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MHS Quarterback Derek Carr signals the
victory of the semifinal game.
- photo by Joel Washburn
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Rebels top Mt. Pleasant
35-32 in thrilling Class A semifinal
By JIM STEELE
Special to the McKenzie Banner
Mt. Pleasant quarterback Marco Dailey showed
why he won Mr. Football last year and is
among the final three again this year.
The Tiger standout carried 32 times for 294
yards for three touchdowns. He is part of a
Mt. Pleasant team that is every bit as good
as billed and perhaps better than the 11-2
mark it sported coming to McKenzie for its
Class A state semifinal clash. The Tigers
are worthy of a state championship shot.
Clint Kee intercepts a Mt. Pleasant pass in
the waning seconds of the game. Quinton
Bowden (#2) was also in position to catch
the ball as a Mt. Pleasant receiver watches
helplessly. - photo by Joel Washburn
Thanks to the upstart McKenzie Rebels, the
Tigers won't get that shot. And the Rebels
are glad Dailey and Co. are gone.
The Tigers blew through Rebel Field like a
fierce hurricane, yet the Rebels are still
standing. McKenzie survived the Mt. Pleasant
onslaught to win 35-32 and advance to the
Class A state title game. The Rebels, who
tied a school mark for best record at 13-1,
will face 14-0 South Pittsburg 3:30 p.m.
Friday at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium on the
campus of Middle Tennessee State University
in Murfreesboro.
Either team could have won Friday night's
game. The Rebels vanquished a good football
team.
"Mt. Pleasant was good, huge up front and
Dailey was an excellent back who was built
up to what he was cracked up to be," said
McKenzie coach Wade Comer, beaming in the
wake of the win. "We moved the ball well
offensively and did a good job outside of
shooting ourselves in the foot a couple of
times. They stepped up and made plays but
when you get to this point, there are no bad
teams left."
The Rebels teetered with the Tigers to the
very end. Mt. Pleasant scored on a
fourth-and-1 play with 4:42 to play when
Dailey dived in head long for the score. The
Tigers took a 32-29 lead and left McKenzie
with a bit of time. Ortega kicked a squibber
right to Austin McKinney who returned it 15
yards to the Rebel 45. From there Tyler
Moore made up his mind to make a big play.
On the first play of the possession, Moore
took the ball from MHS quarterback Derek
Carr, followed his blocks, made a read and
rolled to the outside. He used a peel-back
block from Rusty Chapman and raced 50 yards
to the Tiger 5, vehemently animating the
McKenzie crowd. On the next play, Moore
bolted off tackle for a 5-yard TD run. The
kick was blocked, but the Rebels led 35-32
with 4:20 to play. Moore finished with 16
carries for 110 yards.
Excited McKenzie fans swarmed to the field
following the game to congratulate the
Rebels after earning their first trip to the
championship game. - photo by
Joel Washburn
A concern was that the Rebels had left too
much time on the clock. But the Tigers went
to a more conventional set, which was a bit
unconventional for them. Dailey, who was
slowed after scoring the last Mt. Pleasant
TD, only ran once in the next possession. On
a fourth-down play, Dailey heaved it and
McKenzie senior Clint Kee picked it off. The
Rebels had the ball back with 3:30 to play,
but were forced to punt.
Mt. Pleasant took over with less than a
minute to play, but with Dailey, the Tigers
were still very dangerous. Kee put an end to
the Tigers' title aspirations when he pulled
down his second interception of the night
with :15 remaining. From there, Carr took a
knee and the Rebels were headed for
Murfreesboro.
"When Mt. Pleasant scored that last
touchdown, the kids were positive and
excited," said Comer. "We had
four-and-a-half to go and the squib kick
gave us good field position; I knew we could
run our offense."
Then Moore's run was the dagger.
"The line did a good job blocking and Moore
found a hole and made a huge run," the coach
said.
There were 10 lead changes. The Rebels and
Tigers were engaged in a very physical ping
pong game that went down to the wire. There
were big plays by both teams and on both
sides of the ball. The Tigers implemented a
throw-back offense similar to the single
wing attack popular in the days of Knute
Rockne and Robert Neyland. And they ran it
with precision. Dailey showed his
proficiency right off the bat. He carried
all six times during a 59-yard opening
drive, which included a 40-yard explosion
that landed the Tigers in the red zone. With
8:58 to play, Dailey scored from the 8 to
lift the Tigers to the lead. Jesus Ortega
booted the first of three TDs, but the
Rebels, trailing 7-0 answered with a bit of
a statement.
The Rebels marched 57 yards in nine plays
during their first drive. Carr completed a
7-yard pass to Chapman, then converted a
third-down play to Shabree Payne for 19
yards. Four plays later, Carr dumped off a
13-yard scoring completion to Jacob Fussell
with 3:57 to play in the first. MHS stunned
the Tigers with a two-point conversion pass
from Carr to Clint Kee. The Rebels led 8-7.
"That two-point conversion was big," said
Comer. "That put pressure on them to go for
two and it gave us a little momentum."
A group of seniors gather for a post-game
photo with the final score displayed on the
scoreboard in the background. (l to r) Derek
Carr, Tyler Reeder, Will Adams, Josh Rhodes
(kneeling), John Campbell, Elijah Harris,
and Shabree Payne. - photo by
Joel Washburn
The Tigers would be heard from again. Dailey
uncorked a 64-yard run to the Rebel 1, which
set up Jay Stoops' TD excursion. The
conversion pass failed, but Mt. Pleasant led
13-8 with 7:03 to play in the half. Back
came the Rebels.
After a series of possessions, the Rebels
got the ball back with 3:31 left in the
half. Carr scrambled out of trouble and
found a wide-open Kyle Kirk for a 58-yard TD
completion. Kirk made a strong move to the
end zone. Harris Laughrey booted the first
of three PATs.
"I thought they had trouble covering our
receivers and I told Derek to be patient and
let the receivers work," Comer said. "We
kept fighting and Carr found Kirk all alone.
That was a huge play for us."
And the Rebels appeared to be headed to the
dressing room leading 15-13 at the half.
Wrong. Dailey and the Tigers had other
ideas.
With :36 second to play, Dailey felt
pressure from the Rebels and heaved a pass
down field. Julian Corlew and MHS defender
Quinton Bowden were stride for stride down
the far sideline. Bowden had perfect
position; Corlew had about a six-inch height
advantage. Corlew won the jump ball and
scored the go-ahead TD. The Tigers went into
the locker room leading 19-15 with momentum.
But the Rebels won the toss and elected to
take possession in the second half.
Good idea. The Rebels wasted no time in
coarsing through the Tigers like Lindsey
Lohan through rehab centers. McKenzie romped
69 yards in nine plays, distributing the
football between Moore, Jake Johnson and
Fussell. On the last play of the drive, Carr
hit Chapman for a 7-yard scoring pass. The
Rebels reclaimed a 22-19 lead.
"We managed the game well," Comer said.
"They'd ring the bell and we'd ring the
bell. When they scored, we knew we had to,
too. That drive to start the second half set
the tempo and we've been good at doing that;
we started pounding the rock."
But the Tigers roared right back with one
play, an 82-yard dash by Dailey. With 6:46
to play, the Tigers were back in front,
26-22. The Rebels replied with a seven-play,
47-yard drive, aided by a 15-yard
interference call and a 9-yard third-down
conversion run from Fussell. Carr hit
Chapman for a 16-yard TD pass and the Rebels
were back in front, 29-26.
"That was a huge catch by Rusty to score,"
said Comer. "He concentrated, broke a tackle
and scored."
Then came the fourth-quarter pyrotechnics,
which included the late scores and Kee's
larceny.
"Kee's interceptions were huge," said Comer.
"He had one tremendous pick when they had
time, then he had the other one to seal it."
Carr finished with 8-11 passing for 140
yards and four TDs. Chapman had three
catches for 45 yards including a pair of TDs.
Kirk had two grabs for 57 yards and a score.
Defensively, Kirk had seven tackles, one for
loss and broke up a pass. Johnson did the
same. Evan Rogers had seven stops to go with
two for losses. Kee had three tackles, two
picks and a pass break-up.
Corlew led the Tigers with a 67-yard
reception for score. Defensively, he had
eight tackles. Antonio Richardson had five
stops with one for loss.
Mt. Pleasant, Region 6A champs, finishes its
season at 11-3. McKenzie has earned another
48 minutes, but this time, there is a pot of
gold at the end of that 48-minute rainbow.
"We'll enjoy this this weekend then put it
behind us," said Comer. "We don't want to be
satisfied; we put in a lot of work and we've
built a foundation. we just have to finish
the deal."
(Jim Steele is editor and webmaster of the
sports website mckenzierebels.com)
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