MUS Sports News

Basketball Jamboree

The MUS varsity basketball team opened the 2004-05 season as they competed in the Division II West Regional Jamboree, held Thursday, November 18, at MUS.  The Owls split their two one-quarter games by first defeating ECS, 12-9, but then losing to CBHS, 11-7.

In the ECS quarter, the Owls saw starters Hunter Adams, Jay Martin, Elliot Cole, Peter Zanca, and Jimbo Welch, the highest scorer with five points, get some good playing experience against a league rival.   

Then, against rival CBHS, seniors Charles Askew and John Taylor, sophomores Brandon Byrd and Kimani Shotwell, and freshman Kevin Gray got some varsity time against some of the Brothers’ main contributors.  Shotwell led the Owls in scoring with five points.

MUS opens their regular-season this coming week in the Turkey Shootout, held at the Ross M. Lynn Arena on November 26 and 27.  On Friday at 7:30 p.m., the Owls face Collierville, while on Saturday at 7:30 p.m., MUS plays Germantown.

Owls’ Defense Shuts Down MBA In Crunch Time

In an old-fashioned defensive struggle, the MUS Owls defeated the MBA Big Red for the second time this year, 10-7, in a fourth-quarter thriller last Friday night at Hull-Dobbs to give the Owls a berth in the Clinic Bowl, the “Super 7” state-title game, to be held November 23 at Vanderbilt Stadium.

MUS (10-1, 4-1) looked to get on the scoreboard first after they and MBA (9-3, 4-2) had been forced to punt on their initial drives.  Taking over at their own 31, the Owls were led by Rob Park as he completed all four of his passes on the drive.  However, the possession stalled at the MBA 10, so Ben Tacker stepped out and connected on a 27-yard field goal to give the Owls the early 3-0 lead with 1:41 remaining in the first quarter.

After the early score, the defenses dominated for much of the first half

However, the Owls finally found some offensive momentum midway throught the second quarter.

Following an MBA punt, MUS took over at their own 23 and began one of their most exciting drives of the year.  On the first play, Park connected with Max Prokell for a 39-yard gain to the MBA 38.  Then, on the very next play, wide receiver John David Lawhorn connected with J.P. Zdancewicz on a 38-yard trick play for the touchdown to send the home faithful into an uproar and give the Owls the 10-0 lead following the Tacker PAT midway through the second quarter.

MUS had several opportunities to extend their lead, but they could not capitalize.  In fact, on the next six series, the ball changed hands four times on interceptions as neither team could take advantage of the turnovers as the score remained 10-0 at halftime.

Heading into the second half, MUS looked to hold on to their lead by limiting errors and continuing to give a strong defensive performance, which had held MBA to only one first down in the half.

Both defenses forced punts on the first two drives of the second half, but Rob Park’s short punt put the Big Red in a much better situation as they took over at the Owl 33.

MBA only took one play to score as David Howe hit Chambliss Shillinglaw for a 33-yard score to make the score 10-7.

MUS looked to counter the Big-Red score on the their next drive as they drove to the MBA 18.  However, after the drive had stalled, Tacker’s 35-yard field goal was blocked by Tom Nagle, and the Big Red took over at their own 20 with 1:26 remaining in the third quarter.

Following the field-goal block and momentum shift, MBA drove into Owl territory.  However, the MUS defense stepped up, forcing a fourth-down Big Red incompletion to give the offense back the ball.

Yet the Owls could not put the game away as the MBA defense clamped the MUS offense throughout the second half.  To win, the defense would have to continue to hold the defending state champion to secure the victory.

And the defenders did their part even though they had to defend short fields throughout much of the fourth quarter.

Following a muffed punt at the MUS 21 with 5:01 left in the game, MBA looked to tie or take the lead.  The Big Red drove all the way to the Owl 2 where they faced a third-and-goal.  Senior Joey Friend forced the Big Red into a tough decision as he took down  Howe for a two-yard loss to force a fourth down from the MUS 4.

The Owls needed to come up big to hold on to the lead, and Donnie Malmo answered as he came around the end to block the Bryant Hahnfeldt field goal, sending the crowd into a frenzy with only 1:51 left in the game.

Unfortunately, the blocked kick did not reach the endzone, so MUS took over at their own 2-yard line, and they could not garner a first down.  After the punt, MBA took over at the MUS 47-yard line for one final attempt, but the MUS defense forced an incomplete pass on fourth down with only 1:08 left in the game to secure the win.

Despite giving up over 200 yards of offense, with many of those yards surrendered in the second half, the Owl defense stepped up when it needed to, shutting down the Big Red on key third and fourth-down plays to secure the victory.  Malmo was one of the many underclassmen heroes with his field-goal block late in the fourth quarter.

The Owls take on Brentwood Academy in the Clinic Bowl on November 23.  MUS returns to the title game for the first time since 1990 and looks to win its first state championship since 1985.  Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. at Vanderbilt Stadium.

Owls Finish Season with 5th Place at State Meet

On November 6, the MUS varsity cross-country team traveled to  Nashville's Percy Warner Park Steeplechase Course to run in the state championship and finished 5th in the meet to top off what has been a wonderful season led by underclassmen runners.  Brentwood Academy took the gold Saturday with 55 points.  Also finishing in the top five were the giants of East Tennessee, McCallie (2nd), Knoxville Webb (3rd), and Baylor (4th).

Individually, the Owls competed well.  Five of our seven runners finished in the top 50 with junior Hunter Adams (16th) leading the way with a time of 16:11.  The rest of the team also ran hard in the competitive final meet:  Donald McClure (19th), Ken Haltom (35th), Stephen Counce (42nd), Peter Zanca (43rd), Oliver Green (63rd), and Matt Dowling (71st).

The Owls capped off a great season Saturday, and they now can look forward to a season next year in which they lose none of their top-seven runners.

MUS Takes Regional Cross-Country Title Once Again

On Thursday, October 28, the MUS varsity runners took their fifth consecutive Division II Regional title, securing the championship on an unseasonably warm and humid fall day.

MUS came into the race expecting a close competition, and the race was just that.  Only ten points separated the Owls from second-place finisher CBHS, whose runners ran well and competed admirably.  With the top four schools advancing to the State Meet, St. Benedict and Harding will be joining the Owls and the Brothers in Nashville.

At regionals, Owl runners had great individual performances to put together the top score.  MUS runners in the top ten included juniors Hunter Adams(2nd), Donald McClure(3rd), and Peter Zanca(5th), and sophomores Ken Haltom(8th) and Stephen Counce(10th).  Juniors Oliver Green and Matt Dowling also ran well as they finished 15th and 18th overall, respectively.

The State Meet will be held on the Steeplechase Course at Nashville’s Percy Warner State Park on Saturday, November 6th.  Congratulations to Coach Tyler, Coach Smith, and the team on their regional victory.

Owls Overcome Mistakes in Victory over CBHS

Facing the neighborhood rival in a tension-filled game to wrap up the regular season, the MUS Owl football team valiantly overcame penalties and turnovers to defeat rival CBHS, 10-3, at Tom-Nix Field to finish the regular season at 9-1 and clinch the two-seed in the “Super Seven” playoffs, earning a first-round bye next week.

The Owls (9-1, 3-1) started slowly against CBHS (5-5, 1-3) on their first drive as they went three-and-out and were forced to punt.  However, Rob Park’s punt was muffed by Sylvester Cape at the Purple Wave 47, and Ben Stallworth’s recovery in Brother territory gave the Owls the ball and the early momentum.   

MUS looked to take advantage of the CBHS turnover, and John David Lawhorn’s 35-yard reception from Park set up the Owls inside the Purple Wave 15.  Four plays later Park hit Lawhorn again, this time in the end zone, for the 11-yard score, taking the home crowd out of the game.  Ben Tacker’s PAT gave the Owls’ the 7-0 lead with 7:35 remaining in the first quarter.

However, the Owls could not build on their early momentum as the Purple Wave defense kept the hosts in the game.  After having forced a punt, CBHS took over at their own 31 and drove into MUS territory all the way to the Owl 34.  However, the MUS defense stepped up to foil the Purple Wave drive as sophomore Will Aldridge forced a Henry Harris fumble, and Mason Mosby’s recovery gave the Owl offense the ball at the CBHS 37.

But the Owls failed to capitalize on the fumble as they turned the ball over on a fumble as well, giving CBHS the ball inside the MUS 30.

However, as they have all season, the Owl defense once again stopped the drive and forced a busted Wave fourth-down play, getting the ball back with 2:35 left in the first quarter. 

But the offense remained sluggish and could not take advantage.  Ultimately, neither the Owls nor the Purple Wave could score the rest of the first half as both defenses dominated, and the score remained 7-0 at the half.

Heading to the half, the Owls looked to correct their mistakes to put the game away.

The half started well for MUS as they quickly stopped CBHS to force a punt, which LB Will Pickens blocked, and Will Thornton’s recovery set up the Owls at the Purple Wave 17.

MUS looked to make the game a two-score contest, but after having failed to make a first down, the Owls sent out the field-goal team.  Unfortunately, Tacker’s 39-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left as MUS could not extend the advantage.

Later, the MUS offense regained possession in CBHS territory after having forced another Purple Wave punt.  Warren Grimm’s rushing and an outstanding 17-yard catch by Weller Drennon on 3rd and 20 got the Owls into field-goal position, and this time Tacker connected on a 32-yard attempt to give MUS the 10-0 lead with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter.

CBHS needed to score on their next possession to keep the game within reach, and they came through.  The Purple Wave drove into Owl territory, but the MUS defense kept them out of the end zone, stopping them at the Owl 11.  Greg Gaston connected on a 28-yard field goal to cut the MUS lead to 10-3 with 7:06 remaining in the game.

The Owls now looked to score one more time to put the game away, but their rivals had other plans.  The Wave defense forced a Park fumble in MUS territory, and Josh Woods’ recovery gave CBHS the ball at the Owl 38.

Taking over inside the MUS 40 with only 3:53 left in the game, CBHS needed a touchdown to even the contest.  Aided by an Owl pass-interference call, the Purple Wave were threatening at the MUS 23.  Following an incompletion on third down, CBHS faced a 4th and 11 from the Owl 24 with 2:49 left in the game.  However, the Owl defense made a play as QB Carey Taylor’s fourth-down pass, intended for TE Chris Mosby, was broken up by Mason Mosby, and MUS took over on offense.

With only 2:42 left in the game, the Owls picked up one first down as Grimm rushed for 12 yards on 3rd and 11, and they ultimately ran out the clock to finalize the victory over their rivals and complete their most successful regular-season since 1997.

After having had surgery earlier in the week, Park played a very efficient, gutsy game as he went 9-15 for 136 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions to lead MUS.  The defense also was crucial to the win as they did not allow a touchdown and held the Brothers to under 150 total yards

As the two-seed, MUS earned a bye next week and returns to action November 12 at Hull-Dobbs in the semifinal round of the “Super Seven” playoffs.  The Owls will face the winner of the Baylor-MBA game and look to make an appearance in the state-title game with a victory.