With six minutes left in the second quarter of their game against 11th-ranked Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, the MUS football team had to feel good about itself.
They had moved the ball somewhat against the salty Big Red defense and had stayed in the game, being down only 7-0 at the time. The Owls hoped to stay close and make a play in the fourth quarter to steal a victory away.
However, MBA showed why they are arguably the best team in the state as they took advantage of Owl mistakes and notched 30 points in the final 5:34 of the second quarter to blow open the game and eventually cruise to a 40-7 Super-Seven win.
The game looked as if it would turn ugly early for the Owls (4-5, 2-1).
MBA (9-0, 4-0) kicked off and immediately held MUS to force a quick punt. Having taken over at the MUS 40, QB Michael Fisher led a 4-play, 40-yard drive that led to an impressive touchdown as RB Michael Koban went in from two yards out. Bryant Hahnfeldt tacked on the extra point to give the home team the early 7-0 lead.
Despite the deficit, the Owls were not deterred as they tried to find some offensive consistency. Led by QB Rob Park, MUS depended on their aerial attack as leading rusher Kane Alber was sidelined because of an injury. On the next possession, the Owls found some success through the air as Park, who finished 17-26 for 184 yards, hit four straight passes to get into MBA territory. But a penalty and a dropped pass halted the push and forced a punt.
On their next possession, the Owls looked poised to tie the game, but an interception on the Big Red 10 stopped that drive as the frustration began to mount.
MBA looked to cash in on the turnover, but sure-handed Koban fumbled in the MUS endzone, and MUS had dodged the threat.
After the touchback, the Owls began their best drive of the game as they looked to prove to MBA that they would compete all night.
Having taken over at the MUS 20, Park hit WR John David Lawhorn for three receptions and WR Mikell Hazlehurst for two others as the Owls threatened. Then, on 4th and 1 from the MBA 3, Park tried a quarterback sneak but was stopped as the threat was squelched.
From this point, one could feel the momentum change as the Big Red began to exert themselves.
First, after having taken over at their own 4, they began a powerful, run-oriented drive that ended with an 11-yard pass from Fisher to Tom Santi for a score. MBA used nine plays and 4:12 to double their lead with 5:34 left in the half.
Then bad turned to worse for the Owls.
After having stopped MUS after the kickoff, MBA took over and needed only one play as Fisher hit Brad French for 60 yards and the touchdown. Hahnfeldt's PAT made it 21-0.
The Big Red scored again 16 seconds later as Jed Crumbo picked off Park's next pass and returned it 31 yards for another touchdown as the rout was on.
The Owls hurt themselves again on their next possession as they struggled just getting a clean snap.
Following a fumbled snap on second down, the third-down shotgun snap sailed into the endzone, and MBA recorded a safety to go up 30-0.
But the Big Red was not done.
They took the free kick and went 48 yards in 6 plays to score one final second-quarter touchdown as Koban, who finished with 56 yards rushing on only 7 carries, scored his second touchdown with a 5-yard run to give MBA the 37-0 halftime lead.
A stunned MUS team headed to the locker room at the half seeing any chances they had at an upset evaporate in the final 5:34 of the quarter. Thirty points in 5:34 allowed the Big Red to cruise in the second half.
MBA played ball control and made few mistakes to finish off the Owls after the break. They tacked on a 43-yard field goal from Hahnfeldt in the third quarter and did not allow MUS to score until late in the game. The Owls broke up the shutout as Park hit Lawhorn, who finished with 8 catches for 122 yards, on a 20-yard scoring strike to culminate a 3-play, 37-yards drive late in the fourth quarter. Ben Tacker finished off the scoring with the PAT as the Owls suffered their fifth loss of the year.
MBA made the Owls one-dimensional and did not allow any big plays. MUS had -33 yards rushing and converted only 1 of 9 third-down conversions as MBA tallied 390 total yards and scored 40 points in the easy victory.
MUS wraps up its regular season with the annual tilt against CBHS, ranked #1 in The Commercial Appeal Dandy-Dozen poll. The game will go a long way in determining playoff seeding as the Owls are hoping for a home playoff game on November 7. Kickoff for the Halloween contest is set for 7:30 at Hull-Dobbs.