Conquistadors Celebrate 80th Anniversary
by Jamie Mercer/The Tribune
After months of preparation, planning and anticipation, the 80th anniversary edition of the Olive Branch Conquistador football team took to Pool Field last Friday night to host the visiting Memphis Kingsbury Falcons. The game brought smiles to the Quistor faithful as first-year head coach Scott Samsel directed the team to a 35-18 victory. "There were some good things and also some not-so-good things," Samsel observed. "We showed some improvement from the jamboree, but we're still not real consistent." Olive Branch defeated Shannon, 7-6, on Aug. 19 in the University of Mississippi's Preseason Jamboree in Oxford. "Right now it's a ton of little things," Samsel said. "I want to see us do better." On three separate occasions Friday night, the Quistors chose not to punt on fourth down. While Olive Branch went three-for-three on these plays - two going for touchdowns while the third set the team up with a first down inside the Falcons' 10 - the former OBHS quarterback still saw room for improvement. "We can't live like that," Samsel said. "We've got to avoid putting ourselves in those kinds of situations. "Several times we had negative yardage, breakdowns in protection and penalties," he continued. "You can't expect to always overcome those things; they're drive killers." Olive Branch racked up 206 total yards while allowing Kingsbury 187. The Quistors had 54 rushing yards on 25 carries, led by Demantanise Hill and Antwon Peterson, who contributed 42 and 33 yards, respectively. D.J. Dodson (three receptions for 51 yards and two touchdowns), Tramain Hubbard (two receptions for 50 yards and one touchdown) and Hill (three receptions for 38 yards) led the OBHS receiving department. Conquistador quarterback Cannon Smith, a senior, connected on nine-of-15 passes for 152 yards and three scores. "Cannon had a good ballgame," Samsel observed. "In our offense we're wanting to be balanced, and the quarterback position is the key. "With what we're trying to do offensively, if you haven't got a good quarterback you aren't going to be effective," he added. Samsel also singled out Hill's numbers, which included a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The overall running game, however, needs some improvement. "We're looking for more consistency with our running backs," he noted. "Demantanise ran the ball hard, but we need more production from our wings." Defensively, Samsel said the unit is playing better than it did in Oxford. "I think we've improved a lot as a defensive unit," he said. "Our biggest problem coming out of the game was we over-pursued. "Our defense needs to trust that their teammates will do their job," Samsel explained. "But I'd say we have a lot better defense now than we did a few weeks ago." The Quistors lit up their new scoreboard for the first time on the young season at the 8:14 mark of the first period, as Smith connected with Hubbard on a 30-yard strike. Jeremiah Revord added the first of his five extra points on the night, and Olive Branch was up 7-0. Dodson scored the next two OB touchdowns as he teamed with Smith on passes of 26 and 10 yards in the final 2:55 of the first half. The Quistors led 21-0 at the intermission. After Kingsbury erased its goose egg with a 67-yard scamper by Gabriel Hunter (PAT blocked), Olive Branch scored its fourth touchdown with 8:16 left in the third period. Smith showed his running is as deadly as his passing as he raced 12 yards to the end zone. Hill banged in from one-yard out with 8:48 remaining in the game. Kingsbury closed out the scoring with a 31-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by Reginald Barner. For the Quistors, Antwon Peterson's 85-yard kickoff return was the second longest kickoff return without a touchdown in Olive Branch history. The longest occurred in 2004 when Clarence Wright returned a kick 87 yards. With the win, the Conquistadors have now won 40-of-48 games against Tennessee high schools over the past 31 seasons. Defensively, Olive Branch recorded 37 total tackles and five quarterback sacks for minus 33 yards, intercepted one pass and blocked one kick. Individually, Sylvester Hemphill had seven tackles, Kevin Pierce had seven tackles and one-half sack, Denny Hansen had six tackles and two sacks, Chris Zinn had six tackles, and Robert Adams had four tackles and one-half sack. Michael Wright was credited with one interception. Despite the win, Samsel isn't finished fine-tuning his team. "Statistically, as far as who scores, I could care less," Samsel explained. "Our kids need to have that mind-set. "We're an offensive unit, not an offense of individuals," he added. "The thing I was most disappointed in after the ballgame was I think our players need to do a better job away from the ball - do a better job when they don't have the ball. "I also thought defensively we got a little tired and missed a few tackles," Samsel said, "but I think all the problems we looked at on the film can be corrected." Olive Branch puts its 1-0 record on the line tomorrow night as the Quistors host another Tennessee team, Shelby Broad Street. Last year OB defeated the Jaguars 77-0. In their three previous meetings, Olive Branch has won by an average score of 65-2. Samsel, however, isn't focused on the scoreboard; instead, he's more interested in finding the right players for the right positions. "We've still got two-or-three people battling for a starting spot," Samsel noted. "Our approach this week is working on our technique and execution. "I want to see what we can do good and what we can't do good," he continued. "What I want to get out of the game is to see us try a variety of runs and passes; if you run the same play over and over again, you don't really learn anything. "As far as the score is concerned, that's one record I don't ever care if we break during my tenure at Olive Branch," Samsel said. "There are other things besides putting points on the board." Kickoff for tomorrow night's contest is set for 7 p.m.
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