By JIM STEELE
mckenzierebels.com

Before Thursday night's game, McKenzie Middle School coach Brad Chappell thought his team was a bit listless in warmup as it set to battle Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central.

And why not? The Rebels had just gone through a stretch where they won three games in two weeks against tough customers Dresden, Huntingdon and Greenfield. It stood to reason that McKenzie might not be too sharp mentally or physically.

"I looked at Coach Ognibene and said, 'George, we're flat,'" Chappell said with a wry grin. "I was wrong."

Way wrong.

The Rebels bolted from the gate with a 73-yard kickoff return to start the game and that ignited a 28-0 first-quarter eruption which eventually resulted in a 42-0 victory. The win lifts McKenzie to the best start of the Chappell era, 4-0, 2-0 in county play. The fast Rebel start has piqued the curiosity of two middle school bowls.

Not only was the victory impressive, it was economical as well. McKenzie only snapped the ball 15 times and held it for 6:56 of the alotted 32 minutes. But in that 6:56, they scored 42 points, took advantage of four Bruceton turnovers and roasted the Tigers with special-teams play. The Rebels had three returns for 153 yards, two resulting in touchdowns, both in the first quarter.

"I was really surprised," said Chappell. "We came out ready to roll. I was worried before the game."

Robert Taylor took care of those worries. He took the opening kickoff back 73 yards to the Tiger 12. Two plays later, Colin Vinson, who led the Rebels in rushing with seven carries for 81 yards, broke the plane. Storme Hilliard added the deuce and McKenzie led 8-0 with 7:04 to play in the first.

On the first Central series, Vinson imposed McKenzie's defensive will. He scooped up a fumble and took it 26 yards to the house. Vinson added the PAT run and McKenzie led 16-0 with just 2:07 elapsed in the first quarter. Central lost another fumble and McKenzie made it pay. Thirty seconds after its last TD, McKenzie was back on the board again. Vinson scored this time on a 25-yard run. The PAT failed, but McKenzie led 22-0.

The Tigers punted to the Rebels during its next series. Hilliard fielded the 28-yard kick and returned it 54 yards for another McKenzie touchdown. The Rebels led 28-0 going into the second quarter.

"Our special teams played very well," said Chappell. "Storme and Robert had great returns; I was pleased overall."

Central, meanwhile, had more problems on special teams. T.J. Cook blocked a Tiger punt and the Rebels were parked in the red zone. Vinson's 16-yard run set up Robertson's 10-yard TD pass to Robert Taylor. McKenzie was assessed an unsportsmanlike call after the score and the PAT was attempted from the 18. The conversion failed, but the Rebels held a 34-0 lead at the break.

Central had a good drive to start the third frame, but coughed the ball up again. That enabled Bishop Williams to etch his name into the scorebook again. He dashed 36 yards with 2:20 to play in the third. Curtis Broadbent added the two-pointer and McKenzie led 42-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Michael Curry drilled the ball into the end zone for his second touchback of the season, again a rarity in middle school football.

"Curry is kicking the snot out of the ball," said Chappell, wide-eyed in disbelief.

Central was knocking on the door in the fourth quarter but ran out of time with the ball on the Rebel 22.

Central coach Chris Wall, who played his high school ball at McKenzie, said his team wasn't as consistent this week as it was last week when it beat Gleason.

"Last week, we executed well," he said. "Tonight, we moved the ball well, but we turned it over too many times. We have to be more consistent."

Chappell was able to keep a few plays in the hopper for the next team on the list.

"We didn't have a whole lot of offense and we didn't even go through our first 10 plays," said the Rebel coach. "I guess we'll get to keep a few plays in our back pocket."

Vinson had a good game on both sides of the ball. He had 26 return yards, seven tackles, one for loss and a fumble return for a touchdown.

"Colin's our team leader and he does a great job getting the guys up," said Chappell. "He picks the team up when we're down and is like a coach on the field, but he's started for me for two years."

Chappell had praise for his interior linemen and his understudy runner Bishop Williams.

"(T.J.) Cook, (Devin) Watkins and (Tyler) Patterson got after it," Chappell said. "And Williams was our special teams player of the week for us last week and he gets down the field in a hurry."

One item of rather interesting note, McKenzie safety Latia Collins made a strong tackle mid way in the fourth quarter of a Central runner. Ordinarily one tackle isn't that significant, except Collins is believed to be the first MMS girl to have made a tackle in school history. "Listen, she's not bad and is one of my strongest players," said Chappell.

Jeremy Watson led the Tigers with 14 carries for 66 yards. Frank Hampson had three tackles to lead Central.

The Tigers host Decatur County Sept. 6 while McKenzie will seek its third straight Carroll County title when West Carroll comes to town. Kickoff for both games is 6:30 p.m.

"We're 4-0 and that's the best start I've had since I've been here," Chappell said. "We just have to keep focused and who knows what can happen."