The best start in Gulf Shores football history continued Thursday night.

Kolin Wilson scored three touchdowns, N.C. State commit Ronnie Royal returned a punt for a score and the Class 5A No. 2 Dolphins eased past winless Murphy 37-14 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile.

“I think we are in a good spot right now,” Royal said. “We still have room to improve. Every team does, but I think we are in a good spot right now.”

Gulf Shores improved to 6-0 for the first time in school history. The Dolphins had never even been 5-0 before this season.

They made short work of the Panthers on Thursday night, bolting out to a 37-0 lead that led to a running clock in the second half.

“I thought we came out in the first half and played pretty well,” Gulf Shores coach Mark Hudspeth said. “We have to eliminate some penalties, though. In the second half, we tried to play a lot of kids and, like always, it gets a little sloppy when you are trying to get a lot of people on the field.”

Gulf Shores scored on offense, defense and special teams.

Wilson scored on a 33-yard screen pass from Jud Harris and runs of 72 and 11 yards. His 72-yard run was electrifying as he juked several defenders around midfield, shifted back to the left and race down the sideline for the score. He finished with 106 yards and 2 touchdowns on just eight carries.

“He’s a really good runner,” Hudspeth said. “We’ve got some good backs, and they all complement each other. We are able to keep someone fresh on the field. The offensive line did a good job tonight.”

Braden Jackson returned an interception 50 yards for Gulf Shores’ second score of the game. That was followed by Will Langston’s 30-yard field goal and Royal’s 32-yard punt return. Royal also had a 79-yard punt return nullified by a hold and set up one of Wilson’s scores with a 39-yard return.

“Really what I see is a lot of people coming at me,” Royal said of returning punts. “To me, it’s like a backyard football game. I catch the ball and try to get what I can get.”

Murphy scored the last two touchdowns of the game on slant passes from James Holbrook to Jaylon Edney. The first one was good for 30 yards and the second for 50. The Panthers dropped to 0-6 for the first time since 1962.

“I’ve got to give Murphy credit, too,” Hudspeth said. “Those kids played hard. Coach (Justin Hannah) is doing a good job with the guys. It’s only a matter of time before he gets them going.”

Kyan Parker Crawford had an interception for the Panthers.

By the numbers: 2 – turnovers by each team; 1 – muffed punt by each team.

They said it:

“I’m proud of where we are. Our team has worked really hard since January. This past week, our preparation was spot on, and it’s paying off on Friday nights or Thursday night in this case. I’m proud of our guys. We are taking care of the football. We are playing sound defense. If we keep doing that, we will have a chance.” – Hudspeth.

“If we stay locked in and keep our focus, we can go to state. We have a long way to go to get to state, but we are going to keep working every week.” – Royal.

What’s next? Gulf Shores returns to 5A, Region 1 play, hosting Williamson on Friday. Murphy returns to 6A, 1 play against winless Robertsdale on Thursday.