Decisions...Decisions
Stratford sophomore Drew Murdock has balancing act
Matt Malatesta
May 23, 2018, 8:41 pm
One of the traits a high school student-athlete must have is time management and Stratford’s Drew Murdock is one of the best in the business.
Murdock was the Spartans’ starting quarterback, played varsity basketball and advanced to state in golf. Throw in the fact that the Murdock family was out of their house for nearly nine months due to Hurricane Harvey makes his accomplishments even more impressive.
All the while, being the No. 1 ranked student in his class.
The Class of 2020 – yes, he’s just a sophomore.
Murdock was thrust into the top quarterback spot after his brother Mark went down with a shoulder injury. Insert the 6-foot younger brother.
“It was very shocking when he went down,” Murdock said. “We were looking forward to playing with each other this season. He was a great mentor for me this year and a great guy to look up to in the locker room.”
When asked about the excitement around his junior season, the answer was a little surprising.
“I’m not 100-percent sure on football next year,” Murdock admitted. “I’ve had several golf coaches tell me that if I just focused on golf, the sky is the limit. I’m going to play a ton of golf this summer. My ultimate goal is to play golf in college, not football.”
He has the genes for golf, seeing that his mom Jenny played college golf at the University of Texas and on the LPGA Tour.
The decision about football will also have a lot to do with the new head coach at Stratford. Coach Eliot Allen departed to take the Brenham High School position and at press date, no decision had been made on a new coach.
“That’s going to play a big role in my decision,” Murdock said. “I know I’ll be itching to play football this summer, but we will see. It would be really tough to walk away from.”
Taking football off the slate will open up his busy schedule if he goes that route.
“It’s certainly not always fun,” Murdock said about his busy schedule. “From 2:30-7 pm I’m grinding on sports stuff, and from 7:30-10 pm I’m studying the textbooks.”
This article appears in the May Issue of VYPE Magazine. Pick up your copy at any one of our locations today!
Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.