EVERETT
The Archbishop Murphy Wildcats run a Wing-T offense, designed to slowly but effectively wear down opponents and control the clock.
The Wildcats did that in spades Saturday afternoon, defeating the Bellingham Red Raiders 28-6 in a Class 2A District 1 first-round playoff football game at Everett Memorial Stadium.
The Wildcats (10-0) rushed for 225 yards, compared to the Red Raiders (5-5) 66 on the ground, and controlled the ball for 30:25 to the Red Raiders 17:35.
“That’s what Archbishop Murphy football is known for,” head coach Rick Stubrud said.
The Wildcats were a little slow out of the gates, giving up the first touchdown. After starting at their own 35, the Red Raiders had three first downs — two running, one passing — before junior running back Jeremy Rick capped off the drive with a 34-yard touchdown run. The extra point was missed and the Red Raiders were never able to put anymore points on the board.
The Wildcats scored their first touchdown with about five minutes left in the first half. C.J. Milburn ran 5 yards up the middle for the score. Ian Houts’ PAT was good giving the Wildcats a 7-6 lead.
On the Wildcats’ first possession of the second half, Archbishop Murphy had a 8:28 scoring drive that included four first downs.
On fourth-and-11 at the Bellingham 12-yard line, Patrick Kelly threw an apparent touchdown pass to Jake Bos, but the play was nullified by a five-yard penalty. On the next play Kelly threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to J.D. Melton.
Two plays later Red Raider quarterback Zach Halverson’s pass was tipped by Andrew Perez at the line of scrimmage and Milburn made the interception.
A 5-yard touchdown run by Brad Gee increased Murphy’s lead to 21-6 with 21 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Playing from behind, Bellingham was forced into passing situations and the Wildcats took advantage, sacking Halverson twice in the Red Raiders’ first drive of the fourth quarter.
Later in the drive, Halverson, who was lined up in the shotgun, had a bad snap go over his head. The Wildcats recovered the fumble inside the Red Raiders’ 30-yard line with 8:45 remaining in the game. The Wildcats were able to take advantage of the short field and Milburn capped off the drive with another 5-yard touchdown run up the middle.
Archbishop Murphy intercepted two of Halverson’s passes in the last five minutes of the game to seal the victory.
“After a slow start they settled in,” Stubrud said, noting that the defense inspired the offense throughout the game.
Milburn led the Wildcats in rushing with 92 yards on 15 carries and intercepted a pass. Murphy quarterback Patrick Kelly completed 3-of-5 passes for 52 yards and a touchdown.
Pat Brown writes for The Herald in Everett.
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