For whatever reason, Jared Murphy seems to be at his best when the Columbia City High School football team plays U.S. 30 rival Warsaw. A year after he made three interceptions and helped the Eagles end a 12-game losing streak to the Tigers, the 5-foot-10, 165-pound senior picked off two passes, threw for a touchdown and ran for another Friday night as Columbia City beat Warsaw 34-14 at Fisher Field in the season opener for both teams. "Did it all," Warsaw coach Phil Jensen said of Murphy. "He did it all." Last year, Murphy was strictly a fixture in the secondary. This season, however, he has the daunting task of replacing all-conference performer Logan Rehrer, who started at quarterback for four years and put his name on nearly every school record. "He's kind of a throwback player," third-year Columbia City coach Randy Hudgins said of Murphy, who played quarterback and defensive back, as well as handling punting and kick return duties. "He's always on the field. He even got mad when we took him out with four mintues to go." Warsaw led 14-13 at halftime, but was outscored 21-0 by the Eagles over the final 24 minutes of the game. Murphy finished the game 9 of 18 through the air for 105 yards. He threw one touchdown - a 38-yarder to Jacob Johnson that gave the Eagles a 13-7 lead midway through the first quarter – and one interception. Murphy, who added 62 yards on 10 carries, completed 8 of 10 passes in the second half as Columbia City pulled away from the host Tigers. "There were some people who had a lot of question marks about him replacing Logan (Rehrer)," said Hudgins. "I think he answered some of his critics." Senior Cody Wildman led the Eagles on the ground with 26 carries for 148 yards and three scores. "We found some things that were working and some things they were giving us," Hudgins said of his team's second-half performance. "Murphy calmed down in the third quarter, and Cody Wildman did a nice job running the ball." Jacob Johnson caught six passes for 76 yards and one touchdown for the Eagles. Following a 1-9 season that included a 1-6 mark in the Northern Lakes Conference, Warsaw entered this season with the goal of setting a new tone. For two quarters, the Tigers were toe-to-toe with Columbia City. After the Eagles took a 6-0 lead in the opening quarter, Warsaw wasted no time in taking the lead as speedy senior Zach Rooney returned the kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. Unfortunatley for the Tigers, though, the Eagles scored a minute-and-a-half later on Murphy's 38-yard pass to Johnson. Warsaw fought back again, however, reclaiming the lead when sophomore quarterback Austin Head found senior Jordan Wray for a 7-yard touchdown pass with 7:49 remaining in the second quarter. Wray's touchdown catch capped off a 14-play, 93-yard drive. "Rooney's return was great," said Jensen. "And how about that long drive? That's what we need. That's what wins conference championships. We talked about a winning mentality. We had it for a half. We've got to have it the whole game." While Jensen said his team has made progress from last year, and even from last Friday's scrimmage, turnovers were still a big factor in the loss. Head threw three interceptions, and the Tigers were also guilty of two fumbles, both of which were recovered by Columbia City. "Turnovers killed us," said Jensen. "Against a good football with a good quarterback like Columbia City, you just can't do that. Columbia City is a good football team, but it'll be a whole new challenge next week." Next week the Tigers travel to Fort Wayne to face the Homestead Spartans and Division I quarterback recruit Zach Terrell, who threw for 2,453 yards and 27 touchdowns a year ago. Against Columbia City, Head completed 2 of 6 passes for 37 yards. Both completions went to Wray. "All in all, I thought Austin did a nice job," said Jensen. "It was his first start. He threw some nice balls. He's not ready to throw the ball 30 times.....not yet." Rooney led Warsaw's ground game with 67 yards on 18 carries, while senior Brock Anson had 33 yards on 10 carries.
