For the first time since the 2001 playoffs, the varsity football team suffered a shutout as the ECS Eagles pounded the Owls, 27-0, to take the win last Friday night at ECS.
MUS (1-2) is fortunate they will not have to see Eagle tailback Hall Simmons again this season. The junior back piled up 202 yards on 33 carries and scored two touchdowns as ECS (3-0) built up a 21-point halftime lead and cruised in the second half.
ECS jumped out and established dominance early. After having forced the Owls to punt on their initial possession, Eagle Trey Adams partially blocked the Rob Park punt, and ECS began at the MUS 36-yard line. From there, the Eagles needed only five plays to score as QB John Mark Braswell culminated the drive with a 1-yard plunge. Adams' PAT gave ECS the early 7-0 lead.
MUS tried to get untracked later in the half but never could convert long possessions into points. The Owls had one 11-play drive stall on downs at the Eagle 26 and another end on a missed 28-yard field goal by Ben Tacker.
Meanwhile, ECS was consistent and wore the Owls down with a pounding running game. While MUS was struggling offensively, the Eagles slowly built their lead as Simmons scored twice in the first half, both on 1-yard runs, as ECS led by 21 at the break.
In the second half, the Owls did not fare much better. They had only five possessions and failed to move the ball more than 16 yards in any drive.
ECS did not help MUS either as the Eagles had no turnovers and controlled the time of possession with over a nine-minute advantage. They also tacked on one final score late in the game as sophomore Will Irvine went in from 8-yards out. The PAT was no good, but the Eagles had more than enough in their 27-point victory.
The Owls running game did show a little improvement as they compiled 89 net yards on 27 carries, better than the 13 rushing yards they had the previous week against Jackson Prep. But MUS was dominated, getting outgained by 200 total yards, and must regroup before facing a talented, undefeated Wooddale squad next Friday night at home.