MUS Sports News

Owls Stymie Kimbrow, Dominate in Homecoming Win

For those who came to Stokes Stadium last Friday night to see one of the best ground games in high-school football, they were not disappointed.  However, no one expected the back who would put up massive yardage not to be East’s Brian Kimbrow.

While the MUS defense held the nation’s leading rusher to only 38 yards, well below his 300+ yard average, junior RB Shane Tucker was the standout on this night, rushing for 181 yards on 24 carries and four touchdowns and catching 2 passes for 44 yards and another score. Tucker’s five total touchdowns ties a school mark set by Andy McCarroll, who rushed for five touchdowns in a 1985 win against Harding. With the help of Tucker and the defense, the Owls sent the Homecoming crowd home happy with their 41-0 blanking of previously-undefeated East.

Tucker showed from the outset that he was ready to take over the game. After his 30-yard return of the opening kickoff, he carried the ball on all six plays of the possession, finishing the drive with a 28-yard scoring run that capped the 59-yard drive that took up 2:39. Gary Wunderlich’s PAT gave MUS the 7-0 early lead.

From here, the Owls scored on every first-half possession but one as they controlled both lines of scrimmage and established themselves up front.

Tucker added a 31-yard scoring catch and run on a screen pass from Toby Baker to double the Owls’ advantage early in the second quarter.

Tucker would go on to add three more touchdowns, all on short runs (8, 5, and 2 yards), as he continued to run hard and find the holes created by the offensive line. And when an Owl drive was stopped midway through the second quarter, Wunderlich continued his outstanding year as he connected from 46-yards out for his third field goal of the season.

MUS totally dominated the first half in route to a 38-0 lead. They held the potent Mustangs, who were averaging 34.6 points per game coming into this tilt, to only 1 first down and 25 net yards. Kimbrow garnered only 18 yards on 10 carries in the first half, numbers well below his average.  And while the defense was playing well, the Owls moved the ball as they picked up 14 first downs and 198 yards rushing to help build the large lead.

With a running clock in the second half, MUS defenders continued to pressure the East offense as they stymied Kimbrow, a Vanderbilt commitment, and the other Mustangs. East’s deepest penetration of the evening came on their opening second-half drive as they moved to the MUS 14-yard line, but they got no closer as the Owl defense stopped them on fourth down when Matt Bolton intercepted an Eddie Harper pass in the endzone.

The only points of the half came on another Wunderlich field goal as the sophomore connected on a 23-yard kick to culminate the 8-play, 29-yard drive that followed an East turnover at the Mustang 35-yard line.

With the running clock, the half went quickly as many Owl reserves saw action and held the large lead.

Ultimately, East managed only 96 total yards, including only 38 from Kimbrow on 16 carries.  Meanwhile, MUS picked up 325 total yards and did not turn the ball over, mistakes which have plagued them in their losses.

With the win, MUS improves to 3-3 while East falls to 5-1.

Next week, the Owls open division play as they take on Christian Brothers. Kickoff at Stokes Stadium is set for 7:00 pm next Friday night. 

Owls Fall Late in Olive Branch

Despite leading by ten points heading into the fourth quarter in their contest against Olive Branch, the MUS varsity football team knew that they would need to score more points to defeat the Conquistadors because Olive Branch had an extremely potent offense. Unfortunately, the Owls could not put any more points on the scoreboard, and Olive Branch found a way back into the game as they used trick plays and a powerful passing attack to score two fourth-quarter touchdowns and overcome MUS, 21-17, last Friday night at Leslie Pool Field.

Olive Branch took an early lead as the Conquistadors’ playmakers shined. OB used 9 plays to travel 80 yards for the score as QB Todd Mays found standout receiver De’Arthur Cowan from 14-yards out for the score on the opening possession. John Pittman’s PAT was good, and the Owls had found themselves down before they even had the ball.

The MUS offense eventually answered the OB score early in the second quarter following a fourth-down stop at the MUS 32-yard line.

After an initial 18-yard pass from QB Toby Baker to WR Spencer Gruber, RB Shane Tucker took over. He rushed three times, including his third run, a 35-yard scoring gallop, as the Owls needed only 1:13. A mishandled snap prevented the visitors from tying the contest as they trailed 7-6 with 9:50 left in the first half.

After a series of turnovers, including LB Peyton Klawinski’s interception and 40-yard return into Conquistador territory, the Owl offense set out to take the lead.  MUS needed eight plays, but they accomplished their goal as Tucker scored his second touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run. Baker found Fernando Van Hook for the two-point conversion, so the Owls took a 14-7 lead into the break.

MUS added to that lead as Gary Wunderlich connected on a 43-yard field goal late in the third quarter to culminate a 9-play, 32-yard possession.

But the Owls could score no more and watched the hosts slowly gain control of the game.

First, after MUS had forced a 4th-and-6 from the OB 49-yard line, the Conquistadors lined up to punt, but Wynton McManis faked the punt and fired a pass to Cowan for a 51-yard touchdown. Pittman’s extra-point cut the lead to 3.

And then Olive Branch recovered an ensuing onside kick and had the ball near midfield, looking to take the lead. But just as the hosts seemed poised to take control, the Owl defense stepped up, and senior LB Heath Wilder intercepted Mays to end a scoring threat.

Unfortunately, with the ball at the Conquistador 32-yard line, MUS could not take advantage of the good field position as OB held the Owls on fourth down and took over with 7:22 at their own 22-yard line.

From there, Olive Branch methodically picked up five first downs as they slowly moved down the field. Then, after a OB timeout, the hosts faced a 2nd-and-goal at the MUS 7, and Mays hit slot receiver Jalen Miller for the touchdown with just 42 seconds remaining.  Pittman’s PAT gave OB the 21-17 lead. Their drive covered 78 yards on 15 plays and took up 6:40.

MUS attempted one final drive, but Baker was intercepted on a deep pass, and the Conquistadors took the win as they take a 3-2 lead in the overall series.

With the loss, MUS falls to 2-3, while Olive Branch improves to 4-0.

Next week is Homecoming at MUS. The Owls will take on East High School to culminate the alumni festivities. Kickoff is set for 7:00 pm at Stokes Stadium next Friday night. 

Owls Get Physical, Overpower Central

Behind a stifling defense that allowed only 163 total yards and a rushing attack that netted almost 200 yards, including 142 in the first half, the MUS varsity football team bounced back from last-week’s loss to South Panola with a businesslike 38-0 victory over a talented Central squad.

The Owls scored on their first four drives of the game as they established themselves early on the ground. The offensive line did a good job opening holes, and the starting backs, Fernando Van Hook and Shane Tucker, took advantage. Each scored in the first quarter as they ran hard inside and consistently got to the Central secondary.

Van Hook scored the team’s first touchdown on the opening possession as he went in from 5-yards out to culminate the 14-play, 62-yard drive that took up 6:10. Gary Wunderlich extended his school record for consecutive PAT’s with the extra point to give the Owls the 7-0 lead. On the drive, Van Hook had nine carries and even caught a pass for positive yardage.

Tucker scored his touchdown just 2:48 later. Following a short Central punt, Tucker broke off a 24-yard run to get the MUS close, and from the 4-yard line, he went into the endzone for the score. Wunderlich’s PAT doubled the Owls’ lead to 14-0 with 3:02 left in the first quarter.

On the ensuing Warrior possession, Central moved the ball and threatened to score following several Sammy Martin completions. They got as far as the MUS 10-yard line, but the Owls held on 4th-and-goal, and ultimately they were never threatened again defensively.

On the team’s next possession, sophomore Anthony Walton scored his second touchdown of the season as he had a 50-yard burst to complete the 6-play, 95-yard drive. Wunderlich again added the PAT.

And Van Hook completed the scoring in the half as he scored on a 1-yard run on the next drive as the Owls had complete control of the contest at the break.

In the second half, the MUS offense struggled early, but the defense never let Central get back into the game. The Owls mustered only 1 yard in the third quarter, but the solid defensive effort kept Central backed up and gave the offense short fields to work with. Wunderlich contributed the only points of the quarter as he connected on a 46-yard field goal, his first make in two opportunities this season.

The Owls finally broke the 35-point barrier and forced a running-clock situation when Lucas Crenshaw intercepted a Rod Richmond pass midway through the fourth quarter and took it back 34 yards for the touchdown. It was the sophomore’s first varsity interception, and the return ended the scoring at 38-0.

With the win, MUS improves to 2-2, while Central falls to 1-3.

Next week, the Owls make their second trip to Mississippi as they take on Olive Branch. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm against the Conquistadors.

Owls Fall In Batesville

Any time any high-school football team travels to Batesville, Mississippi, to play the South Panola Tigers, the 2010 USA Today national champions, the prospects of leaving with a victory are usually not very good.  In fact, MUS is the only team to defeat the Tigers in Batesville in the last ten years as they won, 21-19, in 2008. 

Last Friday night, the Owls returned to South Panola High School as they looked to repeat the success they had two years earlier. Despite having lost their season opener, MUS felt confident that they had a good game plan and could beat the Tigers if they avoided giving up big plays on defense and executed offensively.

Unfortunately, the Owls fought from behind from the outset and could never recover from some early long runs as they fell, 19-7, to see their record fall to 1-2.

Owl coaches came into the game confident that they had a good plan defensively to slow the powerful Tiger ground game. Consequently, they elected to defer after having won the opening coin flip as they hoped to pin the Tigers deep and establish themselves defensively.

However, the MUS defenders never saw the field as Tiger Antonio Conner took the opening kickoff and returned it 98 yards for the touchdown. Just 13 seconds into the contest, the visitors were down, 7-0, after Clayton Sibley’s extra-point.

The Owls tried to answer the intial score, but the South Panola defense showed just how powerful they are as their defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. MUS lost seven yards on their first two possessions and had to punt twice.

The Tigers (2-1) added to their lead late in the first quarter after having taken over at their own 9-yard line following Toby Baker’s second punt. The big play of the drive came again from Conner, who busted through the line for 53 yards and was ultimately pushed out of bounds by safety Alex Dale. From the MUS 32-yard line, Quandez Lee carried eight consecutive times to get down to the 1-yard line, and from there Conner completed the 12-play, 91-yard drive that amassed 5:40. Sibley missed the PAT, but the hosts had increased their advantage to 13-0 headed into the second quarter.

Ladarius Strong added a third touchdown early in the second quarter as he went in from 11-yards out to culminate the 7-play, 86-yard possession. Once again, a big run set the touchdown up as Lee broke free for 51 yards on 3rd-and-1 from the South Panola 35-yard line to get the Tigers close. Tevis Flowers’ two-point run failed, so with 7:25 remaining in the half, the hosts led, 19-0, and many of the home faithful expected the game to turn into a blow-out.

However, the Owls did not quit. Though they did not score in the first half and missed several key opportunities, the coaches felt if they could take advantage of missed opportunities in the second half, they could still get back into the game.

Unfortunately, dropped passes, missed blocks, and a blocked punt all plagued the Owls in the third quarter, but the defense kept the score at 19-0 as they bottled up the Tiger running game and allowed only three first downs and 32 yards in the third quarter.

MUS finally scored early in the fourth quarter as QB Jordan Rodgers found back Fernando Van Hook over the middle, and the junior eluded a Tiger defender and raced into the endzone for the 51-yard touchdown. Gary Wunderlich added the PAT to cut the lead to 19-7 with 7:23 remaining in the game.

But the Owls could not gain another yard the rest of the game as the South Panola defensive line, which included several college commitments, put continual pressure on Rodgers when he was forced to pass. Though the MUS defense held the Tigers to 54 total yards and no points in the second half, the South Panola defense was just too stingy to allow the visitors to get back into the game.

Next Friday night, MUS returns home as they take on Central. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm at Stokes Stadium.