Hayesville played a tough game on Friday in which they were outscored in every quarter. They were outmatched by the Murphy Bulldogs and fell 50-7. The Yellowjackets were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 44-7.
Lance Coker threw for 47 yards on two of five attempts. Ben Bethel was his top target, picking up 52 receiving yards and one score.
Cameron Clem was his usual excellent self, rushing for 75 yards and four TDs on only seven carries for Murphy. That's the most rushing touchdowns Clem has posted since back in October of 2024. Another player making a difference was Brady Grant, who threw for 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes.
This is the second loss in a row for Hayesville and nudges their season record down to 5-4. Admittedly, the team was facing some tough opposition over that stretch, including 4-3 Swain County (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 67.5% over those games). As for Murphy, they pushed their record up to 7-2 with the win, which was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season.
Coming up, Hayesville will welcome Andrews at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Yellowjackets will be up against the Wildcats' rather soft defense (which has allowed 41.89 points per contest), so fans could be in store for a big offensive performance. As for Murphy, they will square off against Swain County at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Maroon Devils will aim to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each matchup than the last.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps