Liberty Christian’s Quinn Murphy accounts for 5 touchdowns in win over Decatur
The Argyle Liberty Christian Warriors have literally been “road warriors” the first three weeks of the 2025 gridiron season.
The two-time reigning TAPPS state champions, after a pair of tough road losses to UIL powers Anna and Texas High, this time finished off UIL contender, the Decatur Eagles, 35-24, to close off a grueling three-game road slate to start its season Friday night at Eagle Stadium.
Senior quarterback Quinn Murphy, a Baylor pledge, accounted for all five Liberty Christian touchdowns -- three passing and two rushing -- to spearhead the Warriors’ first victory of the season. Murphy connected with his favorite target, junior Cooper Witten, with TD strikes of 76 and eight yards in the opening quarter to stake the Warriors to an early 14-0 advantage.
“We were able to take advantage of their coverage defensively early,” said Murphy, who finished with 294 passing yards (13 of 26 with 0 interceptions). “And Coop did the rest.”
Witten, who totaled 202 receiving yards on seven catches, continued his torrid season.
“They [Decatur] were playing man coverage early on and we were able to capitalize on that,” said Witten, who now has nine TD receptions in three games.
“After that their defense adjusted and I was facing double and triple teams the rest of the game. But other guys stepped up.”
Decatur reeled off 17 straight points to take a 17-14 lead, thanks to a pair of TD passes from sophomore quarterback Rhys Ragan -- eight yards to Kasey Boner and 15 yards to Jamari Fletcher -- and a 26-yard Anthony Weeks field goal.
Liberty Christian responded. Murphy connected with Graham Nixon on a 56-yard TD aerial with 2:45 left before halftime as Liberty Christian forged a 21-17 lead at intermission.
Decatur regained the lead as Akilyz Rivera bulldozed in for a one-yard TD run on the first play of the final quarter. However, Murphy did it with his legs the rest of the way, scoring TDs on five and one yards, the latter with 4:30 left to seal the victory.
“I just took advantage of some openings to run,” said Murphy, who amassed a game-high 87 rushing yards on 12 carries. “This was a big win for us, especially after two close games that we lost.”
Liberty Christian Head Coach Jason Witten said the tough road tests are a testament to the program.
“We were ready for these kind of opponents,” said Witten. “Two tough losses the last two weeks, but we battled and came out with the win.”
“I credit our fast start to the game, and defensively we made some key stops in the second half,” added coach Witten. “Great to come out with a win.”
Ragan registered 250 passing yards (19 of 37 with 0 interceptions) to pace the Decatur attack. Fletcher had three catches for 78 yards and a team-high 58 rushing yards on 15 carries. Chase Berg totaled 87 receiving yards on five grabs for the Eagles.
“Our guys hung in there,” said Decatur head coach Steve Huff. “Down early, we battled back. Some costly miscues hurt us.”
One miscue was a fumble into the end zone from the two-yard line, which thwarted a long drive late in the third quarter. And then attempting a final rally with under four minutes left, a flea-flicker to a wide-open receiver was dropped that would have narrowed the gap to a one-score game.
“With an onside kick, who knows what would have happened,” said Huff. “We just came up short tonight. We will come back and get ready for next week.”
Argyle Liberty Christian (1-2, 0-0 TAPPS Division I) has a bye before facing district opponent Trinity Christian Academy-Addison on Friday, Sept. 26. Decatur (0-2) plays Graham next Friday night.