OB makes clutch plays to stop pass-happy East

Saturday, August 22, 2009

(3) Olive Branch 23, (10) East 14

A young Olive Branch squad, with a two-quarterback offense, jumped to a 23-8 halftime lead and then had to hold on through a sloppy second half to hold off visiting East and flashy Jaszy Parker, 23-14, in Friday night's season opener.

Keshun Shipp ran 15 yards for a touchdown barely two minutes into the season for the Conquistadors. And after Parker countered with a quick score, Olive Branch controlled much of the half. Kicker Taylor Earhart dropped a 49-yard field goal just inside the uprights late in the first quarter. Sophomore running quarterback Todd Mays and senior passing QB Bryan Steele (4-of-10, 96 yards) each had short TD runs in the second.

Shipp had 101 yards on 10 carries while Mays added 50. The Quistors gained 287 yards on the night, 184 on the ground.

But there were snafus all night long for an Olive Branch team that has only 11 seniors, especially on shotgun snaps. One led to an East safety late in the second quarter as an exchange sailed over Steele's head and he had to kick it out of the end zone.

In the second half, Parker worked his magic to get the Mustangs into Olive Branch territory several times. But he was intercepted once, sacked five times and East only managed one touchdown on a 20-yard keeper by Parker, the Mustang senior all-everything, eight seconds into the period.

Despite the constant pressure, Parker shredded the Olive Branch defense for 279 yards on 24-of-43 passing. Brandon Barron caught six balls for 99 yards. On the night, East had 354 total yards.

Still, Adrian Brown came up big, defensing four passes while John Johnson had the pickoff for the Quistors.

Senior Jamison Knox had an interception for East, which had won the last two times the schools played in 1999 and 2000.

Penalties were a problem on both sides, with East getting flagged for 10 penalties for 75 yards and Olive Branch six for 51.