Whatever ills the Murray High football team felt after a season-opening 38-35 loss to Graves County, they have corrected them. And Trigg County served as a witness Friday night at Perdue Field.
The Tigers rolled up 541 yards of offense and handed Trigg County a 64-27 loss. The 64 points were the most Trigg has given up in 17 years and the fifth-most in a game.
Murray’s balance on offense kept the Wildcats off balance for most of the night. They ran the football 31 times for 313 yards, with Charvelle McCallister rushing 18 times for 189 yards and three touchdowns.
Hunter Utley was 13-of-16 passing for 228 yards and five touchdowns as the Tigers averaged 11.5 yards per play.
After Trigg failed to pick up a first down on their first series, Murray needed just two plays to score as McCallister scored his first touchdown on a 36-yard run.
A fumble on a punt return set Trigg County up to tie the game, but Cam Jordan’s pass was picked off by Murray’s Jaiden Jackson in the end zone and returned 100 yards for a score.
Trigg got on the board with 3:38 left in the opening quarter when Jakobe Bridges pulled in a 33-yard pass between two defenders at the goal line for the touchdown. The Wildcat receiver finished with five catches for 79 yards and passed Prince Northington for the school’s career reception record. He is the first Wildcat receiver with over 100 career receptions.
A 39-yard reception by Bridges set up Trigg’s second score as Jordan found the end zone from eight yards out on the first play of the second quarter.
The 7-point deficit would be as close as Trigg County would get in the contest. Murray added three more touchdowns in the frame as Tommy Waldrop had a 14-yard TD pass from Utley sandwiched between a 19-yard McCallister run and 54-yard TD reception. The Tigers led 43-21 at halftime.
Trigg County’s only score of the second half came on a 4-yard touchdown run by Cade Bleidt in the third quarter. Bleidt finished with 43 yards on eight carries.
Cam Jordan suffered an injury to his non-throwing shoulder that hampered his ability to run effectively in the second half. He finished with 95 rushing yards and was 12-of-25 passing for 140 yards. He was picked off twice.
Trigg County ran 70 plays in the contest to 47 for Murray. The Wildcats had 339 yards of offense – 199 on the ground and 140 through the air.
The win was Murray’s third straight over Trigg County and 37th in the 56-game series that dates back to the first game in 1939. The Tigers are now 4-1 with their fourth straight win.
Trigg County drops to 4-1 and will open district play Friday against Paducah Tilghman at Perdue Field.
