5 takeaways from Week 9 of high school football
1. MUS and Christian Brothers are the top teams in DII-AAA West
Friday night revealed in convincing fashion who the top two teams in DIIAAA West are. MUS (7-0, 2-0) shutout Briarcrest (5-3, 0-2) 38-0, and Christian Brothers (7-1, 2-0) steamrolled St. Benedict (6-2, 0-2) 42-7. By halftime, the Owls and Purple Wave led their games a combined 70-7. LSU commitment Maurice Hampton had six catches for 72 yards and a touchdown for MUS in addition to an 87 yard punt return for a touchdown. Owen Brody was 11-16 passing for Christian Brothers, and completed passes to seven different receivers. MUS and Christian Brothers will meet on Oct. 26 at CBHS. The game will be the regular season-finale for both schools.
2. Olive Branch suffers first loss
Previously undefeated Olive Branch (7-1) suffered its first loss at home against West Point (7-1) in a 34-33 contest. Dakota Braswell had 102 yards rushing, Cole Cattledge was 11-16 passing with two TDs, and Josh Stevenson hauled in 6 catches for 92 yards but it was not enough for the Conquistadors to overcome the Green Wave. Olive Branch will host Lake Cormorant (5-3) next week.
3. Horn Lake escapes with a close win
Horn Lake (8-0) pulled out a tough 2817 road win over Oxford (6-2). Oxford jumped out to a 17-7 halftime lead, but the Horn Lake defense maintained a shutout the rest of the way while the offense put up 21 second half points. Horn Lake's next match-up will be at home against Hernando (3-5).
4. Fayette Academy bounces back
Fayette Academy (7-1, 4-1 DII-A) bounced back strongly from last week's loss to Davidson Academy by beating Tipton-Rosemark (4-4, 2-3) 35-0. Fayette Academy and Davidson Academy are the only teams in the region with less than three losses. With only games against Rossville Christian (1-5) and Jackson Christian (4-4) remaining, Fayette Academy is in position to earn a strong playoff seed.
5. MASE improves to 6-2
MASE (6-2, 4-1 8-1A) won a close 13-12 contest against Oakhaven (2-6, 1-4). MASE now has the best overall record in its region and is tied with Hillcrest (4-4, 4-1) for second-best region record. MASE is now 3-0 after its blowout loss to Tipton-Rosemark on Sept. 21 and will face region-leading Freedom Prep (5-3, 5-0) on the road this week.