Pups still undefeated

It was a great night for guys named Murphy.

Gonzaga Prep remained unbeaten with a 20-17 overtime win over Shadle Park on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Billy Karwacki to fullback Ryan Murphy.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Murphy caught the ball on the 3 and bulled through three Shadle defenders to score the game-winner before 4,839 at Albi Stadium.

In the opener of a Greater Spokane League football doubleheader Friday night, Ferris improved its record to 4-0 for the first time since 1988 with a 21-13 win over North Central thanks to a fourth-quarter, goal-line stand culminated by a game-saving tackle by defensive back Ryan Murphy.

No relation — unless you count football pedigree.

G-Prep’s Murphy hadn’t had a particularly outstanding game, with 2 yards on five carries. But he came through in overtime.

Shadle’s Andy Largent had just put the Highlanders (1-3 in the GSL and overall) ahead 17-14, tucking a 40-yard field goal inside the left upright. In the Kansas tiebreaker formula, Prep then got its possession from the 25-yard line.

The Bullpups (5-0, 4-0 GSL) earned one first down before facing a third-and-5 from the 10. Gonzaga coach Dave Carson called timeout to “make sure we had the right play called.”

They did. Karwacki found Murphy in the left flat and the guy Carson said “is a great kid with a great heart, who is hard to take down in that situation,” found the end zone. Then he was buried by his teammates.

It was a fitting end.

“We played hard — again,” Shadle coach Mark Hester said. “We moved the ball — again. The kids worked their fannies off — again. We could easily be 4-0 instead of 1-3, but we shot ourselves in the foot — again.”

The Highlanders had 324 total yards, 144 of those on tough runs by Brian Kranches. Quarterback Josh Powell connected on 12 of 27 passes, including a 25-yard scoring strike to Largent, who made a one-handed falling catch between two defenders.

The Bullpups put up 286 yards of offense, including two more touchdown catches by Brandon Kennedy (17 and 2 yards) and a 53-yard hookup between Karwacki and Kennedy. But the latter catch didn’t result in points because Prep lost its second fumble of the night one play later.

Shadle lost two fumbles as well, which helped offset a 78-yard scoring kickoff return by senior Bryan Braman.

Ferris 21, North Central 13

The Saxons’ defense yielded 292 yards, but it was its play inside the 20 that secured the victory. Four times the Indians (2-3, 1-3) marched into the red zone and four times the Ferris defense kept them from the end zone.

But it was the fourth time that was the biggest. Murphy, one of the smaller Saxons, made the play.

The Indians trailed by the final margin when 6-foot, 195-pound Derek Brown broke away for 45 yards (of his 150 total) down to the Ferris 8. Three plays later, NC was at the Ferris 1, facing a fourth down. Brown got the call again, on a pitch headed around left end.

Up stepped Murphy, a 5-8, 160-pound junior.

“They lined up in a formation they’ve been running sweep out of all day,” said Murphy, who also gained 85 yards on 20 carries on the other side of the ball. “When I saw the pitch, I knew I had to force and contain. I wasn’t surprised (they would come his way) because they were having real trouble running up the gut (in the red zone).”

Murphy’s tackle gave the Saxons the ball back at the 4, where they ran out the final 5 minutes, 18 seconds. Quarterback Caleb Rath was the main ballcarrier, finishing with 134 yards on 20 carries.

The biggest toss of the night came from Ferris freshman Shawn Stockton, who hooked up with Robert Davis for 31 yards and a score on a third-quarter, flanker-sweep pass.

University 27, Rogers 0

An attack balanced between the rushing of Titan Kris O’Connor and passing of J.D. Peterson combined to beat the visiting Pirates.

O’Connor rushed for 141 of U-Hi’s 173 ground yards and Peterson completed 10 of 14 passes for 161 yards. Each accounted for a touchdown.

The defense added a third, Brandon Kelley intercepting Scotty Livengood and returning it 31 yards. Livengood passed for 160 yards, but was picked off three times.