TACOMA — Archbishop Murphy’s dominant play this season has some saying the Wildcats are the state’s best football team regardless of classification.
Murphy furthered that argument Saturday afternoon while achieving a program milestone in resounding fashion.
Senior quarterback Connor Johnson threw for 361 yards and five touchdowns as the top-ranked Wildcats captured the first Class 2A state title in program history with a 56-14 win over Liberty (Issaquah) in the Tacoma Dome.
“A big motto this year was that we feel like we’re the best team in the state, so let’s prove it,” senior Anfernee Gurley said. “Prove it every week.”
“They wanted to come out and prove that they’re the best team in the state,” Murphy head coach Jerry Jensen added. “And we’ll never know that for sure, but they showed today that they’re a pretty good football team.”
The title-game rout capped an unusual season for the senior-laden Wildcats (14-0), who missed out on five scheduled games due to opponent forfeits over player-safety concerns.
Murphy was practically untouchable in the nine games it did play, winning every contest by at least 34 points. The Wildcats outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 463-44, including 245-44 in their five postseason games.
It marked a massive turnaround for Murphy’s senior class, who as freshmen suffered through a 3-6 season in 2013.
“These kids have seen the program at the bottom and have worked hard and fought to be able to get back to where they are now,” Jensen said. “And there’s been some setbacks along the way, but these guys just kept fighting. They’re an extremely resilient group that was focused and kept going. So I’m just really proud of them.”
The Wildcats won back-to-back 1A state championships in 2002 and 2003, shortly after the school established the program in 2000. But since moving to 2A in 2004, Murphy had lost each of its previous three state-title games.
The Wildcats quickly put an end to that streak Saturday.
Murphy needed just 10 offensive plays to build a 21-0 first-quarter lead and finished with six touchdowns of 50 yards or more.
“I’m just so proud of these kids for coming out and playing the way they’re capable of playing and not having the moment be too big for them,” Jensen said. “It’s been a culmination for these seniors for four years, so it’s great to see them come out and have that success.”
Johnson tossed five touchdown passes for the second consecutive week and finished the season with 24 touchdowns to just three interceptions. The senior quarterback completed 11 of 12 passes, connecting with star receivers Kyler Gordon and Gurley for numerous big plays.
Gordon, a junior, had five catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns and added a 60-yard fumble-recovery return for a score. Gurley finished with three receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns and posted his third consecutive 100-yard receiving game.
“They’re playmakers,” Jensen said of the prolific receiving duo. “… (The defense) left one-on-one outside coverage, and those guys are athletes. If you leave those guys one-on-one, they’re going to make plays.”
On the game’s second play from scrimmage, Johnson rolled left and found junior running back Ray Pimentel, who had slid out of the backfield to the right. Pimentel hauled in the pass and scampered for a 60-yard touchdown, putting the Wildcats on the board less than a minute into the game.
“All week we’ve been practicing that play, and it was just nice to see it come out the way we were practicing,” Johnson said. “Once that play happened, I knew today was going to be something special. … It was a great way to start the game.”
After Murphy senior lineman Jackson Yost recovered a fumbled snap on Liberty’s ensuing possession, senior running back Collin Montez rushed for a 5-yard touchdown. Then on the second play of the Wildcats’ next drive, Johnson lofted a 52-yard touchdown pass to Gurley to give Murphy a 21-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
Midway through the second quarter, Montez added a 10-yard touchdown run to cap a 12-play, 85-yard drive. Gordon then hauled in a short slant pass on Murphy’s following possession and sprinted for a 64-yard catch-and-run score to extend the margin to 35-0.
In the third quarter, Johnson tossed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Gordon and a 69-yarder to Gurley to push the lead to 49-7 and put the mercy-rule running clock into effect.
“Those two are so trustworthy,” Johnson said of his star receivers. “I just know if I throw it up, they’ll come down with the ball. They both deserve to go (Division-I).”
The outcome had long been decided once the final whistle sounded, but that didn’t dampen the Wildcats’ celebration.
“It was unexplainable,” Yost said. “I didn’t play here last year in the semifinal game since I was injured. This was the first time for me ever playing in the dome, and it was the greatest feeling I’ve ever had in my entire life.
“I was here as a freshman along with the rest of the seniors, and to go from 3-6 to winning a state title our last year here is just amazing.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
Gallery
