GREENFIELD (August 28) The Greenfield Junior Yellow Jackets welcomed the McKenzie Middle School Rebels in week two junior high football action Thursday night.

Greenfield began the game with Tanner Smithson returning the opening kickoff to the Jackets 35. On the third play from scrimmage Greenfield running back Quinton Yarbrough fumbled as Rebel Chance Flippin knocked the ball loose and McKenzie recovered at their own 46.

On first down, Rebel running back Bishop Williams carried for 53 yards to the one and fullback Flippin drove in on the next play for a McKenzie touchdown. Quarterback Alex Akin rushed for a two-point conversion, giving the Rebels an early 8-0 lead.

The Yellow Jackets managed a first down, but on the subsequent play Rebel defensive back picked off an Austin Pence pass bobbled by the receiver for a second Greenfield turnover.

A quick Akin pass was caught by Rebel receiver Josh Owen for a nine yard gain at the McKenzie 49. Bishop Williams, going over 100 yards on his second carry, rushed 51 yards on the next play for another Rebel touchdown. Akin added two on a bootleg for a 16-0 McKenzie lead with 2:48 left in the first quarter.

The Jackets took the kickoff to their 24 and Yarbrough was hit in the backfield for a four yard loss. Jacket quarterback Pence was flushed out of the pocket on the following play and fumbled as Rebel Curtis Broadbent pounced on the ball.

Taking over from the Greenfield 23, Akin completed a 16 yard pass to Josh Owen. Fullback Flippin then cut between the tackles for a seven-yard Rebel touchdown. Two consecutive penalties put the ball on the 30 for the two point attempt, which was unsuccessful as McKenzie furthered their lead, 22-0.

As the second quarter began, the Jackets stalled, losing 7 yards on their first two plays. On third and 17, Pence sent a screen pass in the right flats to Yarbrough who jetted 67 yards to put Greenfield on the board. Zack Grooms caught a pass for two points to narrow the margin, 22-8.

Quarterback Akin took command on the ensuing Rebel drive with three carries for 51 yards and a five-yard touchdown pass to Owen. Flippin added two points and the Rebels led 30-8 with 3:55 until halftime.

On the first play of the drive Greenfield’s Grooms fumbled and Rebel Evan Wilson jumped on the ball for McKenzie’s fourth takeaway of the half.

Taking the ball at the Jacket 33, Akin ran for 9 yards, Skylar Freeman carried once for 16 yards and Flippin ran eight yards to score his second touchdown with 1:54 in the half. Akin deftly executed another short bootleg and McKenzie’s lead was extended 38-8.

Jacket Yarbrough had a 13-yard carry, but the clock ran to the half thereafter.

Bishop Williams fielded the second-half opening kickoff at the Rebel 14 and in 14 seconds raced 84 yards for a spectacular TD. Rebel Junior Chavez rushed for the two-point conversion, extending the lead to 46-8.

Two consecutive Jacket first downs led way to another Pence fumble as he was pushed out of the pocket. Rebel Collin Smith recovered the ball at the McKenzie 44.

Chavez carried twice for 18 yards before the close of the third quarter. Chavez rushed for 12 yards on the next play and later in the drive fullback Collin Smith punched in McKenzie’s seventh TD of the game from 11 yards out. Ty McClain rushed for two points and the Rebels led 52-8 late in the game.

Yellow Jacket Yarbrough fielded the following kickoff at the Greenfield 36 and scampered 64 yards to pay dirt. Pence rushed for a two-point conversion cutting into the lead with 1:56 remaining, though the Rebels ran the clock out and won the contest by a final of 52-16.

Following the game, Rebel Head Coach Brad Chappell was very enthused by his team’s performance. “I thought we capitalized on their mistakes. We maintained focus tonight. I thought we looked a lot better in many aspects of the game.”

He continued, “I tell the kids the mark of a good team is to get better not just each and every game, but every practice.”

Addressing the offense’s good mix of play calling he said, “We tried to pass a bit more tonight. If the running game is working, we should be able to do other things off of that.”

Two individual players Coach Chappell discussed were Chance Flippin and Bishop Williams. “He’s gotten better every game. You know he’s going to go 100 percent every time. When he gets the football, he kind of gets in a ‘bad mood’ and he made some good sticks tonight,” he said of fullback Flippin. He mentioned of the nimble Williams, “Bishop may be the fastest kid I’ve ever coached in middle school. He’s not afraid to run between the tackles too. I was really pleased with his effort.” He continued with praise for quarterback Alec Akin, saying, “Up until May, he was a tight end. He has worked hard at learning (the quarterback position) over the summer. He’s running harder and he’s making good throws.”

The Rebels will visit the Central Bruceton-Hollow Rock Tigers on Thursday, September 4 at 6:30 p.m.

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