Heights holds off Emporia, clinches 5A playoff spot
Heights senior running back Rodney Murphy made sure to put his stamp on Senior Night.
Murphy rushed for 258 yards and three of Heights’ four touchdowns, and the Falcons held off a gritty rally by visiting Emporia for a 27-25 victory Friday that clinched a Class 5A-District 5 playoff berth.
Next Friday, Heights (6-2, 2-0 district) will play at Kapaun Mount Carmel (6-2, 2-0) for the district’s top seed in the state playoffs and a first-round home game.
The Spartans (3-5, 0-2), snakebitten for the second straight week after narrowly falling to Kapaun a week ago, pulled to within 27-25 on Nick Kirmer’s 3-yard run with 2:02 to play. But a two-point conversion run was stopped short.
The Falcons then recovered an onside kick at the Emporia 49. Murphy carried on five straight plays for 40 yards and drove to the Spartans 12 before senior quarterback Garrett Haskins took a knee to close out the game.
Heights ran 44 plays – all on the ground – for 392 yards of total offense. Seniors Murphy, Haskins (58 rushing yards) and Andre Brown accounted for 335 and all four touchdowns.
Perhaps the key score of the night came with 4:25 to play. Murphy took the handoff, appeared to be bottled up for little or no gain, then squeezed past the defenders for a 56-yard touchdown.
“He’s got great vision, he’s a great running back, and he made a play when it mattered,” Falcons coach Terry Harrison said of Murphy. “That’s what seniors are supposed to do right now. That was just a senior right there wanting to kind of take the team on his shoulders, and he did that.”
Murphy said the Falcons came out with an increased intensity after halftime.
“The first half we started off really well,” said Murphy, who also scored on runs of 38 and 23 yards. “In the second half, honestly, we adjusted things in the locker room and we just came out hitting. We came out striking people. It’s simple – we got in the end zone.”
Murphy, who had 100 of his yards in the first half, said he understood Emporia’s hunger.
“Their playoff berth was on the line – and so was ours – but we wanted it more,” he said. “Our defense got a beautiful two-point conversion stop, and that was the most important stop of the game.”
Haskins usually hands off or runs the ball for the Falcons, and Friday night was no different. The Heights offensive line deserves much of the credit, he said.
“Rodney’s a great running back, but like I’ve said every other time, it all starts with the line,” Haskins said. “Everybody was fighting (Friday), we had to get the playoff berth, and everybody was just fighting for every inch.”
Emporia | 0 | 6 | 6 | 13 | — | 25 |
Heights | 14 | 0 | 7 | 6 | — | 27 |
H – Murphy 38 run (Urbina kick)
H – Brown 3 run (Urbina kick)
E – Secord 6 run (kick failed)
H – Murphy 23 run (Urbina kick)
E – Morehead 50 pass from Taylor (kick failed)
E – Kirmer 32 pass from Taylor (Dobbins kick)
H – Murphy 56 run (kick blocked)
E – Kirmer 3 run (run failed)
RUSHING – Emporia: Slayden 12-60, Kirmer 16-60, Taylor 13-42, Secord 3-20, Morehead 1-0, Rodriguez 2-0. Heights: Murphy 15-258, Haskins 9-58, Scott 4-27, Garner 7-22, Brown 9-18.
PASSING – Emporia: Taylor 8-14-0-154. Heights: None.
RECEIVING – Emporia: Kirmer 2-55, Good 2-15, Morehead 1-50, Secord 1-11, Crouch 1-10, Rodriguez 1-9. Heights: None.
This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 11:07 PM with the headline "Heights holds off Emporia, clinches 5A playoff spot."