North Murray High School quarterback Preston Poag Jr. threw five touchdowns and rushed for another in the Moutaineers home win over Murray County Friday night, 55-3.

Poag Jr. connected with Will Campbell for scores twice in the win. He also threw touchdowns to Chaisen Buckner, Landon Burrell and Logan Viars.

North Murray coach Preston Poag said the win was impressive, noting the longest score was Burrell’s catch for 70 yards.

“We played a really physical and really good game,” Poag said. “That’s what our offense is about. We’ve been doing it all year. It’s great for the receivers because it gives them confidence.”

Other scores for North Murray (4-2, 3-1 in Region 6-3A) came on a 14-yard run from Noah Lunsford and a 5-yard interception return by D’Ante Tidwell. The Mountaineers had a 48-0 lead at halftime.

“Defense played really well, too,” Poag said. “It was a good win for us.”

After the tough loss, Murray County (0-6, 0-3) coach Chad Brewer just wants his players to get some rest.

“We’ve got 62 guys on our football team and they are working hard to get better,” he said. “That’s all I can ask of them. We are still working as hard as we were on the first day of fall practice.

“We made a lot of mistakes, but a lot of it was because of North Murray’s excellence.”

Elber Romero scored for Murray County late in the game on a 40-yard field goal. It was his second 40-yarder this year. Brewer said Romero also just missed a 48-yard attempt to the left side.

“He’s only a sophomore,” Brewer said. “He’s just got the right attitude. He did a good job for us tonight.”

The Indians host Ringgold next Friday for Homecoming.

“We are battling,” Brewer said. “A lot of good things are going to happen for us, and I expect them by the end of the season.”

Poag said the win was extra special over the Mountaineers’ county rival.

“It was a big crowd. It’s always a good crowd,” he said. “I really like Coach Brewer, and he’s a good friend. It was good to see him and his players.”

North Murray travels to Coahulla Creek next Friday.

Haralson County 37, Coahulla Creek 19

Coahulla Creek showed once again how it is handling tough competition this season, yet fell to Haralson County Friday night at home, 37-19.

The Colts (1-4, 1-1 in Region 6-3A) trailed by just one point, 14-13, heading into the fourth quarter when Coach Caleb Bagley said his players began to play a little sloppy.

“We fumbled it early in the fourth and gave them good field position to score,” Bagley said. “It kind of fell apart in the fourth quarter.”

In the loss, Bagley said he was especially impressed with the Colts’ defense, which held the state’s top rusher, Treylon Sheppard, to limited yards.

“He didn’t have a run more than 15 yards as far as I know,” Bagley said. “Haralson is a really physical team, but we made them earn everything.”

Moving forward, Bagley said he enjoys the fact that he continues to see progress within the Coahulla Creek football program.

“We are finally to the point where we really wanted to win, and it really shows,” he said. “We have obviously got some corrections to make, but I don’t think anybody could second guess our effort. We are still young in the scheme of things. They played their hearts out.”

Michael King led the offense for Coahulla Creek with two touchdown receptions from Cade Bates. Titus Underwood also scored on a rushing touchdown.

The Colts host North Murray next Friday night.

Pickens 49, Southeast Whitfield 13

Southeast Whitfield (2-4, 0-2 in Region 6-4A) lost its Homecoming game to Pickens Friday night, 49-13.

With a team full of injuries, Raiders coach Sean Gray said the loss was tougher than normal.

“The problem we have right now is numbers,” he said. “We had to play a bunch of sophomores tonight. Going in, we were without eight starters and we got a couple of others dinged up that probably won’t play next week with injuries.”

Among the missing players Friday were the Raiders’ leading rusher, Christian Gillespie. Also, the team’s leader tackler Fernando Guijon moved to Dalton after moving residences earlier in the week.

“It was an emotional loss for the kids. They really looked up to Fernando,” Gray said. “But our kids are resilient. They will come back next week and try to win.”

Backup running back A.J. Miller and quarterback Adam Sowder each rushed for one score in the loss for Southeast Whitfield.

The Raiders travel to Gilmer County next Friday.