Memphis University School - Owl Yearbook (Memphis, TN)

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o wis Fly Through District Prey Defense Key In Route To Playoffs Continuing with red hot intensity, MUS stomped Harding, its traditional Homecoming victim. A 73-yard Van Hoozer punt return helped propel the team to a 17-0 halftime lead. In the second half, McArtor hauled in a Hussey bomb for a score, while Hussey racked up another 6 points off a keeper. The Owls easily secured their second straight shutout 31-0. The defense overwhelmed the Lion offense; Harding gained only 43 yards rushing, fumbled twice, and punted 6 times. Both Skouteris and Stratton had over 15 tackles each. The Buzzards continued their win streak by trampling Briarcrest 42-0. During the first quarter, Hayles galloped 19 yards to give the squad a 7-0 lead. Girard caught a Briarcrest fumble and rambled 43 yards for a TD late in the second quarter. After halftime the Buzzards racked up 4 touchdowns: a 36-yard McDermott run, two TD ' s by Percer, and a 6-yard Philip Wunderlich run. The team played superbly on both sides of the ball; the offense gained 327 yards and 18 first downs, while the defense limited the (S)aints to 179 total yards and forced 3 fumbles. The team then traveled to the county to meets its final obstacle to the state playoffs: Covington. Hayles quickly put the Owls ahead 7-0 on a 19-yard dash. Before halftime, McArtor led a rush that blocked a Covington punt; Skouteris recovered the loose ball in the end zone. After a scoreless third quarter, the Chargers marched 78 yards for a TD, and they soon followed with another strong offensive drive. With the MUS crowd fervently cheering, the Buzzard defensive unit — led by Stratton and Skouteris — held Covington, which was later penalized 15 yards for dancing. After gaining possession, Hayles exploded 77 yards for the score; just minutes later, Ducklo darted 5 yards to score the team ' s fourth TD and seal Covington ' s fate 28-7. Behind the blocking o Marc Griffin (51), John Percer (44), and the rest of the offensive line, Thomas Hussey (12) rifles a 10-yard pass to Scott McArtor over the middle during the Briarcrest game. Thomas had an excellent year, as he completed 52 of 117 passes for 794 yards and 7 touchdowns. 98 Sports Hng excellent protection from his offensive line » Jefback Thomas Hussey has plenty of time to fHttOff pass off to one of his talented rece During the Harding game, Thomas ran for two touchdowns and passedfor another.

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c oach Rudolph Reaches 200th Win Owls Pounce On Eagles in District Opener The Owls, hosting perennial AA-power Brentwood the next week, faced a tough challenge. Brentwood quickly scored the first seven points. Just before the half, Ray Hayles darted 34 yards to paydirt and deadlocked the game. The third and most of the fourth quarter proved to be a defensive battle with neither side scoring. With just two minutes remaining, the Eagles recovered a fumble in the endzone to go ahead 14-7. While the crowd roared with enthusiasm, Hussey and company led an amazing offensive drive deep into Eagle territory. With time running out, Hussey finally connected with a diving McArtor on fourth down for what seemed to be a TD, but the referee ruled McArtor out-of-bounds. Brentwood then gained possession, securing a 14-7 win. MUS opened district play against a strong ECS squad. Hussey quickly put the Buzzards ahead 6-0 on a 12-yard keeper. The Eagles retaliated with a 40 yard FG and a 75-yard fumble return for a TD to take a halftime lead of 10-6. During the half, Coach Alston motivated the team: ECS doesn ' t deserve to win — they ' re an inferior team; we ' re simply beating ourselves. The Owls stormed out of the locker room, scoring twice in the third quarter (once on a Hayles run and once on a Hussey dive). Skouteris administered the coup de grace when he returned an interception 30 yards for the final score, sealing the Eagles ' fate 26-10. The Buzzard racked up an astounding 393 yards total offense, while the Eagles were limited to a mere 76 yards. In the second game of district warfare, a complacent MUS squad squared off against Bolton, a newcomer to district 15- AA. After a scoreless first quarter, Van Hoozer capped off a 78-yard drive by sprinting 35 yards to the sacred turf. The second half was dominated by both defenses until Bolton drove 80 yards to VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM: first row: Buck Dunavant (10), Thomas Hussey (12), David Philips (13), Coors Arthur (14), Scott McArtor (15), Edward Dobbs (16), Philip Wunderlich (20), Andrew McDermott (21), Dan McEwan (22), David Newman (23), Robert Higginbothom (25), Robert Ducklo (27), Jason Fair (28), Ray Hayles (30), Brandon McGrath (manager), second row; Coach Jake Rudolph, Coach Barry Ray, Matthew Crosby (31), Michael Skouteris (33), Andy Girard (34), Will Stratton (35), Chad Kelsey (36), Chris Howdeshell (37), Will Jones (40), Jon Van Hoozer (41), Swayne Latham (42), John Percer (44), Scott Peterson (50), Mark Griffin (51), Ceylon Blackwell (52), Brian Livingston (53), Richard Vining (manager), third row: Coach John Cady, Coach Bobby Alston, George Cornwell(55), Brad McCarley (56), Brian Eason (60), Marc Gurley (61), Holt Crews (62), Rob Edwards (63), Shannon Rhodes (64), Vere Jehl (65), Miles Fortas (66), Todd Keathley (67), Chett Cross (68), Chris Gossett (70), Douglas Gayden (71), Jeff Lewis (head manager), fourth row: Mark Fogelman (72), Horace Carter (73), David Willmott (74), Alan Davis (75), Philip McCaull (76), Pat Hopper (77), Patrick Burnett (78), John Roberts (79), Preston Dellinger (80), Darrin Gulla (81), Daniel Newton (83), Sam Ragsdale (84), Boyd Waller (85), Jonathon Rowe (88). score a TD late in the game. A two-point conversion gave the Bearcats a slim 8-7 victory. Eager for Coach Rudolph to gain his 200th victory, the squad ripped through Catholic like a tornado. In the first half, the offense put 16 points on the scoreboard. After halftime, the Buzzards added another 20 points, of which 6 came from a 55-yard run by Hayles, to lambast Catholic 36-0. The Owl defense, spearheaded by Stratton, Davis, and McDermott, overwhelmed the Charger offense and stopped it cold. After the game, the team showered Coach Rudolph with Pripps and then carried him off the field in celebration of his 200th victory. About to be tackled by a host of Brentwood Eagles, quarterback Jon Van Hoozer (41) prepares to option the ball to back John Percer (44). The option (called Texas 27-28 in the playbook) to both Percer and Hayles was one of the offense ' s most potent weapons. VARSITY FOOTBALL (8-4, 5-1) Ridgeway 37-0 Germantown 7-21 Brentwood Academy 7-14 ECS 26-10 Bolton 7-8 Catholic 36-0 Harding 31-0 Briarcrest 42-0 Covington 28-7 PLAYOFFS East 39-14 Milan 16-0 Brentwood Academy 13-34 Varsity Football 97

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Although this Briarcrest back (hough! there was an opening in the middle, linebacker Michael Skouteris (33), Andy Girard (34), and the rest of the Owl defense shove him for a loss. After a MUS touchdown in the ECS game, kicker Matthew Crosby nails the football through the uprights for another PAT. A versatile kicker, Matthew handled kicking not only points after touchdowns (he was 32 of 36 for the year) and field goals but also kickoffs. Filling in for the injured Ray Hayles, John Percer rushes toward the outside during the Milan game. Used extensively late in the season, John gained a total of 388 yards on 74 attempts. Varsity Football 99