By JIM STEELE
mckenzierebels.com

McKenzie sophomore Jake Johnson must have had a feeling before the game that he was going to have a special night.

He had 67 yards rushing, two touchdowns, 139 return yards, 206 all-purpose yardage, seven tackles, two for loss and an interception. He may have gotten dressed in the locker room, but some may contend he changed in a phone booth...if they even still have those.

Johnson had a Superman-like night and was a key cog in McKenzie's scheme for a 42-39 win over visiting Union City.

Johnson had a 48-yard TD run in the fourth to give MHS the lead and momentum it would need down the stretch. And in the end, he came up with a big sack for an 18-yard loss that essentially ended Union City's chances to pull out a victory.

The youngster had a grip on UC quarterback Brett White and wasn't going to let go.

"That scared the crap out of me," said Johnson, wide-eyed. "I was thinking, 'this is the biggest play of the game and I can't let him go,' and I wasn't going to let him go."

He didn't and now McKenzie is 2-0 in Region 7A play.

But Johnson's TD run gave the Rebels a big boost in the fourth.

"It was awesome," said Johnson of his 48-yard burst. "Give credit to the line because with the holes they opened, anyone could have done it."

HOT AND HUMID: Game time temperature was 86 degrees at Rebel Field and, even with the summer inferno, this was perhaps the hottest and most humid night of the young season.

Many of the Rebels' jerseys were almost maroon in color because of profuse sweating. Several of the players got sick on the sideline. Others had cramps. After the physical contest, many of the players limped out of the dressing room or had a much slower gate as they went to their cars. Senior Tyler Reeder left to get an intravenous treatment. He played hard, was double-teamed most of the night, suffered through cramps, but never left the game.

"This was probably the hottest night we've had and we didn't have all our depth," said MHS football coach Wade Comer. "We usually use 15 or 16 kids and tonight we only went with 11 or 12 so a lot of kids had to gut it out."

Even quarterback Derek Carr, who normally doesn't play defense, was used in the secondary on the last series because he was more fresh than some of the other spent defensive backs who had chased Union City runners and receivers all night.

"Tonight was one of the hottest games we played," said senior receiver Rusty Chapman. "The humidity took a lot out of us."

Said senior Clint Kee, simply: "It was hot and physical."

2-0 IN 7A: McKenzie improves to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 in the region, which is key if it wants to repeat as Region 7A champions.

Sure, there are five region games left, but the Rebels are savoring this one, especially given how they had to win the game.

"It's the greatest feeling in the world," said Johnson, whose effort went a long way in ensuring that MHS would remain perfect on the season in region play.

"It doesn't just feel real good, it feels really good," Chapman said. "But we have to keep focused and just keep playing hard."

"We started off lackadaisical," said Kee. "But 2-0 feels great right now."

Moore said Union City gave the Rebels a good game, "But it's great to be 2-0 right now."

"Being 2-0 in the region, you can't feel anything but good about it," said Carr. "But we still have Greenfield, South Fulton, Lake County, West Carroll and Gleason to worry about; we have to come out focused."

TRACK MEET: When McKenzie and Union City play, it's like a track meet and a tennis match. In 2005, the Tornadoes captured a 52-33 victory over the Rebels. McKenzie's Drew Hayes set three state records in that game and one national mark. Last year, the Rebels found themselves tied with the Tornadoes at halftime, but they recovered to claim their first win in school history over UC, 41-21. Friday night, MHS won a thriller, 42-39. In three games, McKenzie and Union City have combined for 228 points. McKenzie has outscored UC 116-112 in those three battles.

REUNION: It wasn't just reunion night for the McKenzie football family. Union City football coach Jimmy Fishel, who prepped at South Fulton and, as a Red Devil quarterback, played against McKenzie back in the early 1980s. His coach back then? None other than former Rebel Charles "Punk" Akers, who played for McKenzie in 1949 before getting the call to participate on Cutcheon Field at Murray State.

UP NEXT: McKenzie will have to recover fast because archrival Huntingdon will be at Rebel Field 7:30 Friday, Sept. 28. The Mustangs defeated Houston County 49-7 Friday and will seek to avenge last year's 31-17 loss to McKenzie at Paul Ward Stadium last season.

McKenzie hasn't won back-to-back games against Huntingdon since 1945-46. In 1945, the then-Yellow Jackets won 33-7 and again 40-6. Then they topped the Mustangs 33-6 in '46. It was a three-year stretch where the Rebels beat Huntingdon five straight times. In 1944, McKenzie won 44-7 and 20-6. Lon Varnell was the coach during '44 and '45 and M.K. Pinkston guided MHS to the win in '46. During World War 2, there was fuel rationing and many close-by football teams played each other twice during the regular season to conserve fuel.

McKenzie hasn't beaten Huntingdon with the home seating on the south side of Rebel Field since 1973 when McKenzie led 20-0 at halftime, watched Huntingdon charge back to lead 21-20 only to watch Terry Bateman kick a 36-yard field goal over the west crossbar to win the game, the first for MHS over Huntingdon since 1963. The Rebels twice beat Huntingdon when the home side was on the north sideline. MHS won 13-6 on Sept. 13, 1985, then again on during Week 9 of the 2001 season by the same 13-6 score.