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Memphis-Mitchell scored twice in the first half and held off a late Rebel charge in the second half to win 12-0.

The loss drops MHS to 9-5 on the year and ends the season in the state semifinals for the second straight season.

McKenzie held Mitchell scatback Markis Covington to 70 yards on 26 carries. Covington had amassed over 2,000 yards this season.

"I was proud of the way the defense played. We did a good job containing them," said McKenzie coach Wade Comer. "I think we were a little intimidated in the first half, but we played better once we settled down."

In the first quarter, Tiger quarterback Jonathan Wade threw an 8-yard TD pass to Mario Covington with 6:06 to play. The PAT missed and the Tigers led 6-0. With 4:24 to play in the second frame, Demetrius McGee scored on a 7-yard sweep. The pass failed, but the Tigers led 12-0 at the half.

The Rebels shut down Mitchell in the second half and had two chances inside the opposing 20 in the fourth quarter but couldn't score.

Mitchell travels to Murfreesboro 7:30 p.m. Friday for a shot at the state title against Nashville-David Lipscomb. The Lipscomb Mustangs won the 2A state title in 1994.

McKenzie waves goodbye to 11 seniors, a senior class that set a school mark with 41 victories.

"I hate to see this bunch leave me," said Comer. "I got real close to them and I've really enjoyed this bunch."

The Rebels finished the regular season with a 6-4 mark and had a storybook run through the playoffs including two overtime victories - one at Waverly, the next against Fairview - and a huge fourth-quarter rally to top Lewis County 16-14 in the quarterfinals.
 

McKenzie High School has their first Mr. Football finalist in Ricky Mathis. Both Mathis and Willis received their honors for Lineman of the Year while Willis holds the distinction of being the first player in any classification to be a nominee in both Lineman and Back categories.

The 18th annual awards ceremony was held Monday, December 2 at the Opryland Hotel with both lineman and back awards presented in each of the five classifications in Division I and each of the two classifications in Division II. Additionally, this year, an overall kicker award was presented. Fifteen young men received the top award.

American General Insurance Life and Accident Insurance Company is the corporate sponsor of the annual awards ceremony which includes a meal prior to the ceremony, followed by presentation of nice plaques for the two runners-up and a huge trophy for the one named Mr. Football.

Rick Bender, president and CEO of American General welcomed all the nominees, parents, coaches, members of the media, additional American General personnel and members of the TSSAA to the ceremony. He also gave remarks about the company's pride in presenting the award. Banners with the names of all prior recipients, dating from the first in 1985, hung from the ceiling.

Ronnie Carter, Executive Director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) recognized each nominee by giving their statistics for 2002 and career and then named those receiving the Mr. Football trophy. Scott German, senior vice president of Marketing and Jerry Murphy, senior regional vice president for American General presented the trophies to the winners.

Willis and Mathis both have been pursued by numerous colleges to continue their football careers. Neither has made a decision about which college or university they wish to attend.
 

Games will be played as follows:

Thursday, December 26:
4:30 p.m.: West Carroll vs. Adamsville (girls), 6:00 p.m.: Memphis Fairley vs. Huntingdon (girls), 7:30 p.m.: Waverly vs. Hollow Rock-Bruceton (girls) and 9:00 p.m.: Waverly vs. West Carroll (boys).

Friday, December 27:
12:00 noon: Hollow Rock-Bruceton vs. Adamsville girls, followed by Hollow Rock-Bruceton vs. Friendship Christian boys at 1:30. 3:00 p.m. will be McKenzie vs. Memphis Fairley girls, followed at 4:30 by McKenzie vs. Chester County boys. At 6:00 the Franklin Road Academy boys will meet Crockett County and at 7:30 p.m. the Franklin Road Academy girls will play Huntingdon. The final game will be the Pickett County and Huntingdon boys at 9:00 p.m.

Saturday, December 28:
The noon game will find Waverly and West Carroll's girls playing, followed by Waverly and Crockett County's boys at 1:30 p.m. At 3:00 p.m. the West Carroll and Pickett County boys will meet. The 4:30 game will be between McKenzie and Friendship Christian boys and at 6:00 McKenzie's girls will meet Franklin Road Academy. At 7:30 p.m., Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central's boys will meet Franklin Road Academy and at 9:00 p.m., Chester County and Huntingdon's boys will conclude the tournament.

The usual concessions of pizza, popcorn, candy bars, drinks, hot dogs, nacho cheese, etc. will be available nightly. However, since a number of the teams have considerable time involved in travel, the following additional fare will also be available as noted:

Thursday, December 26 from 3:00-8:00 p.m.: Homemade Soup and Sandwiches.

Friday, December 27, from 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.: Homemade Chili and Grilled Cheese

Saturday, December 28, from 11:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.: Tacos and Trimmings.

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