McKenzie pounds War Eagles

ATWOOD - Eric Robinson rushed for three touchdowns and Tyler Spivey caught two touchdown passes to spark the McKenzie Rebels to a 36-0 win over the West Carroll War Eagles.

In a game spread out over two nights due to a Friday night storm delay, the Rebels dominated from the start and easily emerged victorious over their cross-county rivals.

“I thought we handled it pretty well, having to get set back into the game mode,” said McKenzie coach Wade Comer. “The kids responded well, and now we’ve got a short week this week, so we’ve got a lot of work to get done.”

After the game resumed where it left off Friday night with 7:06 left in the first quarter, the two teams traded possessions without a score.

However, McKenzie downed a punt inside the War Eagle 1, and on the next play a bad West Carroll snap was recovered in the end zone by the War Eagles for a safety and a 2-0 McKenzie lead.

McKenzie got a good return on the safety kickoff, and Eric Robinson scored from six yards out on the first play of the second quarter to put McKenzie up 9-0.

Rebel QB Zach Jarrett hooked up with receiver Tyler Spivey for two touchdowns in the second quarter.

The first score saw Spivey take a screen pass 43 yards to the end zone, and on the next possession Spivey got behind the War Eagle defense and caught a deep pass right down the middle of the field for a 92-yard score that gave McKenzie a 24-0 halftime lead.

The Rebels pounded the ball with Robinson in the second half, and he scored on runs of 22 yards and 65 yards in the third quarter to put the game out of reach and the Rebels a 36-0 lead.

After starting the year with two non-region games, both teams will begin region play next week at home with McKenzie hosting Gibson County and West Carroll facing Dresden.

“I like the improvement we’ve made from Week 1 to Week 2, and we’ve got to get ready,” said Comer. “Those region games are the ones that count, and we’ve got to be ready to play.”