Murray’s five touchdowns key 670 yards of offense in front of record crowd
Arlington – Fans helped in making Texas High School Football history, as a record crowd of 54,347 watched, breaking the mark of 49,953 set in 1977.
Junior quarterback Kyle Murray threw four touchdown passes, rushed for another and No. 2 nationally ranked Allen amassed 670 yards of offense on its way to its second consecutive Class 5A Division I State Title by thumping Pearland 63-28 on Saturday evening at AT&T Stadium.
The victory gave the Eagles (16-0) its third title since 2008.
Murray easily nabbed the Most Valuable Player honors, finishing 11-of-14 with 280 yards through the air, one interception and four touchdowns. He added 188-ground yards on 13 attempts and a touchdown.
Murray’s Johnny Manziel-like performance exploited the Oilers defense all evening with incredible quickness, precise passing and elusive scrambling. This was nothing Allen’s previous 15 opponents hadn’t experienced.
In addition, receivers Cole Carter and Jalen Guyton had huge evenings. Carter caught five passes for 111 yards and Guyton grabbed four for a whopping 125 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles watched Pearland (14-2) get off to a quick start, driving 81 yards as quarterback Connor Heath’s 12-yard touchdown pass found receiver Carter Jefferson in the end zone, giving the Oilers a 7-0 lead, following the extra point kick, with 7:23 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing drive, running back Jaelen Barlow, who had 18 carries for 134 yards, including a six-yard touchdown run, capped a drive that covered 70 yards in five plays; answering Pearland’s opening drive and tying the score at seven.
After the Eagles forced a Pearland punt, that setup a long drive of its own, which halted at the two-yard line, when Oilers senior linebacker Justin Phillips stripped Murray of the ball and raced 86 yards down to the Allen 13-yard line.
Zachary Boegler finished the possession a few plays later, with a one-yard plunge to make the score 14-7.
Most of Allen’s damage came in the middle two-quarters, outscoring the Oilers 42-7. Part of that stemmed from a defense that saw linebackers Tay Evans and Christian Sam sack Heath, while facing third downs on two separate drives.
The Eagles’ defense overshadowed by its offense wasn’t too shabby, accounting for four sacks and four turnovers.
An overmatched Pearland team managed 21 first-half points and a late touchdown in the fourth quarter; long after the game was out of reach.
Heath had 110 yards passing on 16-31 attempts, two interceptions with touchdown tosses of 12 and 4 yards to Carter Jefferson and Ryan Deshotel, respectively.
Zachary Boegler had a hand in a pair of scores. His one-yard scoring run gave the Oilers a brief lead, 14-7 with 1:40 left in the first quarter and a one-yard touchdown pass. Hayden Cole added 18 carries for 88 yards and caught a five-yard touchdown pass.
