Perfect 10

Junior high Rebels dispense convincing, championship rout of Alcoa

Evan Porter scores one of his three rushing touchdowns in Saturday’s Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship game. Photos by Jolanda Jansma

By Tate Russell
Assistant Editor
Blount Press Row

Lenoir City – The offense rolled and the defense dominated for the Rebels as Maryville Junior High capped a perfect 10-0 season with an almost perfect, 45-0 victory over Alcoa Middle in the Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference championship game Saturday afternoon at Lenoir City High School.

The 2012 Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference champion Maryville Junior High Rebels.

“This was big for us and ultimately it’s the culmination of six months of hard work by these guys,” Maryville coach Jay Malone said.

The Rebels were led offensively by quarterback Evan Porter, who went 5-of-6 passing for 75 yards and a touchdown, adding another 111 yards and three scores with his feet.

The appropriately named T.D. Blackmon added another 152 all-purpose yards and one score.

As a team the Rebels gained 356 yards of total offense.

Maryville’s defense was faced with the tough task of shutting down a dynamic Alcoa offense that had scored a lot of points this season and only lost one game, 14-8, at the hands of the Rebels.

There were few moments like this for Alcoa running back Chris Badgett.

Defensive linemen Brock Sloan and Spencer Lowe wreaked havoc in the Tornado backfield, forcing a shutout and holding Alcoa to -6 yards of total offense.

“That’s one of the greatest performances we’ve seen by a defense and against a great Alcoa football team. That is a good football team,” Malone said. “I give our kids a lot of credit. They buy in to our system and they come to practice every day eager to learn.”

The Rebels second drive started at their 16-yard line, but Porter quickly moved them to midfield when he faked a screen to Jack Bristol and hit his tight end, Matt Young, split wide, for a 27-yard gain.

Later Porter found Blackmon out of the backfield and in the seam for 21 more. Cameron Goss capped the drive by stretching the ball across the goal line on a sweep left.

Alcoa answered by driving the ball to the Rebel 29, but a fumbled snap out of the wildcat and a sack by Lowe forced a Tornado punt.

This time, Porter led an 80 yard drive for the Rebels. The quarterback picked up 48 of those on one play. Stood up in the backfield, Porter slipped the tackle and blew by everyone as he tiptoed the left sideline to put the Rebels up by 14.

“I told him (Porter) in the spring, ‘I want to try you at quarterback because I can trust the ball in your hands.’ And as you saw today he can use his feet to turn a bad play into good play,” Malone said.

The Rebels third score came when Blackmon took a sweep right.  As he rounded the corner, he pulled up and dropped a strike into the hands of Bristol for a 42-yard touchdown pass with under a minute left in the first half.

On the ensuing Alcoa, drive Porter, at safety, intercepted an Austin Ensley pass to give Maryville another chance to score before intermission. The Rebels drove down to the 10-yard line, where Matthew Cone hit a 27-yard field goal as time expired.

Cameron Goss extends the ball over the goal line for a Rebel touchdown.

The second half started as poorly for the Tornadoes as the first half ended when Ensley muffed the opening kickoff and Clay McCord recovered. Two plays later Porter found McCord in corner of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown pass.

Goss scored next for Maryville on an 18-yard rush off the left end. Goss finished with 33 yards on five attempts and two scores.

Blackmon set up the last score, taking the ball off tackle right for 24 yards. Porter trotted up the middle for 17 yards on the next play and his second rushing touchdown.

With time waning, Chris Badgett picked up the Tornadoes first non-penalty aided first down on a 9-yard rush. Badgett was the best performer for the Tornadoes with 18 yards on four carries.