RINGGOLD, Ga. — North Murray senior standout Hudson Hulett flexed and yelled in front of the visitors’ sideline at Don Patterson Stadium on Friday night.
The two-way football star has just made the monster hit that resulted in the Mountaineers’ fourth forced turnover late in a GHSA Region 7-AA matchup against Ringgold that became a 24-3 win for North Murray when the final horn sounded.
Just seconds before the takeaway, Hulett had zipped around the right edge of his offensive line, leaving Ringgold defenders in the dust for a 54-yard touchdown run — the quarterback’s third score of the night and 29th of the season.
“Hudson never gets tired. I have never had a kid who practices just like he plays,” North Murray coach Preston Poag said Hulett rushed for 179 yards on 30 carries. “He carries the ball a bunch for us even though he is not a big guy. But he has a big heart and wants to win. That’s the biggest thing. He is a leader.”
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)
North Murray (7-0, 5-0) controlled things from the get-go with a 17-play scoring drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock to open the game. With a 10-0 lead by the 8:13 mark of the second quarter after Juan Pablo Martinez’s 24-yard field goal, Hulett already was up to 19 rushes compared to just two plays for Ringgold (5-3, 3-3), which lost a fumble on its first possession.
North Murray’s defense pitched a second-half shutout in which senior Brayson Taylor had three tackles for loss as he helped shut down the Tigers’ ground game. Meanwhile, junior Anthony Skojac was everywhere around the ball as he had a pair of interceptions, a pass deflection and a fumble recovery.
“We played extremely physical tonight. And I wasn’t surprised because we practice like that,” Poag said. “Brayson played great tonight. He is a guy who has waited his time to play and is helping give us that physical edge. The great thing about these guys is that they love pulling for each other. They have been a special group to coach.”
Harrison Horn also stepped up with a key pass breakup and a 41-yard pass to Julio Perez for the Mountaineers, while Eduardo Diaz was a force on the defensive line.
“We work so hard and put so much effort in at practice to make this possible,” Taylor said. “I have to give a ton of credit to our defensive coordinator and our coaches who put us in a position to be able to make those big plays. Playing for the Mountaineers means the world to me.”
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.