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Anatvious Murphy scored three touchdowns in the Bearcats’ 41-14 win over Westover. The senior wide receiver caught scored once through the air and found the end zone twice on the ground. 

“I feel great after the team win, we all came together,” Murphy said. “We take it one day at a time, one game at a time.”

The Westover win puts the Bearcats at 1-0 in region play. Bearcats head coach Jeff Littleton said staying perfect in region play is a top priority.

“In the region, we want to be the number one seed,” Littleton said. “We can’t be the number one seed without winning them all, and we can’t win them all without winning the first one.”

The Bearcats scored six touchdowns on the night, two through the air and four on the ground. Along with Murphy’s three scores, senior running back Keenan Phillips scored two rushing touchdowns — one from 35 yards out — and junior wide receiver Camryn “Scoop” Scott scored a receiving touchdown. 

The longest touchdown came from Murphy on the second play of the game. The three-star prospect opened the scoring with a 62-yard touchdown off a pitch from senior quarterback Cam Sanders. 

Murphy and Sanders have been clicking as of late. The two have connected through the air or on pitch plays for eight touchdowns in the last four games. That’s double the number of scores the duo connected for in the season’s first three games. 

“If I mess up in practice, [Sanders] corrects me,” Murphy said. “If he messes up, I get on him. We just get each other better.” 

Senior linebacker Anthony McKay showed out for the Bearcats defense. McKay recovered two fumbles on the night. Both turnovers resulted in touchdowns for the offense on the ensuing drives. McKay’s efforts helped the Bearcats shut the Patriots out until late in the fourth quarter. Along with the two fumble recoveries, the defense stopped Westover on multiple fourth-down attempts, and senior kicker Nicolas Tyre pinned the patriot offense back with oppressive punting.

“It was a full game by everybody,” Littleton said. “We executed on offense, we executed on defense, and we executed on special teams.”

The Bearcats take on Shaw in their next regional showdown. They will welcome the Rams to Centennial field on Friday, Oct. 13, kickoff at 7:30 p.m.