By Pat Cole pcole@mckenziebanner.com

Cale Belew provides a block for Boo Weathers in this shot. Weathers, a Mr. Football finalist, rushed for 100 yards in the Mustang victory.

Defending state champs, the Huntingdon Mustangs will make a return visit to Murfreesboro Friday to meet Alcoa for an opportunity to repeat for the title. The Mustangs made that repeat possible by a 12-7 victory over the Milan Bulldogs in the semifinal contest on Friday. It was a contest of wills and strengths of two teams who have tested the sweet victory of a state championship. It was extra sweet for the Mustangs, who avenged an early season loss to the Bulldogs.

Junior Phillip "Boo" Weathers and sophomore Chris Donald ran for over 200 yards in the winning effort, with Donald getting the Stangs two touchdowns and both contributing on the defensive side of the ball. While Donald had more tackles for the night, Weathers is credited for stopping Daylan Walker, who was headed for paydirt until he met Weathers. Walker took the second half kickoff and dodged one tackle after another to move into Mustang territory where Weathers was the only obstacle between he and the goal line. Although he received a good block in front of the Mustangs sideline and moved right across midfield, he was still unable to avoid Weathers who extricated himself from the Milan block, crossed the field and ran Walker out of bounds at the 21-yard line. The Stangs defense took over and held the Bulldogs out of the end zone at that point and proved to be too much until the 3:04 mark when Walker finally scored.


The Dawgs won the toss and elected to defer until the second half. With an ever present wind blowing throughout the game, the Stangs took the opening, short kick and marched to the end zone for their first offensive possession. Having won the regular season contest with onsides kicks, the Dawgs tried to repeat that effort. The Stangs quarterback, Cody Crocker, however was in position and signaled for a fair catch at the Stangs 28 where they began their 10-play drive over a period of four minutes and 14 seconds.

Scott Hampton gained the first opportunity and gained three yards to the right. Donald took the ball and ran to the 39 for the first down. Weathers moved left, the ball was stripped and recovered by Maurice Williams after a loss of two. Donald took the challenge and rushed to the 50 for his second first down. Desmond Townes was given an opportunity and picked up two. Donald gained two and then a pass from Crocker to Donald was good for a first down at the Milan 39. Weathers received another opportunity and took the ball up the middle and then right for a first down at the 25. Weathers was given the ball again and picked up another first down just a foot from the end zone. Donald used his power to back into the end zone at the 7:46 mark and Huntingdon had a 6-0 lead. Hampton, kicking the PAT with the wind to his back, punched the ball just left of the uprights.

Walker received the kick for the Dawgs, moved left and shook a tackle from Jerry McClerkin, finally reaching his own 40 before he was brought down by Weathers and Donald. Walker gained four before he was stopped by Hunter Hastings and Townes. Marcus Beal, Cody Baker and Hastings held Lydale Wells to a gain of only two and then Walker moved to the Huntingdon 49 where Brandon Snyder made the tackle. Walker picked up a first down which was negated on a holding penalty and was shaken on the play with an extended timeout to tend him. Townes made the initial hit with a host of Stangs piling on. Micah Blount was held to four by Hastings and Eric Coleman was held to seven by Donald, Snyder and Kegan Ball. Walker was held to two by a host of Stangs and Hampton received the punt on fourth and eight.

Donald moved from the 22 for a gain of six and then managed to just gain the first down at the 32. Weathers was run out of bounds for no gain and Donald picked up six. Crocker held for a gain of two and the punt went to Walker with Tony Nellett and Aaron Williams on the stop at the Milan 33.

Milan had a sustained drive which ultimately ended at the Mustang 30 where the Stangs took over on downs. Hastings, Crocker, Brent Taylor, Donald, McClerkin, Ball and Snyder led the defensive effort, with the action primarily on the ground and one missed pass opportunity.

Weathers picked up a first down at the 42 and Donald gained six. Weathers then moved the ball to the Milan 45 for another first down. Weathers was held for a loss of one, followed by a gain of four. Donald got within inches of the first down and Crocker held for the first down which was ruled short.

Milan regained possession at its own 35 at the 3:08 mark of the first half and was held to a total of one yard. Donald held Walker to four while McClerkin and Baker held Walker to a loss of five. Walker was then held by Karl Butler and Snyder to a gain of only two and the Dawgs punted to Hampton who returned the ball to the Huntingdon 39 with 1:25 remaining in the half.

Donald picked up a quick first down at the 49. Weathers was held to a loss of one, Donald gained 10 and Donald had the first down as the half ended.

After a performance from the Marching Bulldogs during intermission, play resumed with the Stangs kicking the ball to Walker, who seemed to be stopped deep in his own territory. Walker then proceeded to run right and left, zigzagging his way down to Huntingdon territory where only Weathers remained to make a stop. With the assistance of a teammate, Walker was able to elude Weathers briefly, taking the ball across the field and deeper into Mustang territory. Weathers also cut across the field and ran Walker out of bounds at the 21. That was as far as the Huntingdon defense allowed the Dawgs to get on their opening opportunity. Hastings held the gain to two and Hastings and Baker combined to hold the gain to five more. Blount moved the ball for a first down before he was brought down by Townes and McClerkin, but a holding penalty moved it back to third and 11. A pass, intended for Jeremy Smith was long and incomplete and the Stangs took over at their own 22.

Donald moved the ball for a yard and then no gain. Weathers was held to three and Drew Kelley punted the ball out at the Dawgs 48 with 7:20 remaining in the third period.

This time Milan would not be denied. An eight-play drive resulted in a touchdown and PAT, giving the Bulldogs a one-point edge. Blount moved for six with Donald and Townes on the stop. Quarterback Wells held and ran for a first down at the Huntingdon 14 with Snyder on the tackle. Coleman gained a yard as Hastings made the stop. Wells held for a gain of four with Cedric Harris on the tackle. Harris and Snyder held Walker for no gain. Facing fourth and five, Wells passed the ball to Adam Nelson for a first down at the five-yard line with Hampton on the tackle. Walker was held to a yard by McClerkin, Donald and Weathers, but on second down, he managed to run untouched into the end zone. With the score tied at six, Clay Mallard kicked the PAT just inside the uprights and Milan held a 7-6 at the 3:04 mark.

Huntingdon received the onsides kick and held on at its own 46. Donald was held for a loss of seven and Weathers picked up the lost yardage. A pass to Weathers was short of a first down, but the Stangs were penalized for an illegal man downfield. A pass to Donald was also good, but short of the first down by six. Kelley punted the ball into the end zone with 36 seconds remaining in the third period.

Blount gained a yard with Townes, Snyder, Ball and Hastings on the stop as the third period concluded. While gaining a first down as the period ended, the combination of Snyder, Hastings, Townes, and Donald proved too much for the Dawgs. With 8:20 remaining in the game, the Stangs mounted another sustained drive of their own.

Starting from the Stangs own 25, Donald moved right for five and left for nine more. Crocker moved left and finding no receiver attempted to move the ball downfield. He was stopped after a gain of one. Donald moved up the middle for a gain of four. Weathers moved left and had first down at the 50. Hampton gained seven, followed by a Donald run to the Dawgs 38. Weathers gained nine and Donald first down at the 26. Donald gained three, Weathers two and Donald the first down at the 15.With 1:53 remaining in the game, Donald picked up three and then moved the ball into the end zone for the touchdown at the 1:13 mark. The two-point conversion run by Donald was held short of the goal line as Huntingdon took a 12-7 lead.

The Dawgs made the best of the remaining time. An attempted pass was stripped from Wells hands by Beal. Blount was held to a gain of three and Wells was held and shaken on the play after a gain of two. Walker took the ball and broke through the Huntingdon line for first down at the 50-yard line. A motion penalty moved the ball back to first and 15 and Walker gained three. He was run out-of-bounds at the 42-second mark. A pass to Walker gained the Bulldogs seven yards with Donald on the stop. Wells was sacked at the 32-second mark and a fourth down pass was incomplete. Huntingdon took over at the six-second mark and Crocker took a knee to end the game with a 12-7 victory for the Mustangs.

This Friday evening the Stangs will face the Alcoa Tornadoes from Region 2-AA. The Tornadoes are 13-1 while the Stangs are 12-2 for the year. Alcoa has soundly defeated most of the teams they faced this season and its only loss was to Maryville (14-0); which will be vying for the 4-A championship on Saturday.

Huntingdon's defensive unit will need to play impeccable ball this Friday if they are to have an opportunity to successfully defend their state title. The Tornadoes defeated David Lipscomb (Huntingdon's foe in 2003's championship round) 35-14.

By Pat Cole pcole@mckenziebanner.com

McKenzie’s Drew Hayes brought the ball down for the Rebels against Clarksburg last week.

McKenzie’s Lady Rebels and Rebels won a pair of games over Clarksburg last Tuesday night as they opened season play at home. The Lady Rebels pulled out to a 26-13 lead after one, improved their margin to 55-36 at intermission, led 72-50 after three and ultimately won the contest 92-61.

McKenzie used a potent offense with Renee Crawley and Anna Trull each scoring 29 points in the victory. Trull had five three-pointers in the victory. By contrast however, Clarksburg freshman Erin Grant led her team with 24 total points while Amanda Renfroe added 17 for the Lady Rockets with each lady sinking three baskets from three-point range. The Lady Rebels hope to continue shooting well as they travel to West Carroll Thursday night to take on the Lady War Eagles, also a Class A team. Others scoring for the Lady Rockets were Cary with nine (one three-pointer), McDaniel with six (one three-pointer) and Kerri Grant with five. Adding points to the Lady Rebel total were Brooke Cole with 12, Courtney Wiggins with 10 (two three-pointers), Andrea Swan with seven and Lindsey King with five.

The Rebels also scored early and often in their 68-50 victory over the Rockets. After gaining a 20-7 advantage after one, McKenzie improved to 33-19 at intermission and 51-33 after three. Leading the Rebels were Justin Gilbert and Beau Brown (one three-pointer) with 14 each, followed by Clint Anderson with nine, Hunter Downing with eight, Brents Priestley and Jordan Trull (two three-pointers) with six each, Derek Carr with four, Drew Hayes, Marquice Tharpe, and Caleb Owen with two each and Julian Tucker with one. Joseph Bolen led the Rockets with 12 (all three-pointers), followed by Harris with nine, Scott with seven, Justin Bolen and Simpson (one three-pointer) with five each, Reed with four, Singleton with a three-pointer, Foster and Crossno with two each and Todd with one. The Rockets and Lady Rockets travel to Hollow Rock-Bruceton this Friday for district games.

By Pat Cole pcole@mckenziebanner.com

West Carroll’s War Eagles won their non-district encounter with the Yellowjackets last Tuesday night while the Lady War Eagles fell in a fiercely contested game. The War Eagles had a slow start against the Jackets, trailing 14-5 after one. However in the second period, they pulled out to a 28-20 lead and never looked back, although the lead was slim at times. Ole Miss signee Xavier Webb led all scorers with 29 total points, including five shots from three-point range. Transfer Jonason Hawkins added 10 points, followed by Chris Baker with eight, Lorenzo Stewart with seven, Alex Johnson with six, Brandon Carter with five and Cameron Hunt with three. The War Eagles sealed their victory during the final minute as they went to the line to hit seven of eight opportunities.

Greenfield was led by Brandon Shane with 20, followed by Jeremy Smith with 17, Chad Paschall with 15, Brett Reynolds with four and Derek Laster with two.

The Lady War Eagles and Lady Jackets had a closer game in the first half than the final score might indicate as Greenfield took a narrow 15-14 lead after one. By intermission, Greenfield led 31-24, improved the margin to 43-28 after three and won the game, 50-36. Freshman Brittany Luther led all scorers with 15 for the Lady War Eagles while seniors April Gilliam and Rachel Arnold contributed 10 each. Emily Hall was one of two from the charity stripe. Greenfield, with a more balanced scoring attack was led by Becky Atnip with 10, followed by Annastasia Allen and Ashley Albea with eight each, Alyse Page with seven, Pannayiettia Edmontson with five, Rhiannon Candle and Magan Cash with four each and Keely William and Nicole Jones with two each.

Monday night the Lady War Eagles and Eagles both had difficulty with Dresden, but once again the War Eagles pulled out a 10-point win in their contest. West Carroll took a 22-17 lead after one, led 46-44 at intermission and 63-62 after three before gaining their edge for an 85-75 victory. Hawkins led the War Eagles with 21, followed by Webb with 20, Hunt with 17 and Johnson with 12. Webb, Johnson and Hawkins each nailed a three-pointer. Carter contributed eight while Stewart had two three-pointers for six and Baker scored one. The Lions had three players in double figures with Mark Roberson leading with 23, including two shots from three-point range. Matt Thomas followed with three, three-pointers and 16 points while Tyson Wright contributed 12. Kyle Odle scored seven, Eddie Miller had six, Jake Doster scored four, Will Levister added a three-pointer and Matt Hewett and Jacob Hatchet scored two each.

The Lady War Eagles were very much in their contest in the first half, trailing 19-15 after one and 31-29 at intermission. The second half, the Lady Lions pulled ahead 55-41 after three, with Brooke Levister nailing 16 points, including four shots from three-point range for Dresden and ultimately won the game 68-54. Leading the Lady War Eagles was Gilliam with 17, followed by Arnold with 12 and Luther with 10. Hall contributed seven, Cierra King had six and Tori Mathis scored two. Contributing to the Lady Lions victory were Katie Quinton with 20, Kaci Bailey with seven, Emily Rook and Ashlee Dabrivel with four each and Paige Hughes, Cassie Patterson and Megan McWherter with two each.

2004 Sports Archives:

01-07-04 01-14-04 01-21-04 01-28-04 02-04-04 02-11-04 02-18-04 02-25-04 03-03-04 03-10-04 03-17-04

03-24-04 03-31-04 04-07-04 04-14-04 04-21-04 04-28-04 05-05-04 05-12-04 05-19-04 05-26-04 06-02-04

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11-10-04 11-17-04 11-24-04 12-01-04 12-08-04 12-15-04 12-22-04 12-29-04

2003 Sports Archives:

01-01-03 01-08-03 01-15-03 01-22-03 01-29-03 02-05-03 02-12-03 02-19-03 02-26-03 03-05-03 03-12-03

03-19-03 03-26-03 04-02-03 04-09-03 04-16-03 04-23-03 04-30-03 05-07-03 05-14-03 05-21-03 05-28-03

06-04-03 06-11-03 06-18-03 06-25-03 07-02-03 07-09-03 07-16-03 07-23-03 07-30-03 08-06-03 08-13-03

08-20-03 08-27-03 09-03-03 09-10-03 09-17-03 09-24-03 10-01-03 10-08-03 10-15-03 10-22-03 10-29-03

11-05-03 11-12-03 11-19-03 11-26-03 12-03-03 12-10-03 12-17-03 12-24-03 12-31-03

2002 Sports Archives:

01-02-02 01-09-02 01-16-02 01-23-02 01-30-02 02-06-02 02-13-02 02-20-02 02-27-02 03-06-02 03-13-02

03-20-02 03-27-02 04-03-02 04-10-02 04-17-02 04-24-02 05-01-02 05-08-02 05-15-02 05-22-02 05-29-02

06-05-02 06-12-02 06-19-02 06-26-02 07-03-02 07-10-02 07-17-02 07-24-02 07-31-02 08-07-02 08-14-02

08-21-02 08-28-02 09-04-02 09-11-02 09-18-02 09-25-02 10-02-02 10-09-02 10-16-02 10-23-02 10-30-02

11-06-02 11-13-02 11-20-02 11-27-02 12-04-02 12-11-02 12-18-02 12-25-02

2001 Sports Archives:

06-06-01 06-13-01 06-20-01 06-27-01 07-04-01 07-11-01

07-18-01 07-25-01 08-01-01 08-08-01 08-15-01 08-22-01

08-29-01 09-05-01 09-12-01 09-19-01 09-26-01 10-03-01

10-10-01 10-17-01 10-24-01 10-31-01 11-07-01 11-14-01

11-21-01 11-28-01 12-05-01 12-12-01 12-19-01 12-26-01