Big plays by Bickford, Reed ensure Murray County’s first victory of the season against Southeast

Published 11:30 pm Friday, August 30, 2024

CHATSWORTH — Two early John Bickford touchdowns and a pair of monster runs from Jagger Reed in the second half ensured Murray County’s first victory of the season Friday night against the Southeast Whitfield Raiders at Murray Field.

In their final non-region game of the season, the Indians (1-2) defeated the Raiders (0-3) 34-14 in a game rife with penalties which saw Murray County amass more than 400 rushing yards.

“We wanted to run the ball and we were able to do that,” said Murray County head coach Kurt Napier. “Our line did a good job and our backs did a good job blocking for each other.”

To begin the matchup between two teams who went onto the field without a win in 2024, Murray County took virtually no time to send a message with a 5-yard rushing TD from Bickford four minutes into the game. An unsuccessful PAT attempt put six points on the scoreboard for the Indians.

After Southeast’s first possession saw them turn the ball over on downs, Bickford would run in for a 52-yard rushing TD with 3:05 left. This time, a successful PAT put the score at 13-0.

The Indians would continue to gain momentum throughout the rest of the first half, including an interception by Brody Hooper, which cleared the way for a long 40-yard run to the Raider 4 by Bickford, only for Southeast’s Noah Singleton to recover a Bickford fumble on the Raider 5 during the next play.

Raider quarterback Alex Ramirez would shift to the passing game on the following possession, but would go down with an injury with just two minutes left in the half, with freshman backup quarterback Tucker Townsend taking the reins for the Raiders for the remainder of the game.

Offensive and defensive penalties on both sides would dominate the second half, which saw Murray County’s Mason Rogers intercept a Townsend pass to put the Indians back within scoring position.

A Trent Childers handoff to Rogers looked to ensure a 9-yard rushing TD, but it was negated by an Indians personal foul. But that wouldn’t stop Rogers who ran the ball back in to the end zone with a 20-yard rushing TD on the next play, extending the deficit to 20-0.

Southeast would begin to show signs of life in the second half, beginning with a Nathan Fraire 50-yard kick return to the Indian 25. As the Raiders continued to drive down to the field into scoring position, a fumble on the Indians’ 6-yard line would be picked up by Murray County’s Domingo Sanchez, shuttering Southeast’s first real chance to score in the game.

Enter Jagger Reed.

After not playing in the first half, Reed would kick off the Indians’ first possession of the half with a 94-yard rushing TD, putting the score at 27-0. Reed would follow up the lengthy run later in the game with a 60-yard rushing TD after a handoff from Childers.

Both Reed and Bickford would be responsible for more than 200 rushing yards apiece by the end of the game.

“It felt great to be able to show up and play for my team,” said Reed. “It’s going to take all of us to win. It felt great making those big runs.”

Showing a late barrage of fire, the Raiders would put up their first points of the game following a long drive to the Indian 13. A Murray County personal foul would place the Raiders’ ball on the Indian 3, making way for a Sam Ramirez 3-yard rushing TD — Southeast’s first points of the season — with 58 seconds left in the third quarter. A successful Julian Villa PAT lessened the gap 27-7.

The Raiders would keep some momentum going with a Roberto Rios sack of Childers, which led to another rushing TD from Ramirez — this time a 2-yarder — with 7:31 left in the game, capping the Raiders score at 14.

The following possession would feature the 60-yard Reed TD, which was shortly followed by a third interception by the Indians when Nate Perry caught a Townsend pass at the Indian 20 to bring it down to the Raider 2 with seconds left in the game. Childers would kneel on the next play to end the game.

With the win, Murray County continues to lead the all-time series against Southeast 25-13, with Friday’s game marking the Indians’ fourth win in a row against the Raiders. Southeast’s last win over Murray came in 2018.

Murray County will resume Region 7-2A play next Friday when they travel to Blairsville to take on Union County at 7:30 p.m. Southeast returns home to battle Armuchee at 7:30 p.m. next Friday.