Owls turn back Quistor rally

MUS stumbled over the finish line but held off old rival Olive Branch 35-30 at Stokes Stadium on Friday night.

“It was just a battle; everybody was tired and hot,” said MUS coach Bobby Alston. “Can’t say enough about the effort our players gave, and our coaches kept fighting. Just glad to get out of there with a win.”

The Owls’ explosive offense, led by junior running back Bradley Foley and senior Thomas Pickens, built a 35-17 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

However, Olive Branch outscored the Owls 13-0 in the fourth, and drove the ball to midfield on their final possession before time expired.

“We stopped the stuff we had worked on all week,” Alston said. “Then they went to another thing. We got a little antsy about it, but the offense made some plays.

“Bradley ran the ball well. Thomas made the plays he’s going to make for us. (Steven) Regis played well at quarterback.”

Pickens, who had 140 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns, said it was the “first real game they’ve had all season.” The Owls, ranked second in the Dandy Dozen, defeated their first two opponents, Central and Kingsbury, by a combined score of 87-7.

“OB is a rival of ours,” Pickens said. “Our coaches wanted to win. We wanted to win. It was just a battle.”

MUS gained more than 500 yards of offense (503). Junior running back Foley ran for 187 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.

Nine minutes into the first quarter, the game was scoreless. Then the two teams combined for three touchdowns in 57 seconds.

Pickens lined up at quarterback and ran it up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown to open the scoring. Olive Branch responded instantly as running back Demarcus Ware returned the kickoff 95 yards and tied the score at 7.

MUS completed the sequence, beginning with a 79-yard pass from junior quarterback Regis, who threw for 320 yards and a touchdown, to Pickens. That gain set up Pickens’ second 1-yard rushing touchdown of the game and a 14-7 lead for MUS. The lead was one that the Owls would not give up.

Olive Branch running back Tarik Travis had two touchdowns and 79 yards on 19 carries, and senior quarterback Brady Burse went 13 for 22 for 213 yards and threw for one touchdown. The Conquistadors finished with 328 yards of total offense.

This Friday, Olive Branch will travel to the Fairgrounds to face White Station.

MUS will travel to Mississippi to take on Grenada.