No. 6 Myers Park strikes quickly in second quarter, routs Olympic 35-0
Despite a slow start, the Myers Park Mustangs scored three touchdowns in just over two minutes in the second quarter to break open a close game and shut out Olympic 35-0 in the season opener at Dave Johnson Stadium.
Quarterback Drake Maye struggled early in his first start, missing on five of his first six passes. But after recovering a fumbled punt near midfield and getting to the Olympic 11, Maye threw his first touchdown pass as a Mustang. He hit Andre Francois on a screen pass and Francois went 11 yards for a touchdown.
The game changed midway through the second quarter, as Myers Park pushed the lead to 14-0 on a Maye 10-yard scoring pass to Mushin Muhammad.
Tre Bly picked off a pass on Olympic’s next offensive play and returned it to the Trojans’ 38. Maye executed a perfect play fake and hit Francois down the left sideline for a score and 21-0 lead just 30 seconds after the Muhammad touchdown.
Olympic then fumbled on the second play of the next drive. Myers Park made them pay two plays later on a 4-yard touchdown run from Jatoine Fields, increasing the lead to 28-0, with the last 21 points coming in a span of 2:03.
Records: Myers Park is 1-0 and Olympic is 0-1.
Three who mattered
Drake Maye (Myers Park): He threw for 186 yards on 14-for-25 passing after a slow start. He was 1-for-6 to start the game for minus 2 yards.
Jatoine Fields (Myers Park): He ran for 105 yards and had a touchdown in his first game in almost two years after recovering from a serious knee injury
Andre Francois (Myers Park): He caught five passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
What’s Next: Myers Park will play host to Ardrey Kell next Friday while Olympic will travel to North Meck.
Worth mentioning
▪ With all the attention givenMyers Park’s offense, their defense controlled this game, allowing Olympic to rush for just 22 yards in the opening half and 80 for the game. They also forced six turnovers, scoring touchdowns off four of them.
▪ Myers Park head coach Scott Chadwick was pleased with Fields ... and not just because of his strong running that he felt changed the tone of the game. Fields hasn’t played a game in almost two years. This was his first game back after blowing out his knee early in his sophomore season.
▪ If there is a concern for Myers Park, it may be some special teams mistakes. The Mustangs had a punt blocked and gave up two kickoff returns of more than 40 yards. Another big return they gave up was called back for holding.
▪ Typical for an opening game, penalties were a problem for both sides. They combined for 23 flags thrown for a total of 190 yards – 80 for Myers Park and 110 for Olympic.
They said it: “We have a lot of things we need to clean up,” Chadwick said, “but I did see some glimpses of how good a football team this can be once we put it all together.”
What’s next: Myers Park will host Ardrey Kell while Olympic will travel to North Meck.
Myers Park 7 - 21 - 7 - 0 — 35
Olympic 0 - 0 - 0 - 0 — 0
Myers Park — Andre Francois 11 pass from Drake Maye (Matthew Dennis kick)
Myers Park — Mushin Muhammad 10 pass from Maye (Dennis kick)
Myers Park — Francois 38 pass from Maye (Dennis kick)
Myers Park — Jatoine Fields (Dennis kick)
Myers Park — Elijah Bowick 18 pass from Maye (Dennis kick)