MURPHY – When Murphy senior defensive back Ryan Payne got off the ground after an interception late in the 2A Western Regional final on Dec. 5, he started choking up.Payne, covered in mud after a scrappy game at Murphy’s Bob Hendrix Memorial Stadium, had sent No. 1 Murphy (12-2) to another Class 2A state championship game in the Bulldogs’ 14-2 win over Starmount.“This is it,” Payne said. “This is my last time here. It’s always been a great place, and it feels great to seal it like that.”Murphy’s defense forced five turnovers and held No. 2 Starmount (11-3), who averaged 312 yards per game entering the night, to 171 total yards.The Bulldogs face East No. 1 Tarboro (14-0) at 5 p.m. Dec. 13 in the 2A state championship at Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Moretz Stadium.Starmount and Murphy entered halftime scoreless. After raining all night in Murphy on Dec. 4, the field was slick and muddy, keeping both teams from getting their offense moving.It also meant the defenses got to shine.“They’ve worked their butts off the entire year,” Murphy coach Joseph Watson said. “We’ve got a great group of seniors, and that’s who you lean on at the end of the game. To win these games, you have to play well, and they did.”On Starmount’s best drive, quarterback Deuce Best took the Rams 79 yards, scrambling 13 to get the ball to Murphy’s 1-yard line.Murphy stuffed a quarterback sneak on first down. It took Best down for a two-yard loss on second down. On third down, Rams junior Brody Pickett went backwards three yards. Then on fourth down, after a Murphy offsides penalty, Best rolled right, threw toward the end zone and was picked by Dalton Farmer.The goal line stand itself took nearly three minutes off the clock. The Rams’ offense never got near the end zone again.“That’s a complete momentum change,” Payne said. “It’s ‘bow your neck’ mentality, keep on humming at them to finish the game.”Junior running back Cameron Clem rushed for 115 yards on 23 carries. His 20-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, which he broke three tackles, opened the game’s scoring and proved to be the go-ahead touchdown. Quarterback Brady Grant would add Murphy’s other score on a two-yard rush, one play after the Bulldogs recovered a fumble that went backwards 27 yards.Right after receiving the trophy as Western Regional champions, the Bulldogs headed over to add a new decoration to their scoreboard. Watson added a new ’25 sticker to the Western Regional Champions section.It’s Murphy 15th regional title, meaning the scoreboard is officially out of room.“Not a lot of people get to do this,” senior lineman Camden Breazeale said. “I’m glad. I wouldn’t choose any other guys to play with in this position.”Evan Gerike is the high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @EvanGerike.This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Why Murphy football’s defense carried it to NCHSAA 2A state title game