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The Rebels, 4-1, surged to 410 total yards and strapped a saddle to the back of sophomore running back Cody Cook. The youngster rushed 15 times for a school-record 239 yards and three touchdowns. Cook eclipsed the mark set three years ago by Sherman Nolen, who had 221 yards in a 34-0 blanking of Middleton.

Cook had scoring runs of 2, 74 and 54 yards and had 128 yards in the third quarter alone.

“Cody is getting there,” said MHS coach Wade Comer. “He gave a good effort tonight. He’s learning, he’s finding the holes, squaring up and making great cuts and what he does in practice is starting to pay off; the more he runs, the better he gets.”

One of the key factors why McKenzie was able to chew up 387 yards on the ground was the line. Simply put, the Rebels overmatched the War Eagles physically.

“It was a physical game,” said West Carroll coach Chris Rich. “They are a much more physical team on both sides of the ball.”

At the beginning, one might have wondered if McKenzie was thinking about the post-game dance as it struggled from the gate. Both teams turned the ball over early; West Carroll lost a fumble on its first drive and three plays later regained possession after an interception. McKenzie, however, shook off the rust late in the opening period and delivered a five-play, 80-yard drive, ending in junior fullback Brad Campbell’s 15-yard burst. John Kermit Laughery connected on the first of four extra-point kicks and the Rebs took a 7-0 lead with :07 to play in the first.

Cook scored the first of his three sixers with: 59 to play in the second quarter. He ended a seven-play, 55-yard drive with his 2-yard scoot to paydirt. Senior quarterback Matt Merrick’s pinpoint pass to Matt Jones for 23 yards set up the score.

Lightning struck quickly as the third quarter began. Cook did as his name suggests on the first play from scrimmage and dashed up the middle of the field for a 74-yard score. The conversion pass failed. However, with barely 25 seconds gone in the frame, one could sense the magic beginning.

Just over eight minutes later, Cook rang the bell again, this time for 54 yards. The Rebels were getting an early start to their homecoming dance by doing the congo all the way to the end zone.

As the fourth quarter commenced, Mark Ghyers scored from the 11 with 11:48 to play in the game. It was his second carry of the night and he made it count. From there, the Rebels needed only to run out the clock before they could pin mums on their sweethearts.

Lost in this offensive juggernaut was the defensive effort by the Rebels. They limited West Carroll to 111 total yards, 90 on the ground and six total in the second and third quarters.

“Take away the first game and our defense played pretty well, and it didn’t play bad in that first game,” Comer said. “Our defense has been a real pleasant surprise and I didn’t think we’d get them to jell as quick as we have.”

Jay Taylor and John Craig Howell each had seven tackles to lead the defense. Taylor broke up one pass. Randy Lacey had a tackle and broke up three passes. Daniel Duncan was in on six stops and broke up a pass.

For the War Eagles, Shane DePriest had 15 carries for 55 yards. He also had five tackles for the War Eagles.

“We couldn’t match their intensity up front and I think that was the difference,” said Rich. “We have hard workers on our team, but we couldn’t match their intensity up front.”

Campbell had five carries for 31 yards, Jones had three for 55, Diggs had seven for 42, Merrick had four for 15 and Ghyers had two for 17. Jones had one catch for 23 yards.

The Rebels, 2-0 in Region 6-2A, face a tremendous challenge when they host Decatur County-Riverside this Friday night in a monumental battle. The winner will go a long way in determining home field advantage in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs next month. West Carroll, 2-3 overall, 1-0 in Region 8A, will battle another Carroll County rival when it hosts Hollow Rock-Bruceton. Bruceton defeated Camden 48-26 on the road last Saturday. Riverside fell 14-0 at University School of Jackson.

Cook, a five-eleven junior quarterback from Gadsden, completed 33 of 49 passes and threw three touchdowns in the win. Bethel cracks the win column, improving its record to 1-2 on the season.

On the season, Cook is averaging 227 yards per game in total offense, which ranks 12th in the NAIA. Cook also ranks 10th in total passing, averaging 248 yards per game. As a team, Bethel ranks 9th in total passing offense, averaging 268 yards per game.

The Wildcats have a week off this week before traveling to Jackson, MS on Oct. 5 to face Belhaven College at 1:30 pm.

Kenneth Porter led the Mustangs with 122 yards rushing including a 28-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Porter also set up Desmond Townes' two-yard touchdown run with a 42-yard run in the fourth.

Mark Newsome got his first field goal of the year, a 23-yard effort, also in the fourth quarter.

With two of the leading rushers in West Tennessee, Terrence Bell and Rafael Hill, held to little gain in the first half, the defensive units for both teams were playing hard.

Bell gained no yardage while Hill was held to a single yard's gain. Bell however provided blocking for teammate Kenneth Porter who led the Stangs in rushing for the game. Hill was injured as he made the Chargers first touchdown and did not return to the game.

First Quarter
Huntingdon received the kickoff, went three and out, and were forced to punt on fourth and seven. The Mustangs downed the punt at the Westview 47 yard line. The Chargers were effective moving the ball in the air on their first drive. Andrew Laney completed a 17-yard pass to Jake Hicks moving the Chargers to the Mustang 11 yard line. Hill then scored from 11 yards out, but the touchdown was called back due to a holding penalty against the Chargers and two plays later an interception by Huntingdon's Hunter Hastings ended the Chargers' drive. Hastings returned the interception to the Huntingdon 45 yard line giving the Mustangs good field position for their second offensive series. After an incomplete pass on first down, Porter and Matt Lange combined for 13 yards on two plays picking up the first down. Runs by Bell and Porter moved the Mustangs to the Westview 20 yard line where Justin Truett then picked up another first down for Huntingdon. Lange received the handoff on first down and picked up 12 yards as he powered his way to the Charger six yard line. Three attempts at the goal line by Lange failed and facing fourth and goal from the two, Truett went in on a quarterback keeper to put Huntingdon on the scoreboard with 1:11 remaining in the first period. Newsome's PAT failed as the Mustangs went up 6-0.

Second Quarter
Facing third and 10 to begin the second period, Laney completed a 15-yard pass to Keith Norris to pick up the first down. Going from the shotgun, Laney completed three more passes, picking up two first downs before the drive begin to stall. An incomplete pass and a sack for a three-yard loss by Kenneth Hillsman left the Chargers facing third and 13. A holding penalty against the Chargers on third down cost them an additional 15 yards and after an incomplete pass attempt the Chargers were forced to punt. Lange picked up a first down for the Mustangs on two carries, but the drive stalled there as Huntingdon was forced to punt on fourth and 11 after an illegal procedure penalty cost them an additional five yards. The Mustang defense held with stops by Adam Parish, Hastings, Townes, Hillsman, Matt Spellings and Stephen Wright as the Chargers were again forced to punt. Huntingdon fumbled the ball and the Chargers recovered with less than 10 seconds remaining in the first half. Two pass attempts by Laney fell incomplete as the Mustangs took a 6-0 lead into halftime.

Third Quarter
The Chargers ensuing drive resulted in a one-yard touchdown run by Hill with 5:42 remaining in the period that tied the game at six. C. W. West's PAT was good to put the Chargers up 7-6. Huntingdon was effective moving the ball on their next drive but the series ended with Andre Brown's interception on a first down pass attempt. Huntingdon's defense held as the Chargers were forced to punt giving the Mustangs the ball back with less than 10 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Fourth Quarter
On the second play of the quarter, Porter broke open for a 42-yard run followed by another short gain that set up Townes two yard touchdown run that put the Mustangs on top 12-7 with 10:19 remaining in the game. The two-point conversion attempt failed. The Chargers were again forced to punt. After a third down conversion was nullified for a block below the waist, Porter broke open for 10 yards setting up Mark Newsome's 23-yard field goal with 3:06 remaining in the game. Newsome's field goal gave the Mustangs a 15-7 advantage. With under two minutes remaining the Chargers turned the ball over on downs and two plays later Porter went 28 yards for the touchdown. Newsome's PAT failed as Huntingdon took a 21-7 lead over Westview. The Chargers first play of the series following the kickoff resulted in Laney being sacked and fumbling with the ball recovered by Huntingdon's Matt Spellings. The Mustangs then turned the ball over on downs after using as much of the clock as possible. Westview's Laney completed two passes, covering 74 yards, to J. Hicks and Keith Norris to give the Chargers a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining in the game. West missed the PAT and Huntingdon took the win, 21-13.

Huntingdon will travel to Camden this Friday night for a Region 6 2A contest with the Lions.

A pair of basketball standouts from the 1980s and their coach will be the newest members of the Bethel College Athletic Hall of Fame when they are inducted during Bethel College Homecoming 2002 festivities. Saturday, November 10, at the Bethel College Athletic Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony, Matt Kelley (BS '92), John Sneed (BS '87) and their coach, Mike Nienaber, will take their place in the Hall of Fame.

Matt Kelley earned his nickname "Machine Gun" by being one of the best pure shooters in Bethel history. The sixth leading scorer in school history with 1,900 career points, Kelley was the man the Wildcats turned to when they needed a clutch three-pointer. Kelley still holds the Bethel College records for three-point shooting accuracy for a season (48.7% in 1991-92), and career (43.6%), as well as most three-point baskets in a game (11), season (146), and career (376). He is also the leader in free throw accuracy for a season (90.5%). Matt Kelley was named the most valuable player of the 1991-92 Wildcat team.

John Sneed was an outstanding point guard for the Wildcats in the mid-1980s. A player known for his floor leadership and unselfish play, he led the Wildcats to the playoffs and a winning record in Coach Mike Nienaber's second year at the helm of the Wildcats. Sneed holds the Bethel record for most assists in a game with 20. A baseball and basketball player at Bethel, John Sneed was a campus leader both on and off the court. He was the team captain and the MVP for the 1984-85 season, the McKenzie Rotary Club's Rotary Club College Player of the Year, and elected Mr. Bethel College by the student body.

Mike Nienaber is the winningest coach in Bethel College history. His 242 wins, during his 16 years as coach of the Bethel Wildcat Basketball Team only scratch the surface of the impact Coach Nienaber had on the basketball program and on Bethel College. Nienaber came to Bethel in 1983 after a successful stint as coach at Clinton (MS) High School. After establishing himself, he began to build a program that produced many fine teams and players. Three of his players John Kemper, Peter Angelos, and Matt English earned recognition as All-American players. Ten other players were Academic All-Americans during Coach Nienaber's tenure.

Nienaber also served Bethel College as the Wildcat Baseball Coach for several seasons, as Athletic Director, and as an Assistant Professor of Health and Physical Education and History. John Kemper, a player under Coach Nienaber and a member of the Bethel College Athletic Hall of Fame said, "Coach made the game fun, exciting, and especially a building block to utilize when all the players graduated from Bethel. Many of coach's players are now successful coaches, business people, CPA's and physicians." Bethel great Peter Angelos added, "I was both a player and an assistant coach for Mike in the early and mid-nineties. Winning well over 200 games is not the most impressive of Coach's many accomplishments. The most impressive accomplishment is the number of young men he has positively influenced over the years."

The Bethel College Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Dinner is Saturday, November 9 at 5:00 at the Marrs-Stockton Student Center on the Bethel campus. The public is invited to attend. For more information, please contact Virginia Claire Edwards, Alumni Director, at 731-352-4045.

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