By Bobby Young

High humidity and high hopes filled Rebel Field for the 7:30 kickoff of the battle of the Rebels. A large crowd witnessed a slow McKenzie start. It took McKenzie's Rebels only a glance at the scoreboard, with 7:30 remaining in the opening quarter, to realize they were down by 15 points. They went on to score 19 unanswered points to hold on for a win over 7-AAA Obion Central by a ten point margin.
McKenzie won the toss and deferred offensive possession until the second half. The opening kick was taken by Obion Central's Peter Harmon. Kickoff coverage was not up to the task as Harmon picked up some good blocking from his teammates and the home Rebels were unable to stop the speedy senior. Harmon covered 85 yards in 12 seconds to give Obion Central the opening score. Obion's kicker, Kyle Ross, split the uprights and with 11:48 remaining in the first quarter, Obion Central led 7-0.
First Quarter
McKenzie 0-Obion County 7
Coach Comer's Rebels began from their 35 yard line. A pitch to senior running back Shiron Perkins resulted in a four yard loss. Brannon Milton ran for only one yard. A Holland to Duncan pass collected four yards. But on fourth down and nine, McKenzie sent Josh Stenberg deep to punt. Stenberg's punt netted only twenty-one yards.
Obion Central took over at their own 44 yard line. McKenzie's coaching staff had readied itself for the passing game. Obion's Central's Coach Richard Gamblin ran Cory Robertson three consecutive times. Robertson picked up 12, 6 and 2 yards. A big passing play to Robertson put Obion Central closer to the goal. The sixteen yard completion took Obion down to the McKenzie eight. A five-yard McKenzie penalty set Obion up at the Red three-yard line. Sophomore Wes Moore of Obion rammed his way into the end zone with little opposition. With 7:30 remaining in the first quarter, Moore hit Robertson for the two-point conversion.
First Quarter
McKenzie 0-Obion County 15
It was late in the first quarter before the Rebels were in a groove. Beginning at their own fifteen yard line, the Rebels ran Stenberg for five yards on first down. Taylor Holland bounced outside for sixteen yards. Obion County was penalized for roughing the kicker and McKenzie kept its drive alive. Holland faked the option and sprinted down field some 23 yards to the Obion five yard line. Stenberg ran behind Jonathan Gaskins, Jeremy Sydnor, Ricky Mathis, Bruce Anderson and Stevia Harris for a touchdown. With only 34 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Stenberg kicked the PAT good.
First Quarter
McKenzie 7-Obion County 15
McKenzie's defense rose to the occasion in quarter two. The Red and Gray limited Obion to only 15 rushing yards. Obion County was able to complete three passes in quarter two for 25 yards.
McKenzie began its second drive at the Central thirty-four yard line. Stenberg ran on first and second down for a combined five yards. Fullback Brannon Milton crashed behind Mathis for six yards and a first down. Holland ran for four yards down to the Obion four yard line. Stenberg hit the middle behind the block of Gaskins for three yards. Stenberg blasted his way into the end zone from one yard out. With 4:20 remaining in the half, Holland attempted to run the option but was stopped short of the line of scrimmage on the two-point attempt.
Second Quarter
McKenzie 13-Obion County 15
McKenzie's defense held Obion Central scoreless in a very important third quarter. Jonathan Adkisson hit Corey Robertson after a two-yard gain. McKenzie's defensive end, Chris Stephens increased the pressure on the Obion quarterback. Eric Gilbert and Justin Adkisson made big defensive stops in quarter three.
The Rebels took the opening kickoff of the second half. Perkins found running room for six yards. Milton rammed the middle for five yards and Stenberg took the Rebels down to the thirty-four yard line on a two-yard jaunt. On first down, fullback Milton spun off a couple of hits, twisted and turned and pulled free. Milton then rambled his way for a thirty-four yard go ahead touchdown. With 9:37 remaining in the third quarter, McKenzie again tried the two-point conversion. The attempt was stopped short as Stenberg was held short of the goal line.
Third Quarter
McKenzie 19-Obion County 15
Good defensive stops by Demerick Diggs, Mitchell Hall, Stenberg, Jazz Taylor and Junior Guzman kept the visitors at bay. Obion was held to only 13 passing yards in the third quarter. The host Rebels were able to pound out 118 yards on the ground.
The final quarter was full of offensive firepower. McKenzie was able to pur in two touchdowns (12 points) while Obion scored one.
Haywood Cunningham intercepted an Obion pass at the McKenzie 26 yard line. Big runs by Milton (13), Holland(19) and Howard Nolen (6) placed the hosts down at the Obion five yard line. Milton ran for three yards to the two and Stenberg punched in his third touchdown of the night from the two yard line. The extra point was short.
Fourth Quarter
McKenzie 25-Obion County 15
With 5:47 remaining in the contest, McKenzie began from the Obion thirty-two yard line. A scamper by Holland resulted in a needed twenty-two yard gain. Stenberg ran behind Sydnor for three yards. Fullback Milton rammed the middle. Although he was hit several times, Milton could not be stopped short of the goal line. The seven yard run came with 5:15 remaining in the contest. Stenberg's PAT was off the mark.
Fourth Quarter
McKenzie 31-Obion County 15
Obion County did not roll over and play dead. At the McKenzie 33 yard line, the Obion quarterback fired for a twelve yard completion. Then McKenzie's secondary was burned again for a forty-one yard pass play to Obion's sophomore Chris Phelon. McKenzie could not stop sophomore quarterback Wes Mooer as he hit the middle of the Rebels defense for sixteen yards. With 4:03 remaining in the contest, Moore found the end zone from three yards out. The two-point conversion pass was no good.
Fourth Quarter
McKenzie 31-Obion County 21
Obion County tried the on-sides kick, but McKenzie's David Duncan recovered for the Rebels. McKenzie was able to run on a tiring Obion defense. The Rebels elected to run the clock out rather than pushing for an additional touchdown.
Coach Richard Gamblin's offense was hard to keep at bay. The Obion Rebels will no doubt slip up on several opponents this season. McKenzie's offense was able to grind out 311 yards and looked good on the ground, but the air attack was held to only 31 yards. If McKenzie is to continue its win streak, special teams will need to improve also.
This Friday night, the 2001 6-AA season will begin at Camden. The Lions are currently on a four-game losing skid to the Rebels (1997: 55-7, 1998: 45-14; 1999: 57-0 and 2000: 20-7). The overall series since 1940 is a virtual dead heat. McKenzie has 16 wins, 17 losses and one tie.
Lions head coach David Fisher is coming off a 6-5 season. The Lions continue to improve each year. A strong group of 12 seniors will make Camden a threat. Quarterback Ross Lumplins (6'2"-180 lb. senior) will be back to begin his third year at quarterback. Johnathan Hayes (5'9"-160 lb. senior), who had only four games last year, managed to run for 542 yards in those games. Nathan Leonard (5'11":175 lb. senior is the fullback. Leonard is an all state pick. The Lions have three good targets for their air attack; Blake Arnold (5'6"-140 lb. sophomore), Jonathan Holland (6'2":220 lb. ) and Andrew Ragsdale (5'll"-280 lb. senior).
This Friday night's Region 6-AA game is an absolute must win for both teams. Kickoff time is 7:30 at Camden.
Game Statistics
McKenzie Obion
First Downs 17 13
Rushing yds. 58, 311 yds. 22, 87 yds.
Passing yds. 3/12/31, 1 int. 11/26/165, 2 int.
Total yds. 342 252
Punts 4/31.3 avg. 3/32.4 avg.
Penalties 6 for 50 yds. 8 for 55 yds.
Fumbles 1, lost 0 1, lost 0
Score by Quarter
McKenzie 7 6 6 12
Obion Central 15 0 0 6
Individual Statistics, Rushing
Taylor Holland: 11 carries, 120 yds.
Brannon Milton: 13 carries, 90 yds, 2 TD's
Josh Stenberg: 18 carries, 54 yds., 3 TD's
Shiron Perkins: 13 carries, 36 yds.
Howard Nolen: 2 carries, 6 yds.
Brad Campbell: 1 carry, 5 yds.
McKenzie Receiving
Carone Tharpe: 1 for 27 yards
David Duncan: 2 for 10 yards
McKenzie/Obion Central series since 1940:
McKenzie 4 wins, 0 losses
McKenzie High School Record Since 1940:
295 wins, 324 losses, 14 ties
Wade Comer, overall record:
12 wins, 2 losses

 

By Pat Cole

The season opener for prep football is always a special night for fans. For the fans from Hollow Rock-Bruceton and Huntingdon, the night had more meaning. The rivalry between the two schools has been fierce since the first game decades ago. However, despite some very close and memorable games in the past few years between these two schools, this past Friday's game was all Central Tigers and very little Huntingdon Mustangs. One constant in the contest however was good sportsmanship by both squads.
A year ago, the game went down to the final play when Derek Way intercepted a Rick Sturdivant pass to effectively conclude the game. Then junior quarterback Jacob Smothers dominated the passing game and Sturdivant had to depend on the running game to keep the Tigers alive. This year however, the Tigers dominated both the run and the pass as they took a 25-0 lead by intermission and then concluded the night with a 42-14 victory. Sturdivant had seven completions on 11 attempts for four touchdowns. Both of the Mustangs scores came as the result of passing, on a 19 yard pass to Mark Newsome and a 31 yard pass to Cary Hays. Smothers ended the night with 138 yards in the air as he completed nine passes on 17 attempts with two interceptions.
The night began with the captains of the two teams meeting at midfield for the coin toss. Huntingdon won the toss and chose to have the first offensive possession of the night. Patrick Willis kicked off for the Tigers and the ball flew into the end zone for the touchback. Taking the ball at their own 20, a bad toss resulted in a fumble which was recovered by the Tigers Jonte Willis at the 19 yard line.
Sturdivant reached back to pass incomplete to P. Willis on first down, followed by a motion penalty on the Tigers. Star running back Adrian Jamison, who concluded the night with 183 yards, took the ball right for a gain of four before he was stopped by Keanon McKinnie. On third and 11, Jamison again got the nod and moved up the middle with good blocking to find the end zone on the 20 yard jaunt. With 11:0l remaining, Adam Olds came in to kick the PAT with Sturdivant holding. The ball went wide to the left, leaving the Tigers with a 6-0 lead.
Tommy French received the kickoff and returned the ball to the Stangs 30 yard line where Ryan Taylor and P. Willis made the tackle. Terrance Bell then took the ball to the 39 before he was brought down by P. Willis, Josh Edwards and Greg Forrest. McKinnie picked up the first down before J. Willis, Jamison and P. Willis made the tackle at the 42. Smothers attempted a pass to McKinnie which was incomplete. A short pass to Brian Nellett was complete and good for eight yards with Keith McGee on the tackle. McKinnie then drove to the Tiger 42 with Edwards and John Castleman on the stop. Robert Weathers took the ball for gains of one and two yards with J. Willis, G. Forrest and John Jordan on the stops. A pass to Nellett was incomplete and on fourth and seven, Smothers attempted a pass to Newsome with Jason Pierpoint on the attack. The Tigers took over at their own 29 yard line.
J. Willis took the ball up the middle for a gain of one before he was stopped by Alex Jordan. On second down, Jamison moved the ball right, broke a couple of tackles, moved back to the middle and reached the Stangs 34 before he was stopped by A. Jordan. Following a timeout, J. Willis took the ball for no gain with John Taylor on the stop. A pass to J. Willis was good for the first down at the 23 before Adam Parish made the tackle. Jamison moved for a slight gain with A. Jordan and Will Fisher on the attack. Jamison picked up a couple of yards with Fisher and Trevor Sanders on the attack. On third and seven, Sturdivant connected on a pass to P. Willis with Don Morgan on the tackle. Officials ruled pass interference and the ball was moved to the Huntingdon 10 yard line. J. Willis moved up the middle for a gain of one with Thomas Butler on the stop and then Sturdivant connected with the Tigers J. Jordan on a nine yard pass in the end zone for the touchdown with 3:35 remaining on the first quarter clock. Jamison attempted to go up the middle on the two-point conversion, but was held by a host of Mustangs. The Tigers led 12-0.
P. Willis kicked the ball into the end zone for the touchback as the Stangs took over at their own 20 yard line. McKinnie moved left and was tripped by Jamison and stopped by J. Jordan after a gain of four. P. Willis stopped Bell for a loss of three. Smothers, looked for a receiver and finding none open, took the ball for the first down at the 30 with Kevin Hurt and J. Willis on the stop. McKinnie was then handed the ball, it came loose and was recovered by the Tigers Matt Forrest. The Tigers took over at the Stangs 32 yard line.
Jamison took the ball for the first down with Sanders and McKinnie on the stop. J. Willis then moved up the middle for a gain of one before he was stopped by Butler, Josh Pruitt and Matt Lange. Sturdivant attempted a pass to Terry Parker which was incomplete. Jamison moved left and picked up two yards as the first quarter concluded. Pruitt and Kenneth Hillsman were on the stop. As the second quarter began, a pass to P. Willis was incomplete, giving the Stangs possession at their own 18 yard line.
On first down, Smothers was sacked for a loss of nine by McGee, with an assist by G. Forrest. Weathers was caught for a loss of four by Jamison. An incomplete pass followed and then Nellett moved back to punt the ball to the Mustangs 39 yard line.
Jamison moved for a gain of three with Taylor, Weathers and Pruitt on the attack. Jamison then moved up the middle for six yards with Hillsman on the attack. P. Willis took the ball for the first down at the 28. Jamison was stopped after a gain of three by Pruitt and Taylor. J. Willis then moved for the first down at the 17 with Pruitt and Parrish on the stop. Two consecutive offsides penalties on the Stangs moved the ball to the seven and a pass to P. Willis brought the third touchdown of the game with 7:02 remaining in the half. A conversion pass to Parker was incomplete, leaving the Tigers with an 18-0 lead.
Huntingdon's Bell received the kick in the end zone, leaving the Stangs with first down at their own 20. McKinnie took the ball for a gain of 12 with J. Jordan, Jamison and Edwards. McKinnie then gained two and one yards with Grant Hollingsworth, M. Forrest, P. Willis, J. Willis and Jamsion on the stops. A pass on third and seven was intercepted by J. Johnson, who was stopped by Jamie Miller at the Mustang 38 yard line.
With 5:11 remaining in the half, Jamison picked up nine yards with Taylor and McKinnie on the stop. J. Willis was tripped by McKinnie, but gained the first down at the 18. J.Willis moved for two and J. Jordan was held for a loss of one. Fisher made the first stop and A. Jordan the second. Jamison picked up two yards before he was tripped by Lange. On fourth and seven, Sturdivant completed his second pass to J. Jordan in the end zone with 2:17 remaining. Olds PAT was good and the Tigers now led 25-0.
Bell received the kickoff from P. Willis and was hit by J. Willis after a gain of 23 yards. A pass was good from Smothers to Miller who dodged a couple of tackles before he was moved out of bounds by Edwards at the 43 for the first down. McKinnie was hit by J. Willis and G. Forrest after a gain of one. A pass over the middle to Cary Hayes was good for the first down at the Tiger 42 with Hurt, Pierpoint and Edwards on the stop. A motion penalty moved the ball back five yards and then a pass to McKinnie was good for 13 yards before the stop by Hurt. Another pass intended for Weathers was almost intercepted by Edwards. On third down, a pass was tipped by J. Willis and intercepted by P. Willis with only seconds remaining. Sturdivant took a knee to conclude the half.
At intermission, both the Marching Mustangs and Marching Tigers presented their shows for the home crowd.
Marc Brown kicked off to begin the second half and the ball was caught by Edwards at the 25 where the Tigers began their first offensive possession of the second half. Jamison moved left for five with Weathers on the stop. J. Willis took the ball for four with French, Hillsman and Sanders on the stop. On third down, Jamison moved up the middle on a good block by G. Forrest and was stopped at the 37 by Lange and Hillsman. J. Jordan moved right for five with Butler and McKinnie on the attack and then Jamison, with a block by J. Willis, zigzagged his way to the Huntingdon 44 before he was stopped by Parish. J. Willis picked up one with Lange on the atack and then moved left for two before he was brought down by Sanders and Weathers. A motion penalty moved the ball back five yards and then Sturdivant passed the ball to Jordan for the 44 yard completion with 7:65 remaining in the third quarter. Olds PAT was good and the Tigers now led 32-0.
Willis' kick went into the end zone for the touchback. Weathers gained five with Jamison on the attack and Bell picked up the first down at the 39 before he was stopped by Jamison and P. Willis. A fumble was recovered by Smothers after a gain of two. Weathers was stopped by M. Forrest for a loss of five. A pass to McKinnie was good for 10 yards before J. Willis made the stop. On fourth and three, the Stangs attempted a fake punt, McKinnie took the ball and was run out of bounds by J. Willis short of the first down. The Tigers took over at the Mustangs 48 yard line.
Jamison moved right nine and J. Willis up the middle 10 and first down at the 29. Morgan, French and Weathers made the tackles. Jamison got good running room and seemed to be on his way to another touchdown, but the ball was stripped with Jamison recovering the fumble. There were several flags on the play and a personal foul assessed against the Stangs. With first down at the 11, J. Willis moved up the middle. The Tigers were then penalized for holding. On first and 20 Jamison was stopped after a gain of five by Russell Barker and then Jamison moved right 16 yards into the end zone for the touchdown with 2:32 remaining in the third quarter. The PAT by Olds was good, giving the Tigers a 39-0 lead.
Nellett received the kickoff and was stopped by McGee at the 21. This time the Stangs drove the distance. Weathers took the ball up the middle to the Tiger 44 with J. Jordan on the stop. Bell picked up another first down at the 19 before he was stopped by P. Willis. McKinnie was held for no gain by G. Forrest and then a pass to Newsome was good for the touchdown with 1:11 remaining in the third quarter. Brown's PAT was good and the margin was narrowed to 39-7.
J. Jordan received the kickoff from Brown and was stopped by Hayes at the Tiger 33 yard line. Jamison moved for nine and P. Willis for the first down at the Huntingdon 49 as the third quarter ended. Lange, Hillsman, Morgan, Sanders and Fisher made the tackles. Jamison moved left for two, J. Willis moved left for four and a motion penalty moved the ball back five. French, Fisher, Sanders and Hillsman made the tackles. A pass to P. Willis was good and an inadvertant face mask penalty brought first down at the 36. J. Willis moved for five and Jamison zigzagged for the first down at the 18. A motion penalty moved the ball back another five yards and then Jamison broke a couple of tackles to pick up four. The Tigers were penalized for holding. An incomplete pass followed and the Tigers took a time-out. J. Willis moved left for 12 yards with Morgan on the stop and then the Tigers P. Willis came in to kick a 32 yard field goal with 6:47. The Tigers led 42-7.
Bell received the kick and was stopped by J. Jordan at the Stangs 15. Bell then picked up a first down at the 35 with P. Willis on the stop. Weathers moved for six and Smothers bto the Tigers 42. A pass to Miller was good for the first down at the 27 as Edwards and Castleman made the stop. Weathers was hit by J. Jordan and the tackle was sealed by P. Willis for a loss of four. A second down pass was low and incomplete and then Smothers connected with Hayes, who moved into the end zone and dropped the ball. The officials ruled it a completion and the Stangs Brown came in to kick the PAT good, leaving the score at 42-14 with 3:52 remaining in the game.
An onsides kick was stopped by Sturdivant, giving the Tigers possession. Jamison moved right and was stopped by Morgan, Lange and McKinnie. The Tigers were penalized for clippping and then motion. J. Willis moved left for seven while Jamison picked up four. Pruitt, Fisher, Lange and Miller were in on the tackles. J. Willis picked up another eight on a block by J. Jordan with Fisher on the stop. Facing fourth and 16 and time winding down, the Tigers gained a delay of game penalty. On fourth and 21, Sturdivant took the ball up the middle and with 11.6 remaining, the Stangs took over. Kenneth Porter took the last ball for the Stangs with G. Forrest on the stop to end the game. The Tigers won 42-9.
Despite the wide margin in this game, both teams had positives.
Both teams indicated both a running and passing game although the Tigers defensive unit was stronger on that particular night. Both teams played hard and did not allow anything to take away their determination. The Mustangs gained a total of 289 yards while the Tigers had 379. Rick Sturdivant received the Tiger Spark of the Game Award.
This Friday night, the Tigers will travel to South Fulton for their first regional game of the season while the Stangs will host Adamsville, also a regional game. Although the Tigers pulled out a big victory Friday night, the Stangs began their 2000 season with a big loss to Westview and still concluded the season in the semi-finals of the playoffs. There is no reason to believe they will not come around after this loss for a great season. The Tigers may well be on their way to another big season as they will play USJ in week three, the team that put them out of the playoffs in the quarterfinal game.