The varsity football Owls suffered their first loss of the season last Friday night, falling in the region opener to Lipscomb Academy, 49-24, before a hyped crowd at Stokes-Alston Stadium.
The visitors won the toss and elected to take the ball, and they took advantage, mainly through the air. Connecting on several 3rd and longs, the Mustangs got close, and Zekharyah Crockett scored from 5 yards out on a toss sweep to give the Lipscomb Academy the 7-0 lead just 4:29 into the game. The drive took up 11 plays and amassed 80 yards.
But the Owls needed only one play to even the game. Senior RB Gavin Gatere went through the right side of the line and outran the Mustang secondary for an 81-yard touchdown run, the longest of his career. Joshua Wittber's PAT was good, tying the score at 7 with 7:13 left in the first quarter.
The Owls got the ball back quickly after Austin Spence had sacked the Mustang quarterback for a 16-yard loss on 3rd and 1, and following the punt, the hosts started at midfield.
Several nice runs by senior QB Maddox Giel got the Owls close, but facing 4th and 2 from the Lipscomb 21, Wittber was called out, and his 38-yard field-goal attempt was true, giving MUS the 10-7 lead heading to quarter two.
The quarter started well for the Owls as the defense forced a fumble when Sam Galler dislodged the ball from Jaxon Spencer, and Caleb Loudenbeck recovered the fumble and returned it 27 yards to the MUS 49. But the Owls could not take advantage and ultimately had to punt.
And from here, the Mustangs dominated the rest of the second quarter, scoring on three plays of 60 yards or longer. First, Cam Fowler caught a JC White pass and raced into the endzone from 80-yards out to give Lipscomb the 14-10 lead.
Then, after another MUS punt, White hit Kobe Grigsby for a 60-yard touchdown pass, giving the visitors a 21-10 lead with 4:05 left. And after another punt following an Owl 3-and-out, Lipscomb struck again, this time on special teams as Cam Blivens took the punt and outran the MUS coverage team for a 68-yard punt-return touchdown. The Mustangs led at the break, 28-10.
Coming out in the second half, the Owls put together a good drive, gaining two first downs to get into Lipscomb territory, but they ultimately had to punt. Wittber's kick was downed at the Mustang 6-yard line. But Lipscomb needed only one play as Crockett scored again, this time on a 94-yard run, to increase the advantage to 35-10 with 8:56 left in the third quarter.
The Owls did answer on the ensuing drive as they picked up four first downs to get close. Price Renovich hit Foster Flaherty on passes of 20 yards, 5 yards, and 7 yards to get to the Lipscomb 13, and from there, Renovich scrambled into the endzone for the touchdown. Wittber's PAT cut the gap to 35-17 with 5:40 left in the third quarter.
But the Owls had no answer for the athletes at Lipscomb as the Mustangs put together a good drive, picking up big chunks of yardage through the air. Ultimately, White hit Blivens for a 6-yard scoring toss to complete the 9-play, 79-yard drive that amassed 4:40. Lipscomb led, 42-17, going into the fourth stanza.
From here, each team scored one touchdown. The Owls scored quickly on their next drive as Renovich hit passes of 33 and 9 yards to Palmer Albertine, and then a 16-yard rush got the ball to the Mustang 21. From there, John Painter hauled in a 21-yard Renovich pass for the touchdown, his first touchdown reception of the season. Wittber's extra point made the score 42-24 with 11:10 left in the game.
But Lipscomb answered on the ensuing kickoff as Tripp Naiman took the kick 83 yards for the score, capping a dominant night for the visitors from Nashville.
The Mustangs take the first game in the series against the Owls and start region play at 1-0, and the Owls fall to 3-1, 0-1.
