It was only fitting on the night before modern gun season begins in the Natural State that the team with blaze orange helmets took home a first round playoff win.
Sorry, had to plug one of my all-time favorite hobbies.
Coach John Fogleman and the Leopards notched their first playoff win this decade.
Malvern dominated McGehee on the offensive and defensive lines, in the air and on the ground to earn its first playoff win in 12 years at home in front of a packed stadium on Friday night. The final score of 38-0 could have been much worse.
They even allowed those faithful deer hunting fans to get to camp a little faster with a third quarter score that invoked the mercy rule (sorry, last hunting plug).
On the game's opening drive it was evident the Owls had no answer for the Leopard's offense as they marched down the field on an eight play and 72 yard touchdown drive that ended with quarterback David Traylor hitting James King for a 20-yard score.
It was not the last time this pair of juniors would hook up. Traylor hit King on a 31-yard post pattern in the second quarter and again on a seven-yard slant in the third quarter for his third touchdown.
Traylor finished the game an efficient 10 for 16 for 128 yards and those three scores.
Malvern had another duo put together quite a performance against the overmatched Owl's defense. Senior running back Mario Jamerson rushed for 113 yards and junior Dontail Henson added 100 yards and a touchdown.
Every time McGehee seemed to gain momentum the Leopards would get a break. In the last minute of the first half, trailing by three scores, McGehee safety Isaiah Holmes stepped in front of a pass from Traylor and took it 50 yards for a score. It did not hold up because the Owls were called for pass interference and sent them into the locker room devastated instead of with a much needed hint of optimism.
The Malvern offense is hitting its stride at just the right time.
In the third quarter the Owls once again tried to turn things around, only to have a fatal mistake bring it all back. This time it was tailback Kendall Lambert, who broke three tackles on his way to a 62-yard run, but fumbled on the one yard line.
The Malvern front seven on defense put constant pressure on quarterback Grant Gill, who was whistled for a pair of intentional grounding penalties and was hurried countless times before Marcel Bedford record the Leopards only sack on a corner back blitz.
By the time the game was over all the Owls jerseys were white, except for their quarterbacks and that's rarely a good thing.
On a much more positive note - did I mention deer season starts in the morning? (Seriously, last plug)
Up next for Malvern is a matchup with undefeated Booneville, who beat them 30-29 in the opening round of last year's playoffs, on the road and don't count the Leopards out. They have talent on both sides of the ball and are playing their best football of the season at the right time.
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