North Murray High School's offense could not be stopped in Friday night's 62-49 Region 6-AAA road victory over Ringgold.
The Mountaineers (1-1) imposed their will in setting a new school record for points as an up-and-coming standout propelled a 42-point second half after trailing 27-20 at the break.
Sophomore quarterback Seth Griffin led six touchdown drives in the second half in which he threw for 100 yards and rushed for 81 more. That effort has earned Griffin, who threw a pair of fourth quarter touchdown passes to Cade Petty and D'Ante Tidwell and rushed for four touchdowns, Times Free Press Player of the Week honors.
"Coming out of halftime we were really motivated because we were getting the ball first," said the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Griffin, whose older brother Luke Griffin plays offensive line for the Missouri Tigers. "Every time we take the field we have the mindset that we can score on that drive. We all believe in one another.
"Our defense made some big stops in the fourth quarter and our offensive line played really well. They provided a great push and knew their assignments. I couldn't have done what I did without them."
Griffin's deception and timing proved decisive as the first-year starter executed extremely well running the speed-option attack. He made great reads and pitches to Noah Lunsford and Tidwell, who combined with their quarterback for 373 rushing yards on 36 carries.
Griffin scored on three quarterback dive plays and completed a deep 40-yard pass to 6-foot-4 receiver Michael McDade with the game tied late in the third quarter. McDade finished with six catches for 95 yards.
With North Murray having to replace current Georgia Bulldogs receiver Ladd McConkey (37 touchdowns in 2019) and several other standouts from a state quarterfinals run last season, the Mountaineers were excited for Griffin to take a big step forward.
"Seeing Seth grow up tonight a little bit was great. He had a tremendous game and ran our offense exactly how we wanted," Mountaineers coach Preston Poag said. "We worked on the speed option all week. Our guys did a great job running it. To see the offense come together is fun because I knew they could be a very explosive group."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.