MUS Sports News

Runners Win Region, Look to State

With their third consecutive Division II Region Championship behind them, the MUS cross-country team now will wrap their season up as they put all of their attention to the state race, held November 2 in Nashville at Percy Warner State Park.

The Owls were pushed but still excelled to claim the region.

Senior Collins Roll got ready for state by placing second in the region, while other Owl finishers included senior Will Hunt (5th), freshman Hunter Adams (6th), senior Marshall Goldsmith (9th), senior William Adams (13th), senior Brad Whiteside (16th), and junior Tom Billings (28th). With only the top 5 MUS runners scoring, the Owls compiled 35 points, besting second-place Christian Brothers by 13 total points.

So far this season, MUS has been very consistent and goal-oriented. While they have not piled up the first-place trophies, they have not placed worse than fourth in any varsity race, and they did win a prestigious race in Alabama featuring 220 runners, the Chickasaw Trials Invitational.

Coach Joe Tyler and the team have been looking to this coming weekend and hope they are prepared. Though they feel as if they will be underdogs at the state race in Tennessee's most competitive cross-country classification, they are hoping to run the best they can and see what happens. With this team's development and experience over the last few years, they will give themselves an opportunity to bring the title back west, hoping to end the three-year run that schools from Chattanooga have.

Number One Goes Down at Hull-Dobbs

Maybe fall break should come around more than once a year.

In perhaps the biggest victory in the last five years for the MUS football program, the Owls used a balanced, opportunistic offense and an extremely salty defense to sideswipe defending state champion Chattanooga McCallie, 39-17, in front of a smaller-than-usual crowd last Friday night.

For those who spent their fall break vacationing, they missed one of the most complete Owl performances in recent history.

The Owls (6-3, 2-1) jumped out quickly on the Blue Tornado (6-2, 2-1), ranked #1 in the state and winners of 18 out of their last 19 games. The vaunted McCallie option was shut down from the outset as the defense continued to pursue the ball well, string plays out, and tackle much better than earlier in the season.

In fact, the MUS defense got the Owls on the scoreboard first. On McCallie's second possession following an interception on their first, DE Todd Jean-Pierre, who continued his stellar line play, hit McCallie QB Ryan Moore and forced an errant pitch that sailed into the MUS endzone. Though the Blue Tornado recovered, the Owls recorded their first safety of the season to jump out to a 2-0 lead just 3 minutes into the game.

That small lead grew quickly.

After the ensuing free kick and Derek Clenin's 32-yard return, MUS needed only 8 plays to move 39 yards as QB John Conrad McCrary scored on a sneak from 1-yard out. The Ben Tacker PAT extended the advantage to 9-0 as the Owls began to take control.

Following another excellent defensive stand, MUS got the ball back and quickly kept the pressure on.

Taking advantage of more excellent field position, the Owls increased their lead quickly. On the second play of the drive from the McCallie 44, McCrary, who finished 9-16 passing for 144 yards, found WR John David Lawhorn, who put some ankle-breaking moves on the Blue-Tornado secondary to score his fourth touchdown of the season. Tacker's kick gave MUS the 16-0 lead as the first quarter ended.

Though McCallie never gave up, they could not get anything going in the first half against the inspired Owl defense.

Following another Blue-Tornado punt, MUS showed that their offense could also put a long drive together in the second quarter. On this 8-play drive, which included a steady dose of Clenin runs and McCrary passes, the Owls quickly moved into Blue-Tornado territory.

Then, from the McCallie 12, McCrary scored his second rushing touchdown of the game as he completed the 80-yard, 3:46 drive with the keeper. Tacker's extra point gave the Owls the 23-0 lead.

But MUS did not let up.

On the next possession, safety Trae Bryant snagged his second interception of the game and set the Owls up in McCallie territory. Following the gift, MUS needed only 4 plays to score. McCrary culminated the drive with his third rushing touchdown of the game, this one from 10 yards out, to increase the lead. Tacker's PAT hit the crossbar and fell back, but MUS still led 29-0.

However, they still were not done.

LB Bunky Parr got in on the pick party several minutes later as he intercepted Moore and alertly got out of bounds with 2.6 seconds remaining in the half, just enough time for a final field-goal attempt.

Tacker did his job as he booted a 33-yarder as time expired to give the Owls an amazing 32-0 halftime lead.

The first-half dominance not only showed up on the scoreboard but also in the statistics. MUS had outgained McCallie 217-33 in total yards, limited the Blue Tornado to only 3 first downs, and held Moore, one of the best quarterbacks in the region, to only 1-12 passing with 3 interceptions.

In the second half, MUS controlled the ball, the clock, and the game to cruise to victory.

McCallie did tack on 17 second-half points to make the score respectable, but they did not have enough time to get back into the game.

Moore showed off his great talent by booting a 35-yard field goal, which would have been good from 50 yards, on the Blue-Tornado's first second-half possession to chip at the lead.

They got even closer following a block of a Rob Park punt by Chris Johnson, his second block of the game. Johnson completed the drive as he took it in from 4-yards out for the score. His run on the two-point conversion also helped, cutting the lead to 32-11 early in the fourth quarter.

But MUS would have nothing of a comeback.

After recovering the onside kick, the Owls needed only 6 plays to tack on another score. John Phillips came in to lead the team on the final 4 plays of the drive, and his 5-yard bootleg increased the lead to 39-11.

The Blue Tornado did tack on one final, meaningless touchdown as Johnson, who finished with 49 yards on 9 carries and carried much of the load following a decimating injury to RB Wayne Fullam, went in from 1 yard out, making the final score 39-17 following the missed two-point conversion.

The Owls put together as complete a performance as they had all season on this night. The defense allowed only 165 total yards to a team that had been averaging 382 total yards, including 237 yards on the ground. They also held Moore to 3-17 passing for 38 yards and 3 interceptions.

The offense also looked solid. Their balanced attack continued as they totaled 191 rushing yards and 144 passing yards. They averaged 5.6 yards per play and gained 16 total first downs. They also held the ball nearly 6 minutes longer than the Blue Tornado and took advantage of their excellent field position. But most important, the Owls had no turnovers as they executed excellently.

The win puts MUS in good playoff position. Facing an open week before the final tangle with Christian Brothers on November 1, the Owls are still battling for the top seed in the conference. Currently, they are tied with McCallie and Brentwood Academy for first in the conference but would lose in a tiebreaker with those schools because of overall record. But as long as they take care of their own business, the Owls should be in good position.

Owl Golfers Challenge, Finish in Third

The MUS varsity golf team completed an outstanding season with a third-place finish at the Division II State Tournament, held October 15 and 16 at the Pickwick State Park course in Savannah, Tennessee.

The Owls were in excellent position after day one of the two-day tournament.  MUS, led by 75’s from senior Alex DeBardeleben and junior Scott Tashie, had pulled even with Chattanooga Baylor, seeking their fourth consecutive state title, and finished tied for first.  Other Owl scores included freshman Bobby Hudson’s 78, freshman Alex Synder’s 81, and senior Michael Murphy’s 82.  Though these scores were good enough to give MUS a great opportunity to win their first state title since 1996, each player knew that he had a better round in him to push for that championship.

However, on day two, while the Owls still were consistent and played well, they did not shoot the improved scores they needed to claim the title as Chattanooga McCallie won, shooting a combined 609 and finishing 10 shots ahead of the Owls.  Baylor finished second, shooting a combined 614 total, while MUS shook off their third-place sectional showing to best the other West Tennessee schools with a 619 total.

Second day rounds included Hudson’s 76, Tashie’s 77, Murphy’s 78, Synder’s 79, and DeBardeleben’s 81.

The third-place finish did not diminish the great season the Owls and Coach Ronnie Wenzler put together.

MUS completed the regular season with a perfect 9-0 record, including some outstanding team wins over Briarcrest, CBHS, SBEC, and ECS.  The Briarcrest victory was a narrow two-shot win, while the win over SBEC occurred in a sudden-death playoff as DeBardeleben shot a 34, the low round of the day.  Thus, the Owls were perfect heading into the sectional tournament.

MUS tasted defeat for the first time at the sectional tourney held at Orgill Golf Course.  The Owls came in third, bested by Briarcrest and CBHS.  Though the fourteen-stroke loss to the Saints was difficult for the team, the defeat refocused the team and lit a fire underneath them as they headed to Pickwick and state.

Then at the state tourney, the Owls put themselves in a position to win only to come up a little short.

This year’s team consisted of more than just the five Owls who played at state.  In addition to DeBardeleben, Murphy, Tashie, Hudson, and Synder, other team members included juniors Matt Ganier, Will Owens, and Scott Warren, and sophomores Watt Efird and Richard White.

With a good young nucleus returning next year, MUS will again be a competitor for a title.

Owl Defense Steps Up To Slow Powerful Fairley

One of the most disappointing aspects of the Owls' season this year had been their penchant to give up the big play. Though they have been very difficult and stingy to drive on, their occasional lapses have hurt, as MUS has given up eleven plays of 30 or more yards this season.

As Fairley, ranked #4 in the city and undefeated at 7-0, came to Hull-Dobbs field last Friday night for Homecoming, the Bulldogs hoped to take advantage of these occasional lapses to make some big plays that their offense depends on.

However, Fairley was sadly mistaken on this night.

Led by a staunch defense that gave up only 172 total yards and an opportunistic offense, the Owls gave the alumni something to cheer about with a 26-0 shutout win.

Derek Clenin tallied his 15th touchdown of the season for MUS (5-3, 1-1) midway through the first quarter to grab the early lead on Fairley (7-1). The score followed a Preston Blankenship interception of a Kelvin Parson pass, and the senior linebacker returned it to the Bulldog 13. Two plays later, Clenin went in from 6 yards for the score. The extra point was no good and kept the score 6-0.

Fairley tried to get their high-powered offense, one of the most explosive in the city, rolling throughout, but they never could pull even. One problem was their poor field position, as they never started past their own 24-yard line in the first half.

Turnovers also hurt the Bulldogs. Two fumbles and an interception gave the Owls all the opportunity they needed to put this game out of reach.

The second Owl touchdown of the first half came off of one of the fumbles. After being hit at his own 30-yard line, RB Keenan Luster, who tallied a respectable 53 yards on 12 carries, fumbled, and DL Andrew Hooser picked up the loose ball and returned it to the Fairley 5. Two plays later, QB John Conrad McCrary went in from 1 yard out for the score. The two-point conversion attempt was no good, so the lead now was 12-0 midway through the second quarter.

MUS tacked on one more score before the half to put the game out of reach.

After taking over at the Fairley 32 following a poor punt, the Owls needed only five plays to tack on their third touchdown of the half.

Clenin scored his second touchdown of the game as McCrary, who finished 10-12 passing for 75 yards, hit him for a 15-yard score. Ben Tacker's PAT gave MUS the 19-0 lead headed into the break.

The second half saw ball possession and good defense to hold the Owl lead.

The Bulldogs had the ball for only 3 possessions in the second half as MUS ran the ball, controlled the clock, and committed few mistakes.

And when Fairley had the ball, they could not get any offensive momentum because the Owls put good pressure on Parson, sacking him three times and tackling as well as they had all year.

Fairley averaged only 3.5 yards per play and did not convert a third-down, failing on all 9 attempts.

MUS tacked on one more insurance score early in the fourth quarter.

After recovering a fumble near midfield, the Owls took 9 plays to score as McCrary hit WR John David Lawhorn from 19 yards out for the touchdown. Tacker's PAT finished out the scoring.

Though MUS did not light up the scoreboard or race up and down the field, they made few mistakes and were very methodical and efficient.

Clenin continued his outstanding season with 64 rushing yards, 22 receiving yards, and 2 more touchdowns.

The Owls will need an even better effort this Friday night as McCallie comes to town. The defending state champion has won 18 of their last 19 games and has already defeated Brentwood Academy and Baylor this year. MUS will look to avenge last year's 21-18 heartbreaking loss with the 7:30 kickoff.

Owls' Road Woes End with Conference Win

In what could have been considered a must win for MUS if they had dreams of making the state playoffs, the Owls scored a touchdown with 6:18 left in the game to hold off conference rival Montgomery Bell Academy, 24-21, last Friday night in Nashville.

The Owls' ground attack was the key to this vital victory as MUS not only amassed 246 total ground yards but also kept the MBA defense on the field for over 30 minutes to wear the Big Red down.

QB John Conrad McCrary had a strong game for the Owls (4-3, 1-1) as he led the team in rushing with 115 yards and scored two first-half touchdowns on the Big Red (4-3, 1-1).

The first score answered an early MBA touchdown.

The Big Red took the opening possession and drove 80 yards in 9 plays to score as QB Michael Fisher hit TE Tom Santi from four yards out. Bryant Hahnfeldt tacked on the extra point to give the hosts the 7-0 lead.

But several minutes later, McCrary led a 67-yard drive as the Owls pulled even. The big play came after four straight runs.

From the MBA 30, McCrary hit WR John David Lawhorn, who fought his way to the 7. Three plays later McCrary somersaulted his way in from 4 yards out to score. Ben Tacker nailed home the extra-point to tie the score.

The Owls did not wait long to grab the lead.

After stopping MBA in 4 plays, MUS took over on the Big Red 37.

On the strength of the ground game, the Owls pounded MBA and drove down the field. RB Derek Clenin, who finished with 73 yards on 20 carries, RB Preston Blankenship, Lawhorn, and McCrary all carried the ball on the drive.

Finally, on the 14th play of the possession, McCrary tallied his second touchdown as he went in from 2-yards out. Tacker gave the Owls a 14-7 lead.

After exchanging turnovers throughout the second quarter, MUS extended the lead right before the half.

Just four plays after recovering a fumble deep in Big-Red territory, the Owls faced a 4th and 20 from the MBA 23. But Tacker gave the Owls some momentum before the half as he booted a 41-yard field goal as time expired to give MUS a 17-7 halftime lead.

The Owls felt very good at the break as they had outgained MBA 198-116 in total yards and held the Big Red to only 4 first-downs. But they had to expect a Big Red surge in the second half, and they were not disappointed.

MBA struck quickly the first two times they saw the ball in the second stanza.

First, Matthew Jacques hauled in a 97-yard touchdown pass from Fisher following a MUS turnover.

Then, several minutes later, Fisher led his team on an 8-play, 89-yard drive that took 3:38. Fisher hit three straight passes, including a 26-yard scoring strike to WR Michael Koban, to regain the lead for MBA. Hahnfeldt's PAT gave them a 21-17 lead headed into the final stanza.

But MUS owned the fourth quarter.

MBA only ran 7 fourth-quarter plays while the Owls ran 21, including 18 punishing runs.

The deciding drive began with 11:08 left. MUS started the triumphant march on the MBA 34, and in 11 plays, they had reached the Big-Red 3-yard line as Clenin and McCrary dominated on the ground.

Finally, on the 12th play, Clenin tallied his first score of the game as he went over from 3 yards. Tacker's PAT gave the Owls the 24-21 advantage to complete the 5-minute drive.

MUS finished off their Nashville rival as the Owls tallied their third takeaway of the game, a recovery of a Matthew Jacques' fumble on the MUS 34 with only 4:41 remaining.

From here, the Owls pounded on MBA as Clenin and QB John Phillips, subbing for a cramping McCrary, took care of the ball and made first downs. The duo eventually ran out the clock and made the bus trip back west more bearable.

Though the score was close, MUS was the dominant team on this night as they gained 427 total yards, recorded 22 first downs, ran 33 more plays, and held the ball 31:27, nearly 16 more minutes than the Big Red. However, big plays and missed open-field tackles kept MBA in the game.

The Owls must work on tackling this week because the Fairley Bulldogs come to Hull-Dobbs this Friday night for Homecoming. Fairley is currently 7-0 and ranked #4 in the Dandy Dozen. Kickoff is set for 7:30PM as the Bulldogs will look to avenge last year's 18-0 loss to the Owls.

Owls Get Back on Track with Shutout

The MUS Owls jumped out to an early lead after only the third play of the game and did not look back as they recorded their first shutout of the year with a 33-0 victory over Bartlett last Friday night at Hull-Dobbs Field.

The Owls (3-3, 0-1) proved inhospitable hosts from the outset to the 5-A Panthers (1-4, 1-1).

On only the third play of the game, CB Derek Clenin intercepted QB Brett Wilcutt's first pass and returned it 29 yards for the score. Ben Tacker hammered home the PAT to give MUS an early 7-0 lead as well as some vital momentum in this important game.

MUS did not let up on the visitors either.

After forcing a punt on the ensuing possession, QB John Conrad McCrary led a 6-play, 72-yard drive that culminated with a touchdown as McCrary found WR Mikell Hazlehurst for 43 yards. The drive, comprised of four passes and two runs, kept Bartlett off-balance as the Owls moved down the field. Tacker missed the extra-point, his first miss of the year, but MUS still maintained a 13-0 lead.

The Owls extended their advantage to 19 points midway through the 2nd quarter.

After forcing Bartlett on another 3 downs and out, MUS took over at their own 44 and began a long drive. Another good balance of plays allowed McCrary, who finished 14-22 for 181 yards, to complete four passes on the drive. Clenin finished the score off with his second touchdown of the game, a 1-yard plunge, to give MUS their 19-0 lead, an advantage they took into the break.

The staff had to feel confident at the half because of the Owl defense, which had stymied Bartlett all night, took advantage of their one-dimensional offense and held them to only 78 first-half yards.

In the second half, MUS just played solid football and cruised to victory as they got all the varsity players and even some JV guys into the game.

On the Owls' first second-half possession, they increased their lead as McCrary hit WR John David Lawhorn on a 26-yard pass for the score. Clenin put MUS into scoring position as he ripped off 14 of his 120 rushing yards on one play, and a Bartlett personal-foul penalty got the Owls well into Panther territory for the Lawhorn reception. Freshman Chad Hazlehurst booted the PAT to extend the lead to 26.

MUS completed the scoring later that quarter.

After recovering a fumble at the Bartlett 26, Clenin recorded his 3rd touchdown of the game and 13th of the season as he rumbled the 26 yards on one play for the touchdown. The Hazlehurst PAT completed the scoring as MUS won 33-0.

The fourth quarter saw many young guys get some good experience against a physical team. As a whole, the game was just what MUS needed as they prepare for their last four games.

The final statistics were just as lopsided as the score. The Owls outgained Bartlett, 414-129, in total yardage as MUS had a very balanced 202 yards rushing and 212 yards passing. The Owls also had 22 first downs compared to Bartlett's 7, and MUS ran 26 more plays in a dominating performance.

The Owls hope for a similar outcome this Friday night as they travel to MBA in Nashville. Last year, MUS shut out the Big Red, 14-0, and will need an equal effort to pull out this vital game. Kickoff is slated for 7:30PM.