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BEDFORD – Facing a team that has dominated its season thus far, Bedford shut out Murray in a 72-0 win for the Bulldogs’ Homecoming.
The game kicked off with Murray starting at their own 15. A handoff to Nolan Gannon gained the Mustangs 5 yards, followed by an incomplete pass attempt from Keegan Chew to AJ Clarke downfield. On third-and-5, a pitch out to Clarke got Murray a first down. Unable to gain another first down, Chew punted the ball that was returned by Bedford’s Ashton Nally to just across midfield.
The Bulldog’s first drive saw a deep pass from quarterback Quentin Dalton to Nally in the endzone put 7 on the board for Bedford. Starting on a touchback, Murray was unable to make it past Bedford before having to punt it away. Ninety seconds after their first touchdown, a 41-yard reception by Kase Coleman put him in the end zone. A point after was good to give Bedford a 14-0 lead.
The next two possessions for both teams followed in similar fashion. With a couple of successful first down passes for the Mustangs, the Bulldogs did not allow them to find more than one first down before taking back over. Gannon managed to block one point after attempt by Coleman, with the Bulldogs making a play for 2-points after their next touchdown. The first quarter ended with Murray in possession and trailing 28-0.
Bulldogs bound ahead
Starting the second quarter on third-and-11, an incomplete pass had Chew punt the ball. While able to hold Bedford to only a 2-yard gain on their first play, a fake handoff that ended in a quarterback keeper had Dalton around Murray and in for a touchdown. A subsequent trick play with a 2-point conversion instead of a kick gave Bedford a 36-0 lead and turned the clock to continuous. A short possession by Murray ended on lack of downs that was followed up by a 41-yard reception by Bedford’s Hayden Riedel for a touchdown.
Murray received two big breaks on their next possession, as two interceptions by Nally that resulted in touchdowns - one pass intended for Keaton Brammer and one for Gannon - were negated by penalties of roughing the passer and an illegal block in the back on Bedford. While the first penalty resulted in a first down for Murray, the second turned the ball over. Bedford found themselves unable to get a first down or score any points for the first time in the game, with Gannon in for tackles that stopped any forward momentum by the Bulldogs. An unsuccessful play on fourth-and-14 turned the ball over to Murray.
With less than a minute in the quarter, Murray made it as far as they had all game to the Bedford 5-yard line, but the clock ran out on first-and-goal before Murray could get the play off the ground.
Coming back from halftime, Dalton returned the ball for 63-yard touchdown. John Deemer added an 18-yard run and Nally a 17-yard interception run 30 seconds later to round out the third quarter 64-0. As younger players on both teams swapped in for some upperclassmen to finish out the third and fourth quarters, Bedford’s Barrick Gladman made the final touchdown of the night on a 23-yard run. A kick after brought the game to its final score of 72-0. Despite the score spread, each team only had a handful of penalties that keep the game moving at a fast clip.
Murray hosts Mormon Trail (0-6) tomorrow for Senior Night. While Murray leads the series 12-6, Mormon Trail has been hampered by a season of low rosters, forcing the cancellation of at least one game due to not having enough players.
Game stats
Bedford 72, Murray 0
TEAM STATS
BED 28 15 21 8
MUR 0 0 0 0
MUR BED
Rushes-yards 29-34 24-162
Passing 14-25-2I 4-5-0
Passing yards 114 122
Total yards 148 284
Punts-avg. 6-28.5 0-0
Fumbles lost 3-1 0-0
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING – MUR: Keegan Chew 9-(-10); Bentley Smith 2-(-10); Sam Romero 1-4; Wylee Wright 11-49; Nolan Gannon 6-1. BED: Ashton Nally 6-21, 1 TD; Quentin Dalton 3-79, 2 TD; Nolan Drake 3-15; Brantley Nally 2-3; Taikeye Hardee 2-2; Barrick Gladman 2-26, 1 TD; Tucker Supinger 1-4; John Deemer 1-20, 1 TD; Adam Swaney 1-1; Zach McNutt 1-0.
PASSING – MUR: Chew 11-20 for 103 yards, 2 INT; Smith 3-5 for 11 yards. BED: Dalton 4-5 for 122 yards, 3 TD.
RECEIVING – MUR: Keaton Brammer 2-19; AJ Clarke 5-52; Jaxon Darby 1-18; Romero 3-11; Wright 1-3; Gannon 1-5; Elijah Clarke 1-6. BED: Ashton 2-41, 1 TD; Kase Coleman 1-41, 1 TD; Hayden Riedel 1-40, 1 TD.
TACKLES (TOTAL-SOLO) MUR: Chew 2-2; Gus Harrison 2-2; AJ 1-1; Marques Smith, Jr. 2-2; Darby ½-0; Romero 2 ½-2; Wright 2 ½-2; Grant Flaherty 1-1; Brayden LaMastres ½-0; Gannon 4 ½-4; Jack Myers 2-1; Grady Mongar ½-0; Brayden Klein 1-0; Brenden Klein ½-0; Elijah 2 ½-1. BED: Ashton 4 ½-3; Maddex Heller 1 ½-1; Dalton 6-6; Drake 5 ½-4; Brantley 1 ½-1; Traegan Hensley 1-1; Hardee 2-2; Kasen Churchill 3-2; Gladman 3-2; Supinger 1 ½-1; Jeffry Knighton 3-3; Deemer 7-5; Hunter Schill 1-1; Swaney 5-3; Cayden Walston 1 ½-1; Riedel 1-0.
TACKLES FOR LOSS – MUR: Gannon 2; Smith 1; Elijah 2; Brayden K. ½; Klein ½. BED: Ashton 1; Knighton 2; Deemer 3; Swaney 1.
SACKS – MUR: 0. BED: Knighton 2; Deemer 3; Swaney 1.
INTERCEPTIONS – MUR: 0. BED: Ashton 2, 1 TD.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES – MUR: 0. BED: Swaney 1.
PUNTING – MUR: Chew 6-171. BED: 0.
KICK RETURNS for TD – MUR: 0. BED: Dalton 1-63.
2PT CONVERSION – MUR: 0. BED: Ashton 1; Grant Gould 1; Lucas Minor 1.