By JIM STEELE
mckenzierebels.com

Friday night, McKenzie was presented a challenge.

The Rebels hadn't been past the second round of the state football playoffs since 2002. They Rebels hadn't played a quality opponent in several weeks. The Rebels desperately wanted to remove that second round primate from their backs. They have been eliminated in the second round three of the last four years (in 2004, McKenzie lost in the first round at Cheatham County 50-28). How would they respond?

Were the Rebels great? Perhaps not great. Good? Indeed. Was Fayette Academy a quality opponent? Absolutely. And even though the Rebels had a few mistakes, they persevered to defeat a tough visiting Viking squad 28-7 to advance to the Class A quarterfinals next Friday night against Trinity Christian, 28-14 victors over Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central. Kickoff will be 7 p.m. at Rebel Field.

The victory marks the fifth time in school history that the Rebels have reached this point. McKenzie first reached the quarterfinals in 1980 when they suffered a 21-7 setback at Lake County. The Rebels were in the quarterfinals for three straight years from 2000 to 2002, reaching t he semifinals twice in 2001 and 2002.

McKenzie coach Wade Comer warned his players before the game that the Vikings were better than what their 5-6 record might suggest. Quarterback Davis Cocke made his return to the lineup after suffering an injury early in the season. The Vikings displayed speed, quickness, an ability to run well off the football and on defense, chased McKenzie quarterback Derek Carr from the pocket a half dozen times and sacked him twice.

Still, the Rebels managed the adversity, the two turnovers played a ball-control game.

"Fayette Academy is a good ballclub and played hard and I knew they would," said Comer. "It was a good game for us because we hadn't been in a game like that in a while."

The Rebels kept it on the ground for the most part and controlled the clock. Senior Tyler Moore ran hard in the first half. He had 19 carries for 89 yards. In the second half, the Rebels turned it over to sophomore running back Jake Johnson, who torched the Vikings for 105 yards on 13 carries.

"Johnson came in in the second half and ran well and did a good job and looked good doing it," said Comer of his sophomore who had been held out with an ankle injury. "Moore did a good job, too. He softened up their defense, then we threw Johnson in and he was a nice change up."

The Rebels stopped an eight-play, 36-yard drive, forced a punt, then drove 89 yards in 11 plays ending in Moore's 5-yard TD run. Harris Laughrey hit the first of his four PATs and with 2:37 left in the first, McKenzie led 7-0. But it wasn't easy. Fayette Academy made the Rebels work for the score. The Vikings forced Carr to convert a third-and-10 play by scrambling and then connecting with senior receiver Clint Kee for a circus-type 36-yard reception. That set up the score. The Rebels wanted to establish that they could move the ball great distances; Fayette Academy couldn't.

"They had kids who were physical with us and we came back and we were physical with them," said Comer of the struggle. "We had to get adjusted to the speed of the game. Once we got our feet under ourselves, we got our edge and our swagger back."

The Rebels picked off two passes in the second quarter. Kyle Kirk stepped in front of a pass with 9:59 to play in the half, but the resulting drive sputtered. When Fayette Academy got the ball back, all-state linebacker Tyler Reeder introduced himself to the Vikings. Cocke rolled to his left, felt pressure and looked to pass back to the right. Instead of finding a Fayette Academy receiver, he found Reeder. The Rebel senior caught the pass, paused for a second, almost in shock that it was so easy, then sprinted 25 yards for his first career touchdown. He had an 11-yard fumble return at Union City last season. With 6:06 to play in the half, the Rebels led 14-0, but Rebel fans sensed potential for danger.

And the Vikings resorted to a bit of gadgetry to score their only TD of the game. Cocke linked up with Zach Bryson for a 27-yard completion and Bryson ran the hook-and-ladder play with Kyle Bliss, who darted an additional 11 yards on the pitch. With the ball on the Rebel 8, Ron Butler carted it the rest of the way to trim the lead with :42 to play. Brandon Duke nailed the PAT and the Rebel lead had been trimmed to seven, 14-7.

The Rebels wrested control of the game in the second half. McKenzie snapped the 31 times in the final two quarters, the Vikings just 15. The Rebels had 180 yards in the final two frames, Fayette Academy just 14. Evan Rogers' fumble recovery with 8:57 to play in the third set up McKenzie's next score on the Viking 14. After a 2-yard loss on the first play, Jacob Fussell, on a fullback blast up the middle, ran over would-be Viking tacklers and surged 16 yards to the end zone. McKenzie led 21-7 with 8:17 remaining in the third.

"Our fullbacks played well," said Comer. "The ran well and when the blocked, they blew up the ends well and the line blocked well, too."

Johnson got in the act in the fourth frame. With 8:00 to play in the game, he marched in from the 5, ending and eight-play, 70-yard drive. The Rebels benefitted from a huge sack from Rogers and a pass break-up from John Campbell. Campbell swatted away the ball with his broken hand, injured Monday at practice.

The Rebels got the ball back for one final march to the red zone where the clock ran out with the ball on the Viking 5. McKenzie had survived and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in six seasons.

Defensively, McKenzie forced four turnovers: three interceptions and one fumble recovery.

"OUr secondary played lights out and covered well," said Comer. "We got good pressure and kept their quarterback contained."

This game could help build the Rebels' confidence moving forward.

"Trinity is a good team and the competition gets a little tougher the farther you go," Comer said. "This will give us come confidence going into next week as we get ready for Trinity."

Carr was just 4-7 passing for 64 yards and and interception. Rusty Chapman had two catches for 22 yards. Clint Kee had one catch for 36 yareds and Kyle Kirk had one grab for 6. Fussell had six carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Evan Rogers and Caleb Parham had career nights. Rogers had nine tackles, two for loss, two more sacks, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery. Parham had six tackles, two for loss, a sack and a quarterback hurry.

"Parham came to play," said Comer. "He did an outstanding job and we hope that's a taste of things to come; he played exceptionally well and got after the football well."

Campbell had nine stops as well and a club-handed pass break-up. Reeder had four stops, an interception for a touchdown, two QB hurries and broke up a pass. Kirk and Chapman each had interceptions.

For the Vikings, Butler carried 15 times for 47 yards and a score. Cocke was 5-18 passing for 56 yads and three picks. Rodney Tatum had two catches for 28 yards. Defensively, Kyle Bliss had eight tackles including a sack.

The Vikings close the season with a 5-7 mark. Should the Rebels, now 11-1, defeat the Lions next week, it will host either Jo Byrns or Mt. Pleasant in the Class A semifinals in two weeks.

"We're one of eight teams left playing and one of them is going to win it," Comer said. "We're going to find out just how good we are."