Springfield Junior Shows What He Can Do

Rob Murphy always made sure he had his prime spot at the finish line. On Thanksgiving Day, other families would gather to play an annual football game. Not Murphy’s. They would gather to do something a little different. They’d get together for their annual “Turkey Trot.”

Murphy, at the time, wasn’t old enough to run with the adults, so he’d find a place at the finish to watch his father, uncles and older cousins run a 100-yard dash. He couldn’t wait for his time to run something that had been going on longer than he’s been alive. Three years ago, that chance came. Last year, for the first time, he won.

It was Murphy’s measuring tool. It gave him an idea of what kind of speed he needed to succeed at the varsity level. This season, the 5-foot-8, 155-pound junior tailback has been unleashed on opponents in aiding the Cougars to their first 3-0 start since 1994.

In three games, Murphy has rushed for 514 yards and seven touchdowns, including a career-best 206 yards in a 35-19 victory over Harriton. Murphy and his teammates will face their biggest challenge of the season thus far when they visit Haverford High School this Friday at 7 p.m. in a crucial Central League game for both teams.

But it will also be a test for Haverford to try and find a way to stop the speedy Murphy. It hasn’t happened yet.

“Rob has that potential that any time he touches the ball, he’s going to take it to the house,” Tom Kline, Springfield’s first-year coach, said. “The other thing with Rob is he lifts his butt off. He’s pound-for-pound probably one of our strongest kids on the team. He likes to block. He throws his entire body into it and he can handle it. The other thing about Rob is he can catch the ball. He was originally a wide receiver. We’ll get the ball to him in space and let him work his magic.”

There was some question as to who would take the mantle left by Matt Craig, who graduated last year holding a number of Springfield rushing records. But Kline always believed Murphy could take up those missing yards.

Murphy was waiting for the opportunity. He had an inkling of just how speedy he was playing pick-up tackle football games with friends as a child. That spun over to grade-school football for St. Dorothy’s in Drexel Hill. It wasn’t hard to track the root of his ability—his father, Bob, was a star at Upper Darby in the early-1980s. Rob didn’t get a chance to ever beat his old man—until recently.

“My style comes from him; my father taught me how to run the ball,” Rob said. “He always used to say I have the whole field to use, so use it all if I have to. It’s why every play, I think I’m going to score. I’ll take five or 10 yards on a carry. But I try to score every time I get the ball. That’s pretty much the way I always played, since I was little. I get the ball, some plays I’ll try to look for the hole and take off up there. I don’t hesitate when I get the ball. I’ve always run like that.”

It’s more than Murphy’s speed that attracts Kline, who’s watched Murphy evolve from a wide receiver his freshman year to carrying the bulk of Springfield’s offense.

“Rob’s about the half the size as most running backs and he’s out to prove he’s a quality running back in our league,” Kline said. “That’s Rob’s attitude towards things. He is fearless with the ball.”

And has confidence in his break-away speed. It’s something that wasn’t instilled on a football field, but rather a flat piece of ground back in Drexel Hill the last Thursday of November. The tangible proof sits on his bedroom dresser, a little gold runner on a wooden base with a piece of paper attached to the back that holds every winner of the family’s “Turkey Trot” since 1990. The most recent is 2010—Rob Murphy.

“That showed me, I guess, that I could beat the older, bigger guys,” Murphy said.

He’s continued showing that this fall.