcons on the ground with 61 yards rushing. J.P. Perryman had 40 yards and a touchdown. Perryman was 16-35-2 through the air for 131 yards and a touchdown. Senior receiver Maurice Moore caught 9 passes for 79 yards and a score.
The loss ends the Falcons season at 5-6. Murray improves to 7-4 and will move on to the second round of the playoffs as they travel to Mayfield next week to take on the Cardinals.
