Football Recap: Murray Takes a Tough Playoff Loss

Murray and East squared off in some playoff action on Friday, but Murray had to settle for second. They took a 41-34 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Leopards. The Spartans have struggled against the Leopards recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.

Murray lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Phil Holland, who threw for 283 yards and four touchdowns. Dax Jensen was Holland's top target, picking up 113 receiving yards and a pair of scores.

East found their leader in sophomore Dru Reuss, who rushed for 86 yards and two TDs, and also threw for 280 yards and a pair of touchdowns while picking up 11.7 yards per attempt. Reuss' passing game has become a key predictor of the Leopards' success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 2-6 otherwise.

Murray's loss dropped their record down to 5-5. As for East, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 5-6 record this season.

Murray does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for East, they will face off against Ridgeline at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The Leopards will need to watch out since the Riverhawks have now posted at least 31 points every time they've taken the field this season.