MUS Sports News

Florida Power Stops Owls

In its first game outside of Tennessee in almost seven years, the varsity football team found out just how good a high-school team can be as they were handled by Nease (FL) High School, 34-3, in the Bill Bates Classic in Jacksonville, Florida, last Saturday.

The MUS offense was stiffled most of the game by the aggressive, blitzing Nease defenders as the Owls accumulated only 9 first downs and 157 yards of total offense. They drove past midfield only twice and converted only two of thirteen third-down opportunities.

But much of the credit for the offensive ineffectiveness of the Owls (1-1) should go to the Panthers (1-0), the defending Florida 4-A state champions. They continually pressured QB Michael Park, who finished 8-20 for 93 yards, and their size and aggression bothered the MUS receivers.

Yet the game remained close early on.

The Panthers led only 14-0 at the half as they took advantage of MUS miscues.

First,standout Kyle Timpane made the most of an unusual play as he snatched a ball kicked off the ground after a low punt snap to Drew Alston and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. Allen Schaefer added the PAT for the 7-0 lead.

Then, just five minutes later, Nease struck again as the Owls gave up large chunks of yardage. Taking over at their own 16, the Panthers needed only 5 plays to score as QB Ted Stachitas hit Quinton Huggins, and the speedy receiver darted the 42 yards for the score. Schaefer's extra-point doubled the lead.

But that was all the scoring of the half as the MUS defense played better, allowing only 42 yards from the 2:30 mark of the first quarter to the half. Yet MUS could never find any offensive momentum.

Halftime gave the Owls hope that they could get back into the game as they were able to recuperate some from the brutal humidity on this muggy day. They would also get the ball to begin the second half, so they looked forward to the opportunity.

But a bad snap in Nease territory squelched the opening drive and all but ended the Owls' hopes of winning as the Panthers took advantage to score.

Following the turnover, Nick Tronti's 7-yard run culminated the 9-play, 55-yard drive, amassing approximately 2:30. Schaefer's missed PAT kept the score at 20-0.

Nease would score two more touchdowns in the second half. First, Chris Johnson's 8-yard run late in the third quarter ended an 83-yard drive, and then Stachitas' 28-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter increased the lead to 34 as the rout was on.

But the Owls refused to quit as they took advantage of a Nease turnover late in the game.

Following Ian Thomas' fumble recovery at the Nease 21, MUS could get only to the 12 before stalling. Taking the sure points, Zach Scott connected on the 29-yard field goal to complete the scoring.

The Owls hope to learn from this unique experience and improve. Though they did not win, they played one of the best teams in the nation and know what it takes to reach that level.

MUS does not get much time to rest as they return to action this Friday night in the home opener. Though the new stadium will not be completed, fans will get a glimpse of how impressive the structure will be as the Owls take on rival MBA (2-0). Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.

Owls Win Late-Night Opener at Bridges

In one of the most anticipated Memphis high-school games in recent years, the MUS varsity football team defeated the tradition-rich Melrose Golden Wildcats in the feature game of the Bridges Kickoff Classic, 17-14, on Saturday night at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

In a defensive battle filled with penalties and turnovers, the Owls (1-0), ranked #1 by the Commercial Appeal, proved to be much more disciplined than the #2-ranked Golden Wildcats (0-1).

MUS looked stout defensively from the very start as they forced Melrose to a three-and-out on their first drive. On the Melrose punt-attempt from their own 22-yard line, junior Patrick Boyer, playing in his first varsity game, was able to get past the large Melrose line and recover punter Cortez Walton's fumble at the Melrose 8-yard line.

However, MUS could not turn the great field position into a touchdown as the talented Melrose defense forced MUS into kicking a field goal from the 5-yard line. Zach Scott nailed the 22-yarder to give the Owls a 3-0 lead with 8:04 left in the first quarter.

On Melrose’s next drive, the Wildcats were a little bit more successful moving the ball, yet Boyer once again made a big play as he picked off QB Courtney Madison's pass at the MUS 41-yard line and returned it to the MUS 49.

This time, the Owls would convert the takeaway into a touchdown.

Using a balanced offensive attack of completions from QB Michael Park and nice runs from RBs Chase Moore and Walt Wepfer, the Owls moved the ball to the Melrose 3-yard line. From there, Park needed only two sneaks to get into the end zone for the score. Scott missed the PAT as the score stood at 9-0 with 2:40 left in the first quarter.

For much of the second quarter, neither team could muster much offensively as penalties and turnovers halted drives. But Melrose demonstrated why they were picked #2 in the city on their final drive of the half.

Behind backup quarterback TraMarcus Toney, a sophomore, the Golden Wildcats moved the ball 85 yards on seven plays before a 10-yard touchdown strike from Toney to Justin Stone with :07 left in the half. Toney would also make the PAT to make the score 9-7 heading into halftime.

With all the momentum on their side, the Wildcats came out and dominated defensively in the third quarter.

On MUS’s first drive, Wildcat William Carter intercepted Park at the MUS 42-yard line on only the third play of the half.

But the MUS defense also rose up and made a key stop on fourth-and-three on their own 10-yard line to stop a Melrose drive.

For the rest of the third quarter neither team could put together a meaningful drive offensively, and the score stood at 9-7.

But Melrose would finally put together another good drive to start the fourth quarter.

Toney completed passes of 14 and 8 yards to move the ball to the MUS 17-yard line. After a crucial penalty had taken away a Boyer interception and moved the ball to the 7-yard line, Melrose RB Christopher Nash showed his great quickness and scored to give the Wildcats the lead for the first time. Toney’s PAT was good to give Melrose a 14-9 lead with 9:59 remaining in the game.

But the Golden-Wildcat score did not rattle the Owls. Just as MUS proved the last two seasons en route to back-to-back state titles, the Owls know how to come from behind for a victory.

With good field position after a Miles-Bryant 27-yard kickoff return to the MUS 38-yard line, the Owls got started.

After having garnered their first first down of the half on a crucial third-down 9-yard pass from Park to WR Stephen Bowie, MUS was halted on its next three offensive plays and was left with a fourth-and-three on the Golden Wildcat 42-yard line.

Going for the first down, Park continued the drive as he scrambled for 4 yards on an option run and a first down. 

Finally in Melrose territory, MUS would pound the ball, moving it 34 yards on 6 rushes to the 3-yard line. From there, Park needed two QB sneaks to score with 3:02 left on the clock. Park would also convert the two-point conversion to give the Owls a 17-14 lead.

But Melrose didn’t quit.

Justin Holloway had returned the kickoff 84 yards before sophomore Barry Hillyer made a game-saving tackle at the MUS 15-yard line. With the end zone and a win in sight, Melrose again hurt themselves with three penalties that set up a fourth-and-26. On the fourth-down play, John Stokes tackled the receiver before he could gain the first down, giving the Owls the ball and the victory with :10 left.

Although MUS was outplayed for a long stretch of the game, they ultimately won because of discipline as they committed only 4 penalties, compared to Melrose’s 15 for 100 yards.

With the win, MUS won their third consecutive Bridges Kickoff Classic and their 23rd game out of their last 25.

Next week, the Owls travel to powerhouse Nease (FL) for the Bill Bates Charity Classic at the University of North Florida.  Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m. CST.

State Champs Begin Fall Practice

The varsity football team began official practice this past Monday in preparation for their August 19 opener against powerhouse Melrose and the rest of the 2006 season. 

Facing perhaps the most competitive schedule in school history, the Owls look forward to the challenge as they begin work.

With thirty senior players and two senior managers entering their final season, the entire team and staff are eagerly looking forward to defending their past two state titles. 

Good luck to the Owls in their preseason preparation.

Football Team Repeats As State Champs!

On a cold November night in Murfreesboro, the MUS varsity football team drove 86 yards in under four minutes to score and overcome a three-point deficit as the Owls claimed their third overall state title with a 31-27 exciting victory over Christian Brothers in the Blue Cross Bowl On Saturday, November 19. The victory not only avenged the previous heartbreaking loss to CBHS, but more importantly claimed for the Owls their second consecutive state title, an unprecedented feat for the school. 

The win culminated an outstanding season that saw MUS finish 11-1 for the second straight year and rouse the school community, from students to alumni, as school spirit continued to stay extremely high.

Heading into the game, coaches from both evenly-matched squads knew that the team that made the fewer mistakes would probably be the one to take home the trophy, and early on, Owl mishaps cost them dearly.

MUS started off slowly as the Purple Wave (10-2) showed that they were prepared for the vaunted Owl defense, which had not allowed any team to score more than 17 points all season.

Taking the opening kickoff, the Brothers gave it to their star running back, Mr. Football finalist Henry Harris, early and often, and he delivered. Harris accumulated 69 rushing yards on the initial drive as the Owls had difficulty bringing the elusive back down on the fast Middle-Tennessee-State-University turf. Breaking tackles throughout the possession, he ultimately culminated the 8-play, 74-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge to give the Purple Wave a 6-0 advantage. However, Austin Cardosi’s PAT was blocked by senior safety Donnie Malmo, keeping the deficit at six.

Needing to answer, the Owl offense showed they were just as prepared for the fine CBHS defense by reeling off an impressive 12-play, 80-yard drive. Using a steady combination of runs from sophomore Tyler Massey and completions from junior QB Michael Park, MUS moved the ball to the CBHS 3-yard line. From there, Massey, who tallied 61 rushing yards on 14 carries for the game, scored from 3 yards out to even the score. Chad Hazlehurst tacked on the PAT to give the Owls a 7-6 advantage with 2:50 remaining in the first quarter.

And the surprising first-half scoring fest had started.

CBHS came back with another score of their own as they reeled off a 9-play, 80-yard drive, capped off by a John Michael Skinner-to-Dejon Mack 23-yard touchdown pass. Skinner connected with Mack once again for a two-point conversion to give the Wave a 14-7 advantage with 10:40 left in the half.

MUS responded nicely once again. Facing a 3rd-and-10 from their own 35-yard line, Park hit Massey across the middle of the field, and Massey was able to shake defenders and rumble 65 yards to the CBHS 1-yard line. But from there, the Owls could not capitalize as penalties and other mistakes kept MUS out of the endzone. Having to settle for a  field-goal attempt, Hazlehurst connected from 21-yards out to end the 10-play, 76-yard drive and cut the deficit to 14-10 with 4:57 remaining in the half.

The Owl offense was not on the sideline for long after the field goal.

On the ensuing kickoff, CBHS’ Bevin Carpenter could not handle the kick, and MUS pounced on the muff to give the Owls great field position at the CBHS 17-yard line. From there, MUS was able to move the ball to the CBHS 2-yard line where Park sneaked in to put the Owls back on top. Hazlehurst’s extra-point gave the Owls a 17-14 lead to close the scoring for the wild first half.

At the half, the stat sheet revealed that what should have been a defensive showdown between two of the best defenses in the state had turned into a game for the offenses to shine. Both teams had accumulated 345 total net yards, just 50 yards off the total that both teams had amassed in their regular-season matchup.

With the lead and the ball to start the second half, the Owls looked to put some distance between themselves and the Wave, but CBHS would not allow it.

After CBHS had forced MUS to punt for only the second time of the night, the Purple Wave, starting at their own 32-yard line, went on a 5-play, 68-yard drive for another score. Using a 49-yard connection from Skinner to Desmond Roberts, CBHS moved the ball to the MUS 4-yard line. From there, Harris sprinted in for his second score of the night. Cardosi’s PAT was good to give the Wave a 21-17 lead with 9:38 remaining in the third.

But this time, the Owls had no answer to the score as they were forced to punt on their next two possessions, and CBHS took advantage. 

Following Drew Alston’s third punt of the half, a 40-yarder, the Wave went on yet another impressive drive, keeping the MUS defense off balance. Behind a strong rushing attack, CBHS moved the ball 62-yards to the MUS 1-yard line, where Skinner sneaked in to extend CBHS’s lead. Cardosi could not add the PAT, and the score remained 27-17 with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter.

After having been dominated for most of the third quarter, the Owls finally showed life as the quarter closed.

Using a balanced attack, MUS moved the ball into CBHS territory and were faced with a key 3rd-and-2. On that down, the MUS coaches showed their creativity to get the offense jump-started. Taking the snap, Park threw a lateral to the far sideline to Massey, who then lateraled back to Park. Park, looking as if he were going to run, then lured the defense up and rainbowed a pass to a wide-open Stephen Bowie in the end zone. Hazlehurst tacked on the PAT to cut the deficit to 27-24 with 11:19 remaining in the game.

Then, the defense needed to do its job to give the Owls a chance, and as they had all year, they stepped up and succeeded.

After CBHS had moved the ball to the MUS 15-yard line with a time-consuming drive, MUS were facing a critical situation as the Wave looked to put the game away. But Ben Stallworth intercepted a third-down, tipped pass from Skinner to give the ball back to the offense and give the Owls a chance at victory.

That interception set up the drama that followed as MUS had just under four minutes to go 86 yards and avenge what had happened to them just six weeks earlier against the Wave. With a crazed student section behind them, the MUS offense put together the magical drive.

Taking advantage of some costly Wave errors, including three CBHS penalties, the Owls converted two crucial fourth downs to keep the possession alive. Then, on the sixteenth play of the drive, Park, who was named the offensive MVP, hit his favorite target, senior Max Prokell, on a slant from 9 yards out to score and send the team, coaches, and fans into an uproar. The CBHS defense now knew exactly what the Owls had tasted in mid-October on Hull-Dobbs Field.   

Like any valiant team, the Wave tried to come back in the final 43 seconds, but defensive MVP Stallworth ended their hopes with another interception as time elapsed, sending the team into pandemonium.

With the win, MUS finishes at 11-1 for the second consecutive year and becomes only the second "Super 7" team to win back-to-back state titles since the league started in 1997, MBA being the other.   

Owls Return to State-Title Game

With the opportunity to accomplish something never done before in school history – playing in consecutive football state-title games – the varsity football team took advantage of the occasion and played just well enough to defeat the Baylor School, 24-17, last Friday night at Hull-Dobbs in the Division II, AAA state semifinals. With the win, the Owls advance to their second consecutive championship game, called the Blue Cross Bowl, on Saturday, November 19, in Murfreesboro.

MUS began very well following the opening kickoff. 

After a defensive stand, the Owls (10-1) forced a punt by Baylor (7-5) that gave MUS good field position. Then, from their own 46, the Owls used a 20-yard completion from QB Michael Park to WR Stephen Bowie and a strong rushing attack to advance the ball to the Raiders 15-yard line. From there, Park, who finished with 185 passing yards and 48 rushing yards, scrambled in behind an array of huge blocks to score, culminating the 7-play drive. Chad Hazlehurst tacked on the PAT to give the hosts the 7-0 lead only 4:58 into the game.

However, the bigger Baylor team proved that they were ready for the Owls by responding with an 8-play, 80-yard scoring drive of their own.

QB Cody Romans completed passes of 23 and 12 yards, and RB Kevin Cooper dashed for two 16-yard runs to get deep into Owl territory. From the 9-yard line, Romans found Sidney Tarver in the corner of the end zone for their first score of the game. Devin Mathis’s extra-point was good to even the score at 7.

The MUS offense responded with a nice scoring drive of their own.

Using a balanced attack, MUS converted five first downs to move into the Baylor territory. Then, after Whit Cox had moved the Owls to the Baylor 1-yard line, Park sneaked in from there for his second rushing score of the night. Hazlehurst tacked on the PAT to give the Owls a 14-7 lead to close an 11-play, 80-yard drive that ended the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the surprising scoring fest continued as Baylor answered the Owls’ score.

Taking over at their own 20, the Red Raiders went 80 yards on 10 plays, culminated by Cooper’s 1-yard scoring plunge with 8:42 remaining in the half.  Mathis tacked on the extra point to tie the game again at 14-14.

But then the defenses began to settle down and started to contain the offenses.

First, Baylor slowed down the Owls and forced a Drew-Alston punt, giving the Red Raiders good field position at their own 40-yard line. From there, Romans led the offense to the Owls 17-yard line, but the staunch MUS defense, which surprisingly had been kept off balance all night, stepped up and forced a Baylor field-goal attempt.  Mathis nailed the 34-yarder to cap off a 13-play, 43-yard drive and give the Red Raiders a 17-14 advantage.

Knowing that the offense needed momentum heading into halftime, Park completed passes of 19, 28, 11, and 20 yards on the ensuing drive to put the Owls into field-goal position. Then, as the half expired, Hazlehurst nailed a 39-yarder that would have been good from 45 yards to even the score at 17-17.

Heading into halftime, the Owls knew that they had to improve defensively, having given up 213 first-half yards, in order to return to the state-championship game. Baylor’s 17 points were more than the defense had given up all year in any game, and Roman’s 78% completion rate was much too high for Coach Bubba Burr and the defensive coaches.

And as they have all year, the MUS defense responded.

After having been forced to punt on their opening drive of the half, the Owls stepped up strongly on defense by forcing a huge turnover. After Romans and Cooper had moved the ball into Owl territory, the MUS defense had had enough as senior Donnie Malmo, playing in his last home game, came up with an amazing jump-ball interception that made the home crowd roar.

With all the momentum resulting from the Malmo interception, the offense was able to move the ball 93 yards on 13 plays and score as Park tallied his third rushing score of the night, this time on a 1-yard sneak, with 2:20 left in the quarter. Hazlehurst’s PAT was good to give the Owls a 24-17 advantage.

The score proved to be enough as the defense became very salty and never gave Baylor another chance. Romans tried to keep the visitors in the game with his arm, but he could rarely escape the staunch defensive front of MUS, lead by senior and Mr. Football finalist Mason George, senior Andrew Cabigao, and junior Buck Towner. The Owl defense held the Red Raiders to only 56 total yards, and the offense refused to turn the ball over and give the Raiders momentum.

As time expired, almost all of the student body rushed onto the field to greet the victorious Owls and congratulate them on the great win as both team and fans were responsible for this great win and the success of the season.

In the Blue Cross Bowl, the Owls face cross-town rival CBHS, the lone team to beat the Owls this season. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at MTSU.

George Named Mr. Football Finalist

Senior noseguard Mason George was named a finalist for the 2005 American General Mr. Football Award as the Division II, AAA Lineman of the Year in an announcement made Thursday, November 10, in Nashville. 

George, one of three team captains who leads the squad in sacks with 13 and tackles-for-loss with 20 and has recorded 58 total tackles, currently fourth on the team, anchors a defense that allows only 6.5 points per game.

His dominant season has helped the Owls advance to the Blue Cross Bowl as they will battle rival Christian Brothers Saturday, November 19, in Murfreesboro.

George joins Jacques McClendon of Baylor and Chris Mosby of Christian Brothers as finalists for this prestigious award, to be presented at a luncheon at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville on November 28.

Read the TSSAA press release here on George's outstanding honor.

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.

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.

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.

Pickens named Defensive Player of the Week

Will Pickens, senior linebacker and one of three team captains for the undefeated MUS varsity football team, was named as the Defensive Player of the Week by The Commercial Appeal for his outstanding play against rival Brentwood Academy.  Click here to read about his performance and recognition.