By JIM STEELE
mckenzierebels.com

JACKSON - McKenzie entered Friday evening’s football scrimmage seeking answers to a lot of questions.

The Rebels have to replace a bunch of receivers and over a half-ton of linemen. After battling 4A Liberty Magnet here Friday night, the Rebels leaned in the direction of answering a lot of those questions, but the results, a 7-4 victory over the host Crusaders, led to a few more questions.

Rebel coach Wade Comer said there were a lot of bright spots, but inconsistency was a concern.

"We were sporadic and did good things in spurts," he said. "We’d do a couple of good things then two or three bad things. We’d make two or three good plays and then give up a big play."

McKenzie did the job on offense and progressively improved as the day went along. Tyler Watson got the scoring started with a 2-yard TD burst, followed by a 1-yard scoring run from Tyler Watson.

Harris Laughrey, playing defensive back, picked off a pass and sprinted 30-yard to the house. Sophomore Jake Johnson scored from a yard away, then Moore raced about 60 yards, setting up another Johnson run from the 3.

Senior Shabree Payne hauled in a 25-yard scoring pass, then senior Derek Carr hooked up with classmate Rusty Chapman for a 70-yard TD aerial.

Tyler Reeder had a fumble recovery. Ryan Hickman caught a big TD pass from Kirby Esch in JV action.

"Offensively, we got better and I was pleased with that," said Comer. "Defensively, we didn’t play as well as I wanted us to, but it’s a first scrimmage and there’s a lot of work to do and we’ll get it done.

"We had people step up, but we were just inconsistent," Comer said. "But now we have something we can work from."

Senior defensive lineman Corey Ellis, expected to be a leader up front, suffered a knee injury and was examined by an orthepedic doctor who was attending a scrimmage at Jackson-South Side. Preliminary reports suggest that Ellis may have suffered damage to his medial collateral ligament as well as his anterior cruciate, but an MRI early next week will reveal the extent of the damage. It is hoped, even if there is a tear, that Ellis may be back for the season, which begins Aug. 31.

"We will just have to wait and see on Corey," said Comer. "He may have a possible ACL and MCL."

First-year Liberty coach Steve Hookfin, a former Bethel College assistant coach, said his team needs more discipline, but was excited to see how things went in the scrimmage.

"We’re going to do things the right way, but I’m excited and I thought we did some good things," Hookfin said. "We just have to be more disciplined; we have talent, but we just have to work to our strengths."

Hookfin had praise for the Rebels.

"They have a system and a good program. They have a good scheme," said Hookfin. "(MHS quarterback Derek) Carr is the real deal and McKenzie does things well. We want to get to the point where we can work to our strengths, learn our scheme and maybe by the time regional games get here, we can surprise some people. But I was excited by what we got done."

The Rebels will scrimmage McNairy Central 5 p.m. Friday at the Holland Sportsplex then head to Crockett County for the kickoff scrimmage in Alamo.