The fourth time was finally the charm.
Led by Warren Grimm’s 138 rushing yards and a stellar defensive effort, the MUS varsity football team won their first Bridges Kickoff Classic in four tries with a 31-8 trouncing of the talented East Mustangs.
The Owls (1-0) started strong to grab the early lead against the Mustangs (0-1). Following an initial defensive stand, the MUS offense took over at their own 18 and began a very balanced drive. The combination of Grimm’s hard-nosed running and senior quarterback Rob Park’s passing got the Owls into scoring position, and then, on the eighth play of the drive, Park hit senior wideout John David Lawhorn for a 19-yard score, a positive start to the 2004 campaign. Kicker Ben Tacker added the extra-point to give MUS the early 7-0 lead.
The Owls wasted little time to add to their advantage. Following another stop, MUS took over in East territory and barely broke a sweat as Park again hit Lawhorn, this time on the first play of the drive, in stride over the middle for a 31-yard touchdown. Tacker’s PAT doubled the lead with three minutes left in the quarter.
Finding itself trailing, East knew they needed to answer, and they began their next drive. But as they would most of the night, the MUS defense stepped up to squelch the possession as the Mustangs were forced to punt once again from deep in their own territory.
Seven plays later after the shanked punt had given the Owls a short field, Park went in from one yard out for the touchdown. Tacker again was true to make the score 21-0 early in the second quarter as the rout had begun.
Following the 21-0 lead, the coaching staff knew they could rely on the defense to salt away the win. At the half, Coach Burr’s defense had allowed only 74 total yards and had given East no scoring opportunities. The goal for the second half was to play fundamental, physical football to minimize mistakes and maintain the advantage.
East came out in the second half trying to get back into the game. Having forced an MUS punt, the Owls first of the game, the Mustangs looked to gain momentum as they began to move the ball. However, the Owl defense stepped up once again as junior safety Donnie Malmo picked off a pass in MUS territory to keep the momentum with the Owls.
Six plays after East’s second turnover and 37 yards later, the Owls’ drive stalled inside the East 10, but Tacker continued his perfect evening as he added three points with a 26-yard field goal to give MUS a 24-0 lead, a virtually insurmountable advantage with only five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Even with such a large lead, the defense did not let up. In fact, the Owl defenders added to the scoreboard as senior cornerback Philip Flinn picked off quarterback Brandon Small’s errant throw and returned it for a 21-yard score. Tacker’s PAT made the score 31-0 as the teams entered the fourth quarter.
The large lead allowed the Owls to play many reserves in the fourth quarter. East did add a meaningless score late in the game as Cameron Gray raced in for a 43-yard score to prevent the MUS shutout, but the game had been decided long before that score.
The 31 Owl points were impressive as the offense found a good balance led by stellar play from the offensive line. Park went 6-14 for 85 passing yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 38 more yards and another score, while Lawhorn added three catches for 49 yards to go along with Grimm’s 138 rushing yards. This output was outstanding but would not have been possible without the consistent play of the offensive line, which gave the quarterbacks time to throw and opened holes for Grimm and the other backs.
But as well as the offense played, the defense made the difference in the victory as they limited the large, athletic Mustangs to only 221 total yards.
The Owls will look to build on this good effort next Friday night as they travel to Jackson, Mississippi, to take on the Jackson Prep Patriots, whom MUS defeated last season, 21-16. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.