Ridgeway Recap

After tough losses to two of the best teams in the state the last two weeks, the varsity Owls got untracked and played well in all three phases to dominate neighborhood rival Ridgeway, 49-0, and win their ninth straight homecoming game.
Junior RB Jackson Hood had a breakout game, scoring 3 touchdowns, all in the first half, as the Owls built a quick lead. In fact, MUS scored on every first-half possession as it led, 42-0, at the break. Hood scored the first two touchdowns on runs of 13 and 3 yards. Then, after a long Brady Hughes-to-John Painter pass to end the first quarter, Hughes found Jacob Wade on a back-shoulder throw from the Ridgeway 1-yard line for the third score of the game. At that point, the defense wanted to get in on the scoring fest, and junior CB Gavin Gatere obliged as he intercepted a Roadrunner pass and returned it 40 yards for the touchdown.
On the next Ridgeway possession, George Steffens blocked a punt to give his team great field position, and just 3 plays later, Hood added his third score of the game, another 3-yard run, to increase the lead to 35-0 after the Joshua Wittber PAT.
The Owls immediately forced another Ridgeway punt on the next possession, and taking over at the Roadrunner 26, the hosts didn’t need long to score again. On just the third play of the drive, Gatere scored his second touchdown, a 17-yard gallop, as the Owls took the 6-touchdown lead into the half.
With a running clock throughout the second half, the game moved along quickly. MUS added one more touchdown early in the fourth quarter as LB Austin Spence intercepted a pass and returned it 15 yards for the touchdown. Jacob Stalls’s PAT ended the scoring at 49-0.
The defense played well, limiting Ridgeway to -14 yards rushing and only 51 yards passing. They forced two turnovers and returned both for touchdowns. And they held the visitors to only 5 first down, two of which were earned via penalty.
With his 3-touchdown performance, the first since Brandon Nicholson scored 3 last season against Knoxville Catholic, Hood was named the Mercury Offensive Player of the Week. He joins Gatere, who was named both Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week for his one offensive and one defensive touchdown. Also, Reid McKnett was named the Mercury Defensive Player of the Week after he notched 2 tackles for loss for 9 yards, 1 sack for 8 yards, and 2 quarterback hurries. And the Buzzard Player of the Week was Roland Starrett.
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