Argyle Liberty Christian, QB Quinn Murphy cruise past Prestonwood Christian

Quarterback Quinn Murphy passed for 330 yards and four touchdowns as the two-time defending TAPPS state champion Argyle Liberty Christian Warriors upended the Prestonwood Christian Academy Lions, 38-24, in a key TAPPS Division I District I high school football clash Friday Oct. 10th at Warrior Stadium.

A Baylor pledge, Murphy directed an 11-play 68-yard drive on the game’s opening possession, culminating in an eight-yard TD pass to Correll Buckhalter Jr. Murphy added another first-period passing TD on a 44-yarder to sophomore Graham Nixon.

Murphy added an 18-yard third-period scoring pass to Buckhalter, who caught a pair of TDs and ran for another, an 11-yard scamper on the first play of the third period, which gave the Warriors a comfortable 38-17 cushion.

Murphy, who has tossed two or more TDs in every game this season, reached a milestone in the victory, eclipsing the 10,000-yard plateau for passing yards in his high school career.

Murphy passed for 5,436 yards and 85 TDs at Austin Regents during his freshman and sophomore years before transferring to Liberty Christian to begin the 2024 season.

“I was not aware of that milestone,” said Murphy. “Wow. Give credit to some great teammates in my high school career.”

Cooper Witten, the 8th-rated state recruit in the 2027 class by 247Sports, played only a few snaps early offensively but came up with a defensive gem late in the first half. Coach Witten said Cooper has been battling through some leg and ankle injuries and thus was held out of the offense in this game.

“He is such a tough kid,” said coach Witten. “He wants to be out there. We just felt it better to utilize him on defense in this game.” Liberty Christian was holding a 17-10 lead with less than a minute left till halftime. Prestonwood Christian gambled on fourth-and-one from its own 46 when Witten made a shoestring tackle from behind for no gain on Lions quarterback Luke Glass, who had a lot of open field in front of him.

“I was just able to get enough of him to get him down,” said Cooper Witten. “And our offense can strike from anywhere on the field.”

The Warriors’ offense took advantage. Murphy connected with Linkoln McKamie on a 38-yard TD strike with four ticks remaining, stretching the Liberty Christian lead to 24-10 at the break.

“That gave us a big lift going into halftime,” said Murphy.

“It gave us added momentum and more confidence.” Coach Witten, in his fifth season leading the program, noted that it could have been a 14-point swing.

“That play and the resulting TD was huge for us,” said coach Witten, the former Dallas Cowboys legend. “Defense came up with some big stops for us, and the offense did a very good job as well.”

Buckhalter Jr, a Colleyville Covenant Christian transfer, is getting “more and more acclimated to the offense.”

“First two or three games was a learning curve for me,” said Buckhalter. “But I am getting more and more comfortable in this offense. We are just gonna get better and better.”

Buckhalter finished with a game-high 66 rushing yards on 21 carries and chipped in with four receptions for 28 yards. Sophomore Graham Nixon did a nice job in the absence of Cooper Witten offensively. Nixon caught nine passes for 158 yards and the one TD.

“I just knew I had to step up,” said Nixon. “We have a great quarterback, and we are all getting more and more comfortable as the season goes along.”

Argyle Liberty Christian, posting its fourth straight win after two tough non-league losses to state-ranked UIL teams -- Anna and Texas High.

Last week’s thrilling victory over Canyon West Plains was the first overtime contest during Jason Witten’s tenure at Liberty Christian, spanning 55 games. Prestonwood Christian (2-2, 2-1), No. 5 in Dave Campbell’s current state private school rankings, was led by Glass, who finished 22 of 47 for 286 yards and one TD.

Junior Kniffen hauled in a game-high 12 passes for 147 yards for the Lions.

Liberty Christian squares off against Dallas Parish Episcopal (6-1, 3-0) on Friday, Oct. 17th, in a crucial district road matchup. Parish, No. 3 in the state private school current poll, has won six consecutive games since a 24-21 season-opening setback to Fort Worth All Saints.

“Parish will be another huge test for us,” said coach Witten. “They have been the standard for so long. We will enjoy this win tonight and start game-planning for Parish tomorrow.”