Rebels Corral Mustangs in 47-14 victory

Loretto was unable to sustain any consistency with its ground game and elected to go to the air. They put up some good numbers in the passing game with 230 total yards, but the Rebels continued to pound the visitors with an awesome running attack (418 yards). After the smoke had cleared, the MHS Rebels registered a record-breaking twelfth win.

McKenzie won the toss and deferred its selection to the second half. Howard Nolen kicked deep and out of bounds. Loretto began its first drove from its own 35-yard line. On the first down, south paw Ben Daugherty fired incomplete to Barrett Earnest. On second down, Brandon Kelly was hit by Rebel linebacker Justin Adkisson for a one-yard loss. A third down pass to Earnest was again incomplete. Loretto's punt gave McKenzie possession at its thirty-yard line. On first down, Taylor Holland was stopped for no gain. On second down, Rebel fullback Brannon Milton ran behind Ricky Mathis, Jonathan Gaskins and Bruce Anderson. Although hit at the line of scrimmage, he twisted and turned and regained his balance. As he began to gain speed, with further blocking by his teammates, Milton finished the longest run of his career. The seventy-yard touchdown run came at the 10:01 mark of the first period. Josh Stenberg kicked the PAT to give the Rebels the lead and set the pace for the night.

First Quarter
McKenzie 7-Loretto 0
Loretto's next possession began after the Rebels special teams backed the Mustangs up to their own 19-yard line. Daughtery fired downfield to Earnest for a 35-yard first down, with Nathan Young on the stop. Demerick Diggs and Justin Adkisson also made a couple of big stops. With the ball at the McKenzie 42-yard line, the Mustangs tried to convert a fourth down and twelve. Kelly hit the middle for only six yards.

McKenzie took over at its own 36-yard line. On first down, Shiron Perkins made the corner for a nine yard gain. Holland cut behind guard Jeremy Sydnor for a 17-yard first down. Milton managed only two yards. On second down a misdirection reverse to senior David Duncan produced instant excitement. Good line blocking and good speed found Duncan loose in the Mustang secondary. The net result was a 36-yard touchdown at the 5:05 mark of the first period. Stenberg again booted the PAT good.

First Quarter
McKenzie 14-Loretto 0
McKenzie's next possession began deep in Rebel territory at the eleven-yard line. On first down, Holland bounced outside for a six-yard pickup. On second down, Holland faked to Milton, pulled in the ball and raced into the Mustang secondary. Holland sprinted past ten of the eleven defenders, with the safety making a desperation tackles after a 78-yard gain. Perkins ran for five yards. After a McKenzie penalty, Holland found senior Mitchell Hall for an eight-yard gain that put the Rebels at the six-yard line. Perkins ran behind Harris and Sydnor for the touchdown, with 6:29 remaining in the half. Stenberg kicked the PAT good.

Second Quarter
McKenzie 21-Loretto 0
The Mustangs began their only scoring threat of the first half from their own 19-yard line. Loretto found Earnest on two occasions for a total of 29 yards. The drive was snuffed out when a Daughtery pass was intercepted by defensive lineman Milton at the goal line and then returned up the field for 10 yards.

Loretto's next possession, late in the second quarter began at their 43-yard line. A costly pass interference penalty gave them new life at the Rebel 22-yard line. Big fullback Kelly ran up the middle off a draw play and went almost untouched for an 11-yard score. The PAT by Whitsett was good with 2:37 remaining before intermission.

Second Quarter
McKenzie 21-Loretto 7
On the ensuing kickoff, Perkins returned the ball to the Mustang 47-yard line on a thirty-four yard run. On first down, Stenberg took the pitch and ran behind the block of receiver Duncan. Stenberg appeared to be stopped, but bounced out of the pack and picked up speed and made a defender miss at the five-yard line. Stenberg could not be stopped as the senior running back answered the Mustang score with a 47-yard touchdown with 2:14 remaining in the second quarter. The PAT was wide left.

Second Quarter
McKenzie 27-Loretto 7
The first half ended with McKenzie in possess with only four seconds on the clock. A Holland to Duncan pass was thrown short of the receiver and intercepted to end the second quarter.
During intermission, the home crowd was entertained by the MHS cheerleaders and the Marching Rebel band.

The Big Red received the opening kickoff of the second half and began its first possession at its own 31-yard line. Perkins got the call on first down and took the ball into Mustang territory on a 22-yard gain. Milton carried a first and second down for six yards. On third down and four, Holland rolled left and attempted a pass. The ball was jarred loose by a Mustang defender and then picked up by an alert Duncan who returned the ball 40 yards for an apparent touchdown. The officials inadvertently blew the whistle making the play dead at the line of scrimmage. A fourth down pass to Duncan was incomplete and stopped the drive.

The Rebels offensive unit continued to roll on its second possession. At the Mustang 43-yard line, Milton managed seven yards on first down. Two plays later, Holland hit the middle of the Loretto defense for 16 yards. Perkins was stopped after picking up two yards at the Mustang 14-yard line. On third down, Holland found a slanting Chris Wall for a 14-yard touchdown pass. The score came at the 4:16 mark of the third quarter, with the PAT by Stenberg good.

Third Quarter
McKenzie 34-Loretto 7
Loretto's next possession lasted only five plays. Diggs, Jonathan Adkisson and Nolen all had key stops. A second down pass from Daughtery to Lamm was caught for 12 yards, but ever alert defensive back Duncan pulled the football free from Lamm and returned the ball 43-yards.
McKenzie's offense continued to dominate the action as late as the third quarter. Milton bit off huge chunks of yardage on the final possession of the quarter. Milton had runs of 13 and 42 yards. The fullback's eight yard jaunt took the ball down to the Mustang three-yard line. Holland rammed into the end zone behind a good line surge with no time remaining in the period.

Stenberg's PAT was good.

Third Quarter
McKenzie 41-Loretto 7
Midway through the fourth quarter, Loretto began to have success mixing the run and pass. Big fullback Kelly crunched his way for 14 yards to near midfield. A pass from Daughtery to Derek Green covered 26 yards. Loretto used a couple of fresh running backs and had success. Two passes to junior Wesley Bosheer took the ball deep into Rebel territory at the four-yard line. Scott Sewell bounced his way into the end zone from that point with 7:04 remaining in the contest. Whitsett kicked the PAT good.

Fourth Quarter
McKenzie 41-Loretto 14
With 5:52 remaining in the fourth quarter, McKenzie took over with Matt Merrick at quarterback. With the ball at the Loretto 31-yard line, Merrick was hit for no gain. On second down, Stenberg was stopped for a two-yard loss. A third down pitch from Merrick to Stenberg produced 13 yards and a first down. Fullback Brad Campbell burst the middle for seven yards. On second down, Merrick was again stopped for no gain. On third down, Campbell lowered his head for seven yards and the first down at the four-yard line. Nolen got the call for a yard on first down and on second down, Nolen pounded his way into the end zone. The PAT was missed, but with 2:56 remaining, McKenzie had a commanding 33-point lead.

Fourth Quarter
McKenzie 47-Loretto 14
Although the Rebels could not completely shut down the air attack by the Mustangs, big plays by McKenzie spelled doom for the visitors. The first meeting ever between the two teams helped the Rebels move even closer to the ultimate goal.

This Friday night, Rebel fans will make the pilgrimage to Hohenwald to do battle with the state's number one team. The Lewis County Panthers are coached by Bobby Sharp, a one-time Rebel assistant and are multi-talented. Quarterback David Sharp has been successful with his speed and strong arm in leading the Panthers to a 12-0 record. Sharp had 92 yards rushing and 68 yards passing last Friday night in Lewis County's 34-28 victory over Harpeth. Running back Kip Kelsey is the Panther's go to back. Kelsey had 115 yards rushing on 17 attempts against Harpeth.

Common opponents for the teams this season include Fairview, Camden, Riverside and Loretto. The Rebels downed Fairview 24-8, Riverside 51-13, Camden 34-12 and Loretto 47-14. Lewis County defeated Fairview 34-12, Riverside 27-6, Loretto 45-7 and Camden 40-7.

This quarterfinal game will pit two of the state's finest football teams against one another. The winner will advance to the semi-final against the Union City-Westview winner.

The kickoff at Lewis County will be 7:00 p.m. Support the Rebels!

McKenzie-Fairview Record
McKenzie 1-0

Coach Wade Comer's Record
23 wins, 2 losses

McKenzie's overall record, 1940-present:
306 wins, 324 losses, 14 ties

Individual Games Statistics:
REBEL RUSHING:
Brannon Milton: 11 carries, 146 yards, 1 TD
Taylor Holland: 7 carries, 116 yards, 1 TD; Josh
Stenberg: 3 carries, 58 yards, 1 TD, Shiron Perkins: 5
carries, 44 yards, 1 TD; David Duncan: 1 carry, 36 yards,
1 TD; Brad Campbell: 2 carries, 14 yards; Howard Nolen: 2
carries, 4 yards, 1 TD; Matt Merrick: 2 carries, 0 yards.
  
REBEL RECEIVING:
Chris Wall, 1 reception, 14 yards, 1 TD
Mitchell Hall, 1 reception, 8 yards
 

Rebels, Lady Rebels Win Pre-Season Tournament at Bradford

The Rebels opened with St. Mary's in a 37-21 victory as Drew Hayes led all scorers with 19 points, followed by Beau Brown with six, Brice Priestley with four, Greg Pruitt with three, Marshall Smith with two and Hunter Downing with one. In game two, the host Red Devils gained a 38-33 victory to put the Rebels in the loser's bracket. B. Brown led with 12 points, followed by Hayes with eight, Smith with four, Pruitt with three, and Downing, Marquice Tharpe and Jake Brown with two each. In game three, the Rebels were again victorious over St. Mary's with a 45-25 victory. Hayes and Downing led with 16 and 13 points respectively, followed by B. Brown with five, Pruitt and Tharpe with four each and Priestley with three. In the championship game, the Rebels took a 16-13 lead after one, were tied at 25 at intermission, led 32-27 after three and won the game 42-40. Hayes led with 13 points, followed by B. Brown with 11, Pruitt and Downing with seven each and Tharpe scored four. Hayes and Downing were named to the All Tournament team.
 

Bethel Men's Soccer Wins First KIAC Crown

The Friday semifinal saw the Wildcats open a 1-0 lead on a goal by Varney Weeks in the 20th minute. Spalding, taking advantage of a penalty kick, tied the game just before the end of the first half. Bethel regained the lead in the second half, thanks to a goal by Ousmane Toure, and came away with a 2-1 win. Alain Pierre assisted on both Wildcat goals. The Wildcats dominated the action throughout the match but were unable to capitalize on more opportunities. Jason Banks played an outstanding match in goal for the Cats.

The final on Saturday was a fiercely fought match that saw neither team score in the first half. Bethel had several opportunities but was unable to score until 70 minutes into the match when Ousmane Toure, with an assist by Varney Weeks, scored the only goal of the match. Jason Banks was once again a dominant force in the nets, making a big save late in the match to preserve the 1-0 lead.

The All-KIAC Teams were picked before the tournament began and Wildcat Peter Kovacs was the only player chosen to the All-KIAC First Team. Jason Banks, Souleymane Diallo, Kevin Legerton, Ben Singleton, and Ousmane Toure were named to the All-KIAC Second Team. Maurice Spencer and Marcus Valentine were named to the KIAC All-Academic Team.