With a dominating performance by the MUS rushing attack, the varsity football team rebounded from their first loss last week with an impressive 24-13 victory over middle-Tennessee rival Brentwood Academy in front of an electric Homecoming crowd at Hull-Dobbs.
However, Brentwood (4-3, 1-2) started strong on their first drive as they took only 1:48 to take the early lead over the Owls (7-1, 1-1). On only the fourth play of the game, BA tailback Tyree Ford scampered 41 yards for the score to give the Eagles the 7-0 lead after the Phillip Masters’ PAT.
MUS started slowly on their first drive, but after having traded punts, the Owl offense found itself in BA territory on their next possession.
MUS quickly took advantage of this favorable field position as senior QB Rob Park took it upon himself to get his team into the end zone.
The Owls used three rushes and two passes to drive all the way to the Eagle 4-yard line. On the ensuing play, Park found the end zone with a 4-yard run to cap the 7-play, 49-yard drive. Ben Tacker’s PAT evened the score at 7 with 3:02 to play in the first quarter.
Neither team could establish control after the initial scores until midway through the second quarter when BA put a drive together, marching all the way down to the MUS 8-yard line. Yet on 3rd and 4, Eagle QB Tyler Griffin fumbled, and Joey Friend’s recovery gave the Owls the football on the Eagle 14.
Following the BA turnover, MUS had momentum on their side and looked to take the lead. Starting inside their own 20, the Owls kept the ball on the ground as senior RB Kane Alber, who finished with 195 yards on 25 carries, rushed eight times, including on six consecutive plays. Alber’s elusive running style and fine blocking from the offensive line led MUS into Brentwood territory. However, the Owl drive stalled inside the Eagle 20, and Tacker connected on the 32-yard field goal to give MUS the 10-7 lead with only 14 seconds left in the half.
Heading into the half, the Owls looked to put the game away and send the crowd home happy.
Getting the ball first in the second half, MUS looked to increase their lead as they once again turned to Alber. After ten consecutive rushes, the Owls offense found itself threatening at the BA 19. Then, on 3rd and 9, Park fired incomplete to John David Lawhorn, and MUS sent out the field-goal unit. Tacker once again connected on the field goal, this time from 36 yards out, to give the Owls the 13-7 lead.
The MUS defense then stepped up on the next Eagle possession, keeping BA out of MUS territory and forcing another punt.
Following the Brentwood punt, MUS took over at their own 18 and looked to their running game for another score. On the sixth play of the drive, Alber broke loose for a 74-yard gain to the Eagle 3. Two plays later, Rob Park ran in for the 1-yard TD to cap the 7 play, 82-yard drive. Tacker’s extra-point gave the Owls the 20-7 lead with only 30 seconds left in the third.
Down by 13 in the fourth quarter, BA needed to score soon, and they struck quickly. Capping a 9-play, 78-yard drive, Griffin hit TE Barry Turner for the 10-yard score, and Masters’ PAT cut the advantage to 20-14 with 10:19 remaining in the game.
The Owls now needed a big drive to secure their lead, and as they had most of the game, the offense came through.
MUS once again relied on their rushing game as they ran the ball on 11 of their 14 plays. But the passing game kept the Owls alive as they converted several important third-downs as Park hit Doug Boyer for one conversion and Max Prokell on another to keep the drive going. With these conversions, the Owls slowly drove down to the BA 3. But facing a fourth down, the MUS coaches sent out the field-goal unit to put the game away, and Tacker made the 20-yard attempt to give the Owls the 23-14 lead with 2:34 left in the game. The points culminated the 15-play, 67-yard drive that amassed 7:45.
The MUS defense then stepped up to squelch any Eagle comeback attempt as CB Logan Welch picked off a final Griffin pass in the end zone to secure the win.
The impressive Owl performance can be attributed to their dominant running game and ball control as MUS piled up 269 rushing yards and held the ball for 31:56, nearly twice as long as BA. And after seven turnovers the previous week, MUS committed none in this game, while the Owl defense held the Eagles to only one score following that initial drive and only 103 rushing yards, well below the BA average. Tacker’s three field goals helped secure the victory as well.
Following Fall Break, the Owls take on MBA on October 22 and will look to take down the defending “Super Seven” state champion. Kickoff is set for 7:00 at Hull-Dobbs.