MUS Sports News

Owls Clinch 2-seed, Bye In Playoffs

In a pressure-packed game which had implications on playoff seeding for MUS, the varsity football team finished the regular season with an important win, beating the Saints of Briarcrest Christian School, 17-10, at Briarcrest.

MUS (9-1,4-1) jumped out to an early lead on their first drive against the Saints (4-6,1-4) after a strong defensive stand by going 47 yards on 11 plays to the Briarcrest 9-yard line. But from the 9, the Owls could not capitalize and settled for a 26-yard field goal by Chad Hazlehurst to give them a 3-0 lead.

On the Saints’ next drive, the BCS offense showed they could move the ball against the strong defense of MUS. Led by a relentless rushing attack and a 22-yard completion from QB Michael Blanchard to TE Greg Hardy, the Saints moved the ball 48 yards to the MUS 14-yard line. But from there, the Owl defense stopped the Saints and moved them back to the 20 where they were faced a fourth-down. Adam Melton connected on the 37-yard field-goal attempt to even the score, 3-3, as the first quarter ended.

On MUS’s next drive, the Owl coaches drew up a perfect play.  Taking the toss, RB Tyler Massey caught the Briarcrest safety cheating up, so he threw a halfback pass and connected with a wide-open Max Prokell for a 58-yard score to end a 3-play, 72-yard drive. The touchdown reception for Prokell, who finished with five catches for 97 yards, was his eleventh of the year, tying the single-season touchdown reception record set back in 1985. Hazlehurst tacked on the PAT to make the score 10-3 with 11:02 remaining in the half.

However, once again Briarcrest responded nicely with a score of its own. The Saints used a balanced attack to get into Owl territory. From there, Garret Rowland sprinted in from 35 yards to culminate the impressive 6-play, 71-yard drive, and Melton tacked on the PAT to even the score once again. The Briarcrest touchdown was only the second scored on MUS in the second quarter this season.

With pressure on the Owls to respond, the offense put together its third straight scoring drive. After only two offensive plays on the drive, QB Michael Park made a great fake on an end-around and then hit Stephen Bowie for a 46-yard touchdown strike. Hazlehurst nailed the PAT to give the Owls a 17-10 lead.

The Bowie touchdown finished the scoring for the half.  Going into the locker room, the Owls knew that they must play better defensively in order to win the game and end the regular season with momentum as BCS had already amassed 167 total yards, just 30 yards off the average which the Owls give up each game.

But in the second half, the Owls accomplished their goal of slowing down the Briarcrest offense. The third quarter was a defensive battle as both defenses dominated and allowed no points or significant yardage gains. MUS held Briarcrest to just 28 yards in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Saints seriously threatened to score twice, but just as it has the entire year, the Owl defense made some big plays when needed.

After having starting on their own 37-yard line to begin the fourth period, the Saints moved the ball into Owl territory once again. But Will Thorton stepped up and intercepted a Blanchard-pass and returned it 28 yards to the Briarcrest 41-yard line.

With the good field position, the Owls hoped to put the game away with another score. However, they were stopped by the Saints’ defense and forced to punt.  Drew Alston did his job as his punt pinned the Saints deep in their own territory.

Then, starting on their own 9-yard line with 6:08 left in the game, Briarcrest moved the ball using twelve plays, including nine runs from Blanchard and Taylor Dillon, to the Owls’ 33-yard line. But after the Saints had made five first downs on the drive, the Owl defense had had enough. The defense forced the Saints into a fourth-and-1 on the 33-yard line, but Will Pickens and Mason George ended the threat as they sacked Blanchard for a 17-yard loss as MUS secured the win.

The sack ended the Saints’ playoff hopes as they finished 4-6. The victory increases the MUS series advantage over Briarcrest to 22-6 and clinches the 2-seed in the state playoffs.

The Owls’ next game will be on November 11 at Hull-Dobbs in the Division II, AAA state semifinals. MUS will face the winner of Baylor and MBA, both teams which MUS defeated in the regular season.

Owl Runners Continue To Dominate Region

After having become County Champions for the first time since 1993, the MUS cross-country team was prepared to make another big statement, and the region meet at Shelby Farms was the target.

Coach Smith, Coach Tyler, and the Owls were looking to win their sixth-consecutive regional championship last Thursday, October 27, and they accomplished their mission handily, winning with a combined score of 17. MUS runners swept the top four spots, with Donald McClure narrowly defeating his teammates as the other six Owls finished in the top-twenty.

Coach Tyler said that they came into this race with a competitive mindset just like any other race. 

“The purpose was still to qualify for state,” he said when asked if they were very confident because of their previous dominations.

The state meet takes place next week on Saturday, November 5, at the Percy Warner Park in Nashville. This race is also one that the Owls have not won in over ten years.  However, this year the team is at the top of its performance level, and they would love nothing better than to break that drought. 

Coach Tyler said that he would have the team run a light practice schedule this week so their legs can be fairly fresh for Nashville. Tyler is not overconfident, but he knows the squad has a shot at the title.

“There are about 5 or 6 teams capable of winning state this year, and it’s good to know that we’re one of them.”

Owls Rebound On Homecoming

With an opportunistic offense and a defense which forced numerous turnovers, the MUS varsity football team rebounded from its first loss two weeks ago with an impressive 34-12 victory over the Kingsbury Falcons in front of a Homecoming crowd at Hull-Dobbs.

MUS (8-1) showed their strength on defense early against Kingsbury (2-7) as Hugh Francis forced a Henry-Cannon fumble on the game’s sixth play, giving the Owls possession at the Kingsbury 43.

With the good field-position, the offense took advantage as MUS went on a 7 play, 43-yard drive, capped off by a 15-yard touchdown pass from QB Michael Park to WR Max Prokell. However, MUS could not capitalize on the PAT, so the score remained 6-0 with 5:31 remaining in the first quarter.

After the defense had forced the Falcons to punt after three plays on the next possession, the MUS offense once again took advantage of good field position and moved the ball using a strong rushing attack. From there, senior RB Whit Cox scored from 7 yards out, culminating the 4-play, 31-yard drive to extend the lead to 12-0. Park connected with Prokell for the two-point conversion to give the Owls a 14-0 lead with 2:27 remaining in the quarter.

The MUS defense again wasted little time regaining the ball as Will Pickens forced a Travis-Jackson fumble on Kingsbury’s first offensive play on their next drive, and John Stokes recovered it on the Kingsbury 28-yard line.

MUS then needed only 3 plays to score again as RB Tyler Massey, who finished with 77 yards on 13 carries and also played some quarterback, dashed in from 7 yards out to give the Owls their third touchdown in the opening quarter. However, for the second time MUS could not connect on the PAT, so the score remained 20-0 heading into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, the Kingsbury offense began to make some first downs and keep the ball away from the potent Owl offense to prevent the deficit from increasing. But the MUS defense continued to keep the Falcons off the scoreboard as they allowed only 51 total yards and squelched Kingsbury’s only scoring opportunity with a Logan-Welch interception.

MUS started the second half with another efficient offensive drive as they used a strong passing attack to move down the field. Beginning at their own 33-yard line, the Owls used 7 plays to score as Park once again connected with Prokell, this time from 5 yards out. Chad Hazlehurst tacked on the PAT to extend the lead to 27-0.

And even the defense got in on the scoring act. 

On the Falcon’s next drive, Pickens intercepted a Powell pass and rumbled 33 yards for yet another MUS touchdown. The turnover was the fourth of the night for the Owls. Hazlehurst tacked on the extra-point to give the Owls a 34-0 advantage.

With a 34-point lead, the MUS coaches played the MUS reserves, and they gained valuable experience by playing in the third and fourth quarters.

The Kingsbury offense finally put up some points as freshman back Gabriel Hunter, who finished with 201 yards on 24 carries,  ran for scores of 18 and 89 yards in the final two quarters. The two Kingsbury scores ended the scoring for the game at 34-12.

Next week, the Owls look to conclude the regular season as they face off with local rival and conference opponent Briarcrest at 7:00 at Briarcrest. With some help, MUS can still get the top-seed in the Division II, AAA playoffs with a victory.

Owl Runners Finish Best in County

The Cross-Country Owls have been facing high expectations since the beginning of their season, and they met some of them last Tuesday, October 18, as they handled a strong field to win the Shelby-County League Championship, the first county title for the school since 1993. 

The Owls were prepared to face the best teams that the county has to offer from all divisions as they entered eight runners in the race at Shelby Farms. Of those eight, the team score would represent the best five times. Coming into last Tuesday’s competition, MUS runners were feeding off their previous big finishes at major races such as the Frank Horton at Shelby Farms and the Furman Invitational in South Carolina.

The Owls scored an amazing 37 total points, finishing ahead of county powerhouses Bolton by 7 points and Houston by 42. Five MUS runners placed in the top-14 of the race as the Owls battled well to claim a championship that has eluded them for some time. 

MUS hopes to use the momentum of this win to propel them at the Regional Championship, where they will look for the sixth-straight title. The Regional meet will be important since it is used as the qualifier for the State meet as the top-4 finishing teams advance.

The Regional Championship will be held October 27 at Shelby Farms.

Golfers Finish Third At State

The MUS varsity golf team claimed third at the 2005 Division II State Golf Tournament by shooting a team total of 602 over two days, 19 shots off the pace set by Baylor and Knoxville Webb.

At The Bear Trace Golf Course at Ross Creek Landing in Clinton, Tennessee, the Owls entered Day 2 in third, just seven strokes off the lead.  However, both Baylor and Webb pulled away from MUS on the second day as Baylor claimed the title in a playoff, their twelfth golf championship overall.

Senior Bobby Hudson, the defending individual state champion, finished fourth overall in 2005, shooting 69-76 (145) on the par-72 course. He finished ten strokes behind Baylor’s Harris English, the individual state champion.   

Senior Bowers Clement had a good tournament as he made a nice run on the second day, shooting par after his 74 on Day 1 to finish at 146 and claim fifth overall.

Rounding out the field for the Owls were junior Daniel Brown (76-77-153), senior Alex Snyder (78-80-158), and junior Adam Bomar, who followed up freshman Drew Frisby’s 81 on the first day with an 82 on Day 2. 

Congratulations to Coach Greg King and the golf team for their fine season, which included an 18-4 regular-season record and a regional championship.

Click here for complete state results.

Golfers In Third After Day 1 Of State Tourney

After Day 1 of the 2005 Division II State Golf Tournament at The Bear Trace Golf Course at Ross Creek Landing in Clifton, TN, the MUS varsity golf team is currently in third place, shooting a 297, seven strokes behind leader Knoxville Webb and six strokes behind defending champion Baylor.

Senior Bobby Hudson, the defending individual state champion, is tied for second overall, shooting a 69, two strokes behind Harris English of Baylor. 

Other Owl finishes after Day 1 include Bowers Clement (74), Daniel Brown (76), Alex Snyder (78), and Drew Frisby (81).

MUS players know that they have lower rounds in them and will look to challenge tomorrow as they go for their fifth overall state title. The first Owl to tee off tomorrow will be Frisby at 9:03 a.m.

For a complete list of Wednesday's tee times, click here.

Owl Runners Succeed on Road Trip

The MUS varsity cross-country squad went on their longest road trip of the season over the weekend, traveling to Greenville, South Carolina, to compete in the Furman Invitational, a race they had never run in before this year. 

The Owls went into the race with gained momentum from their first-place finish at the Frank Horton one week prior. Competing in this race for the first time meant a most unfamiliar field for MUS runners: out of the whole field, the Owls had competed against only Hoover (AL) and McCallie before last weekend. Runners in the race represented top teams from seven different southern states.

After two days of driving, the Owls ran very well Saturday, placing third as a team in the final standings. Donald McClure, Hunter Adams, and Ken Haltom helped MUS to success with their individual top-twenty finishes. The Owls were beaten only by Hoover and Boone (FL) as they ran well in preparation for the postseason.

The next challenge for the Owls will come at the County Championship Meet, to be held October 18 at Shelby Farms. This race is not separated by division but does serve as preparation for the divisional championship meets after it.

Owls Suffer First Loss Of Season

As one of the best high-school football rivalries in the city, the MUS-CBHS game is usually a close, hard-fought contest with many implications in the title race. In fact, coming into this game, the Owls held a 14-10 series lead but only a 15-point advantage in the total points scored in the series, 365-350. As with most great rivalries, these games usually come down to one or two critical plays that decide bragging rights.

The 2005 version of MUS-CBHS was no different.

For the first time this year, the Owls battled hard but came up short in a game that was nearly statistically even as CBHS was able to march down the field on the Owl defense late in the fourth quarter to win, 14-10.

On a chilly, breezy night, the Owls (7-1, 3-1) won the toss and elected to defend on the first drive. CBHS (7-1, 3-1) started off slowly as the MUS defense, which had allowed only 19 total points all season, forced CBHS to punt after just three plays.

Now with the ball at the MUS 44, the Owls proved that they were prepared for the Brothers. Using a balanced attack, they moved the ball 25 yards on 11 plays to the CBHS 31-yard line, but, following a roughing-the-kicker penalty, Chad Hazlehurst missed a 43-yarder as the Wave held.

But the MUS defense refused to give in. After the Owls had stopped the CBHS offense once again to give MUS excellent field position, they took advantage to set up Hazlehurst with a 46-yard try. This time, he connected, and MUS took a 3-0 lead with 1:51 remaining in the first quarter.

For most of the second quarter, both teams struggled offensively and could not muster any points.

However, with 3:00 remaining in the half, CBHS was able to capitalize on an interception thrown by QB Michael Park that gave the Wave the ball at the MUS 20-yard line. RB Henry Harris scored the lone touchdown of the half as he went in from 4 yards out to cap the 5-play, 20-yard drive. K Austin Cardosi tacked on the PAT to close the scoring for the first half.

Going to the break, both teams had played very well defensively as neither had gained more than 80 yards. MUS knew that they would have to play better offensively to win the game.

And they started strong. Just as it had in the first half, the MUS offense opened with a strong drive in the third quarter as they marched 80 yards on 10 plays for a score. The drive consisted of completions by Park of 13 yards to Drew Alston and 15 and 37 yards to Max Prokell to get deep into Wave territory. Once the Owls got close, Park sneaked in from 2 yards for the score. Hazlehurst tacked on the PAT to give the Owls a 10-7 lead

After the score, the MUS defense stepped up and held the Purple Wave to just 50 total yards in the third quarter and no points. But the Owls could not extend their slim lead.

The standoff continued for most of the fourth quarter as both teams continued to dominate defensively. However, with 3:00 left in the game, the Purple Wave stopped the Owls and began a drive at their own 18-yard line, needing to score to stay alive.

Behind the arm of backup QB Cannon Smith, who completed 9 of 14 passes to various CBHS receivers during the possession, the Wave moved the ball. Then, on the 14th play of the drive, Smith found Dejon Mack alone in the endzone from 19 yards out to put the Purple Wave ahead for good. Cardosi nailed the PAT to give the Wave the 14-10 lead with 0:46 remaining.

The Owls tried but did not have enough time to put together a drive, and for the first time in two years, they fell at home.

Despite the loss, MUS must find positives from the game. Remembering that they also lost a game last year at about the same point during the regular season should help them realize that their ultimate goal is not lost.

The Owls are off this week for Fall Break but will return to Hull-Dobbs on October 21 to battle Kingsbury in the final regular-season home game. Kickoff for the Homecoming tilt is set for 7:00 p.m.

Golfers Claim Another Regional Title

The MUS varsity golf team will be heading into state-tournament action with critical momentum as they easily claimed the Division II West Regional Tournament title, held yesterday at Orgill in Millington.

The Owls won their eleventh regional championship with surprising ease as they shot 292, besting ECS (305) and CBHS (307), two squads that had defeated MUS in the regular season.

Coach Greg King’s squad was led by medalist Bobby Hudson, who shot 68, a score that also earned him All-Tournament honors.  Senior Alex Synder (73), who finished fourth, and freshman Drew Frisby (75), who claimed fifth, also made the All-Tournament team. 

Rounding out the fine team effort were senior Bowers Clement (77) and junior Daniel Brown (80).

With an 18-4 regular season and the regional title, MUS will look to better their runner-up state finish from last season at the 2005 State Tournament, to be held October 18 and 19 at Ross Creek Landing in Clifton, TN.

Congratulations and good luck to these young men.

Cross Country Finishes First At Frank Horton

The MUS varsity cross-country team earned their first victory in an invitational this season at the Frank Horton Invitational, held last Saturday, October 1, after having finished second in their first two races, the Twilight Meet and the Tennessee Classic. 

The Frank Horton Invitational has become a tradition for MUS cross-country to compete in each year. Owl runners claimed second, third, and fourth as each of the top-3 ran under 16:05, and all MUS runners finished in the top-20, an outstanding team performance.  The Owls finished with 36 points, defeating Bolton (94), Bartlett (121), CBHS (147), and other teams.

Owl runners hope that this finish will give them the momentum they need for a long road trip to Greenville, South Carolina, as well as for the state meet, to be held November 5 in Nashville. In Greenville they will compete in the Furman Invitational Saturday morning, October 8.