Weather

Local News

   ___________
 

___________
 
AD RATES
___________
 

National News

But MHS head coach Wade Comer cautions that while this first step was good, it will, indeed, be a journey of a thousand miles.

The Rebels' varsity topped JCS 3-1 in the two teams' first inter-squad workout of the pre-season. And it was pretty much a typical first scrimmage: there were a lot of bugs, a few dropped passes, a few missed blocks, a few missed assignments. All in all, however, it gave the Rebel coaches a look at where the team needs to polish.

"We have a lot to clean up and we have to get better at some things," Comer said. "But that's what scrimmages are for, to go full speed against someone else and to find out what we need to work on."

The new offense drew a lot of curiosity as a large crowd looked on. McKenzie struggled on the first series but managed to click down the field on its second possession, using a nice mix of runs and passes.

Sophomore quarterback Drew Hayes was 15-31 passing with TD strikes to Clint Anderson and John Craig Howell. Mark Ghyers and Cody Cook had some good runs to balance the Rebel attack. In addition, Hayes worked the keeper well.

"I thought Drew started reading defenses better (after the first series) and got rid of the ball on time," Comer said. "We made a few adjustments on the line and the line did a better job picking it up."

He also said his receiver corps played well.

"Clint and John Craig made some big catches for us," Comer said. "We have some kids who can catch the ball, but we have to get used to catching it in traffic."

The Rebels were missing some trench personnel, but had a solid game up front, especially on defense. Senior Kris Sydnor had a sack, several hurries and hits on the JCS trigger men. Senior Andrew Cross and junior Paul Edwards had solid games on both sides of the ball.

"Our defense looked better than I thought it would," said Comer. "I thought we looked real good, especially with the people we had out."

Comer hopes the running game picks up and is confident it will.
"We have to get better moving people up front," he said. "There is a difference between run blocking and pass blocking and our linemen have to learn that. But I thought we ran the ball pretty well. We are used to blocking with seven and eight men up there, now we have to learn how to do it with five because of the new offense."

But Comer also noted that the passing attack has a tendency to spread the defense out, which will take care of some of the blocking.

The Rebel coach said he was pleased with what his team accomplished the first week of pre-season practice.

"The weather cooperated a little bit and we got a lot done," Comer said. "We got everything in, but it's nowhere near where it needs to be right now. But we got everything in and we got our special teams packages in last week. It was a good week."

BIG HOUSE: Close to 400 people were on hand to watch the Rebels and JCS scrimmage at McKenzie High School Friday evening. Comer and MHS principal Terry Howell were both surprised by the turnout.

"I was real pleased with the crowd," said Comer. "I was shocked; that's the most we've ever had for a scrimmage. I hope it's a sign of things to come and it tells me people are excited about what we're doing here."

FAMILIAR FACES: Former McKenzians Tommy and Martha McDonald were on hand at Friday's scrimmage between McKenzie and JCS. Their son, Will, plays quarterback for the Eagles and worked several series Friday. Former McKenzie High School coach and principal Jerry Escue also was at the scrimmage. He serves as the headmaster at JCS, having previously filled a similar role at Harding Academy in Memphis. Also, several former recent Rebels were at the scrimmage. Jay Taylor, David Duncan and Taylor Holland looked on from the sidelines.

NOT IN UNIFORM: The Rebels were without a few key players in the lineup. Fullback/linebacker Brad Campbell has not been cleared to play following surgery to repair a broken wrist last April. Campbell says he should be cleared to play as school starts. Senior receiver/defensive back Daniel Duncan was held out of the scrimmage with a back ailment. Shawn Luna, a starting lineman, missed the scrimmage because of family commitments. Ben Boyd was held out of the scrimmage, but is expected back this week.

UP NEXT: The Rebels have an ambitious week. Tuesday, the Rebels took part in a three-way at Jackson-South Side with the hosts and Humboldt. Friday, the Rebels will be facing a formidable foe when they host Crockett County, touted as perhaps the best 3A team in Tennessee. Kickoff for that scrimmage is 4:30 p.m. Friday at McKenzie High School's practice field.

South Side defeated a tough Covington team Friday and Humboldt knocked off USJ in pre-season action.

"That's why we scrimmage," said Comer. "We want to get a look at where we are and get the kids used to the speed of the game and what it's going to be like in a game situation."

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Milan and Haywood County scrimmaged last week and the Tomcats beat Milan 6-1. Yes, this raised a few eyebrows in these parts, especially since Brownsville only topped MHS 3-2 in a spring scrimmage. Milan also defeated HC in the spring, which may have served as motivation for the Tomcats.

Sources say that Milan was experimenting with depth and didn't use its top players much, but that the Tomcats did pretty much have their way with the Bulldogs for most of the afternoon.

The Mustangs weathered the temperatures and performed well in a three-way scrimmage at Trenton last week. Head coach Mike Mansfield said his team is about where it should be at this time.

"We should be on pace now, but when you have 18 seniors and a lot of kids who have played before, you should have high expectations," the coach said. "I expected us to step up and be on track and we did that. I was pleased with our progress."

At Trenton, the Mustangs took on the host Golden Tide and Dyer County. They gave up only one score on the day and crossed the end zone numerous times themselves.

"We ran 10 plays to get to the 10, then when we got there, we played down and distance," Mansfield said. "I was pleased with our fullback blocking and the fact that we threw it a little bit. We are trying to be more balanced."

Last week, the coach said that the physical status of his team was concerned. As it worked through practice last week, he was pleased by the progress.

"I was most pleased with the physical part, seeing how the kids would step up," said Mansfield. "We made some changes up front that would make us more physical. The Wing-T served a purpose, but I thought we were losing our edge physically, so we got in the I and I'm seeing a difference."

The HHS coach said his defense rose to the occasion, too.
"We played a couple of teams that throw, throw, throw, throw and I was pleased with the progress our secondary has made in defensive coverage," said Mansfield. "Everyone is in that 'chuck and duck' where they stand back in the shotgun and throw it; I think this will help us later on."

The Mustangs will have one-a-day workouts from here on and will prepare for a scrimmage at South Side 6 p.m. Friday. Dresden comes to town on Aug. 15 for a 6 p.m. scrimmage.

"Two-a-days are over and we got through that and that helps," Mansfield said. "Now we'll get into more of a regular routine and we'll spend time fine tuning little things."

But Lady Rebel basketball coach Dan Ridley believes good things loom for his team as they conclude their summer practice.

The McKenzie High School girls' team took part in a weeklong camp, hosted by Martin-Westview. They posted a 7-2 mark while there.

"We probably played as well last week as we have since I've been here," Ridley said. "We beat some pretty good teams and played real well at times."

The Lady Rebs knocked off the likes of South Fulton and Lake County, two teams who have recent state tournament pedigrees. McKenzie topped a rising Crockett County team on the last day. State qualifier Chester County edged MHS by a point and Marshfield, Mo. went through the camp unbeaten, but needed two overtimes to dispatch the Lady Rebels.

"They beat Gibson County by 14 and they beat Gleason and some other teams," Ridley said. "They hit a couple of free throws to get it to overtime and then they beat us in double overtime."
Still, Ridley was very pleased by what his team achieved.

"We played with greater intensity on defense than any team I've ever coached," he said. "Our girls were hustling, diving after loose balls. One time we had five girls on the floor going after a loose ball. I told them, it was kind of hard to score that way, but I liked the hustle."

Ridley said he liked the fact that his defense quickly turned to offense with frequency during the camp.

"Offensively, we've had a little time to work on things," the coach said. "We aren't where we are going to be, but we got better."
One of the things Ridley likes about this team is its crystallization.

"This bunch of kids has jelled and played together as a team," the coach said. "This is probably the most single-minded group of kids as I've ever coached."

Ridley said one of the benefits this summer was playing a lot of young kids, watching them step up and earn some playing time. He thinks that will pay off when the season rolls around. He also says this team is a different team than it was when it started last spring.

"We have made a lot of measurable progress," said the coach. "It's fun to see how we've gone from point A to point B."

The team will take a few days off before school starts, but will begin lifting, running and conditioning when school begins next week.

As if making a substate appearance last season wasn't enough to do the job, Ridley said his team's performance opened a lot of eyes.

"I don't know if that's a good thing or not to have this time of year," Ridley said, "but we got a lot of people's attention."

• Diamonds Compete at Worlds
• McGowan Benefit Softball Planned
• McKenzie Soccer, West Carroll Flag Football Registrations Set

Advertisements