With a playoff game on the line, the Mount Airy Granite Bears rose to the challenge on Friday. They breezed by the Bulldogs at home to the tune of 64-26. Mount Airy's victory was nothing new given the team hasn't lost yet this season.
Tyler Mason was his usual excellent self, rushing for 262 yards and four touchdowns on only 11 carries. Mason hasn't dropped below 100 rushing yards for three straight games. Taeshon Martin was another key contributor, rushing for 78 yards and two touchdowns.
Another reason for the win was Mount Airy's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for six sacks. The heavy lifting was done by Deric Dandy and DJ Joyce who racked up five sacks between them.
Despite the loss, Murphy saw an underclassman step up: Ryan Payne picked up 107 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Payne's longest reception was for an incredible 70 yards.
Mount Airy's victory was their 16th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 13-0. They've been dominating during the games in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 49.94 points. As for Murphy, their defeat ended a three-game streak of away wins and brought them to 9-4.
Mount Airy has the luxury of staying home another week and will welcome Eastern Randolph at 7:30 p.m. on November 24th. Eastern Randolph is also coming in off of a big victory, so somebody is in for a big reversal of fortune. Murphy does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
