Oxford Hills’ Brayden Murch looks to a Vikings coach during Friday’s game at Lewiston High School. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

PARIS — Oxford Hills wide receiver Brayden Murch did his thing under the spotlight.

After the 2023 season, Murch was selected for last December’s Army Bowl National Combine at the Dallas Cowboys practice facility in Frisco, Texas.

Murch, who is a 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, received the invite with the help of the Oxford Hills coaching staff and Custavious Patterson, a former assistant coach for Bates College and a recruiter for the Army Bowl National Combine.

“Well, I’ve kind of wanted it since I got into high school; I want to play football on a high level,” Murch, now a junior, said. “And I knew that I have the ability and the physical attributes. So I thought getting that invite, being able to go down there and prove myself in front of coaches — because they don’t look very highly on the competition in Maine.”

The camp also featured high-end defenders from across the country, but Murch said he didn’t adjust how he ran routes, he just gave each one his best effort.

Murch said he was given positive feedback during the combine and surprised the coaches in attendance.

“They didn’t think — they were like, ‘Oh, this kid from Maine, he’s big, but can he really do what he does on film?'” Murch said. “And I showed them that I could. So I thought it was cool.”

Murch posted his highlights online from the combine, which grabbed the attention of college coaches across the East Coast.

“So I posted clips from it, from one-on-ones, and that type of stuff. That got the attention of other high-level coaches,” Murch said. “Like I said earlier, it kind of just showed that I can do the stuff that I do outside of Maine.”

Tuesday night, Murch announced on X that he has been invited to the All-American Bowl in Orlando, Florida, in December.

Thanks for the invite to the @AllAmericaBowl pic.twitter.com/NNSUNtjzza

— Brayden Murch (@Brayden_Murch) October 9, 2024

Murch is doing everything he can to be seen by college coaches. This summer, Murch attended college camps at Boston College, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton. He also visited Syracuse when the Orange played Ohio University on Aug. 31.

He also worked out with former Oxford Hills teammates Teigan Pelletier, who has committed to play football at Harvard, and Lincoln Merrill and Eli Soehren who are sophomores in the Colby College football program.

Murch said he has learned from all three, but especially Pelletier, who’s 6-foot-6 and plays receiver.

“When I was in middle school, I was a bigger, like a bigger kid, I played offensive line,” Much said. “And then freshman year, I made the switch to receiver, and having him be like a mentor was awesome. He’s an awesome person. So being around him is fun. So I thought it was really cool.”

Oxford Hills’ Brayden Murch walks along the sideline prior to the start of Friday’s game at Lewiston High School. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Oxford Hills coach Nate Danforth said Murch’s hard work in the offseason has paid off this season for the Vikings, who enter Thursday night’s game in New Hampshire against Portsmouth/Oyster River with a 2-3 record and a two-game winning streak.

“Extremely,” Danforth said. “Like last year, he was surrounded by some seniors that were, you know, they had been to battle a few times and have been to a state game and that sort of stuff. He was just kind of biding his time. Then, this year, he obviously has a leadership role. He leads by example; he leads verbally on the field. He helps guys get lined up on defense and on offense. He’s always in the huddle helping out guys. So he’s just been a great leader, and he’s really a big part of our success.”

DOUBLE BUT STILL TROUBLE

The national coaches might have been skeptical of Murch’s talents, but high school teams in Maine aren’t. Most of the Vikings’ opponents have double-covered Murch this season.

So far, Murch has 25 receptions, 305 yards and two touchdowns. One of the TDs was a highlight-reel catch in Oxford Hills’ 21-7 win over Lewiston last week.

Vikings quarterback Carter Wyman said that double coverage doesn’t completely shut down Murch.

“I think the biggest thing is just how reliable he is, and his frame, of course, too,” Wyman said. “He’s able to go up and get balls that no one else really is. And he has such good hands that he can pretty much catch anything. So reliable.”

Murch said that Wyman knows where to throw the ball to him. That, too, is a product of hard work.

“We work out together all throughout the summer, the past two summers we have,” Murch said. “So we have really good chemistry, and he knows where to put it. He knows my frame. Like I said, we’ve been doing it our entire high school career. So it’s second nature at this point.”

Oxford Hills’ Brayden Murch jumps for a reception up in front of South Portland’s Kai Turner on Sept. 20 at the Gouin Athletic Complex in South Paris. Brewster Burns photo

Murch’s biggest game this season was against Scarborough on Sept. 28, when he caught eight passes for 167 yards. The Vikings won 40-0, their first victory of the season.

“So, surprisingly, Scarborough didn’t try to double him as much as some teams do,” Danforth said. “Like Portland, we saw Portland a couple of times this summer (in 7-on-7), and they know Brayden … they doubled Brayden. So, a lot of those Southern Maine teams try to take Brayden away. So Scarborough didn’t, so we took advantage of that.

“Actually, I think a couple of times, Brayden just went over the top of two people and just made a play. He’s been doing that.”

Wyman said that performance against Scarborough highlighted why the Vikings need to throw to Murch as much as possible.

“So, we started out 0-3,” Wyman said. “We didn’t really give him the ball as much as we wanted to, but then during the homecoming game that kind of changed. We gave him the ball, and he had eight receptions for 164 yards, something like that, in the first half. And we’re like, ‘Wow, we need to get this kid the ball some more.’ And, yeah, so definitely that’s going to be the game plan, I’m sure, going forward.”