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http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/spor...11-29-0041.html South's graveyard looking for more victims Thursday, Nov 29, 2007 - 11:27 PM By Brian T. Smith Staff Writer Bristol Herald Courier A miniature graveyard has been erected next to the field at Death Valley. Greeneville has a headstone. So does Sullivan East. So do Tennessee High, Morristown West and Elizabethton. The tiny white graves represent Sullivan South??™s victims this season. The Rebels (12-1) hope to add one more marker to their handmade cemetery when they head to Maryville tonight for a Division 1 Class 4A state semifinal matchup that begins at 7 p.m. But Maryville headstones are rare. In fact, they??™re nearly impossible to obtain. The Rebels (13-0) are on a 58-game winning streak, haven??™t lost at home since 2001, and have been ranked by a variety of publications as high as No. 7 in the country. It??™s hard to talk about Maryville without resorting to hyperbole. Point blank: Maryville is good. But they??™re not invincible. At least, that??™s what South quarterback Curt Phillips thinks. "They play football just like we do," Phillips said. "I know they??™re good. We respect them. But ??¦ they??™re not the Dallas Cowboys, you know? They??™re high school kids and they do the same things we do. "We??™re not going up there to end our season. We??™re not going up there happy and content. We??™re going up there to try and win and keep our season going." Translation: why not South? Maryville has to lose some time (theoretically), and South should give the Rebels all they can handle. South has put up 41 points against all three of its playoff opponents, and Phillips (213 rushes for 1,747 yards and 36 touchdowns; 148-of-234 passing for 2,034 yards and 16 touchdowns) leads a highly-charged Rebels offense that is as talented as it is confident. Meanwhile, South??™s defense has grown up fast. The Rebels defense began the season as a liability, but soon turned into one of South??™s strong points. Linebackers Ty Garvin, Clint Phillips, Chris Collins and Derrick Fisher lead a Rebels defense that??™s forced 59 punts while holding opponents to an average of 78.8 passing yards and 170 rushing yards a game. This said, Maryville has earned its big, scary name for a reason: the Rebels have been a grave digger for Northeast Tennessee teams this time of the year. And this season, senior quarterback Brent Burnette (140-of-208 passing for 2,180 yards and 23 touchdowns) leads a Maryville offense which has outscored opponents 453-165, while junior linebacker Jeffrey Booker and junior defensive end Justin Smith top the Rebels??™ defense with 74 tackles apiece. "We can??™t go into the game even thinking about their stature or what they represent," said South coach Stacy Carter. "And I think we??™re doing a good job of that. We had a great week of practice, and all our kids are really focused and just trying to prepare for this like every other game we??™ve played this season. We have to stay confident and just stick to what we do. It??™s got us this far." btsmith@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2569

BY BRIAN T. SMITH BRISTOL HERALD COURIER KINGSPORT – “Curt! Curt! Curt! Curt!” came the chant, from a deep sea of game-worn blue, red and white jerseys. It was Curt Phillips Night on Friday evening at Death Valley. Actually, it wasn’t. But it sure could have been. Phillips was as dominant as dominant can be, racking up 264 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries, and completing 12-of-20 passes for 142 yards and two scores. The Rebels compiled 441 yards of total offense, and Phillips had a direct hand in 406 of them. Add it all up, and Phillips’ inspired outing led Sullivan South to an impressive 41-14 win over Greeneville in a Division I Class 4A state quarterfinal playoff game. The Rebels (12-1) now head to Maryville to take on the Rebels (13-0) at 7 p.m. next Friday in the state semifinals. It’s the first time since 1993 South has advanced to the state semifinals. “Curt, he’s a pretty good player isn’t he?” said South coach Stacy Carter afterwards, indulging in the ultimate rhetorical. “He had a great night.” Phillips had touchdown runs of 5, 65 and 32 yards, and the Greene Devils (10-3) looked helpless every time he touched the ball. “This is huge,” Phillips said beaming. “Everybody’s been working so hard. We haven’t been this far since ’93, and it’s been our goal since week one to go. I mean, it’s awesome.” But as well as Phillips played, he wasn’t alone. South’s defense – led by sophomore linebacker Clint Phillips, senior linebackers Chris Collins and Derrick Fisher and senior defensive lineman George Harless – shut down a Greeneville offense that ran rampant in the first half. The Greene Devils alternated Trevon Hall (15 rushes, 102 yards) and Jeremy Barner (16 rushes, 88 yards) early, and the Hall-Barner attack allowed Greeneville to take a wave of momentum and a 14-14 tie into the break. Then Rebels made adjustments. “We had to,” Clint Phillips said. “Early on, our linebackers were getting doubled. We changed it, and that really helped us cut down on their cutbacks. It helped a lot.” And while South shut the Greene Devils down in the second half, the Rebels’ offense poured it on. Curt Phillips connected with senior fullback Brad Shanks on a screen pass, and Shanks ran 15 yards untouched into the end zone to give the Rebels a 27-14 lead with 9 minutes, 55 seconds left in the third quarter. Phillips then hit senior wide receiver Seth Johnson (eight catches, 78 yards) for an 18-yard touchdown on South’s next drive, putting the Rebels up 34-14. “I think it says something great about our football team,” Carter said. “These boys have worked really hard. It was a total team effort, and they started working towards this a long time ago. “Hopefully, they can keep on going. This is a heck of an opportunity for our team and this community, and what they’ve done is just outstanding.” btsmith@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2569 Greeneville 0 14 0 0–14 Sullivan South 0 14 7 20–41 Scoring Summary SS—Curt Phillips 5 run (Jordan Willingham kick) G—Jeremy Barner 6 run (Chad Castainca kick) SS—Phillips 65 run (Willingham kick) G—Barner 13 run (Castainca kick) SS—Taylor Fletcher 9 run (Willingham kick) SS—Brad Shanks 15 pass from Phillips (Willingham kick) SS—Seth Johnson 18 pass from Phillips (kick failed) SS—Phillips 32 run (Willingham kick) Team Stats First Downs: G 16, SS 19; Rushes-Yards: G 43-202, SS 38-299; Passing Yards: G 46, SS 142; Comp-Att-Int: G 7-18-0, SS 12-20-1; Fumbles-Lost: G 1-0, SS 0-0; Penalties-Yards G 3-31, SS 3-25; Punts-Average G 5-30, SS 1-51.

http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/spor...11-09-0063.html Tennessee High falls to Volunteer 21-14 in overtime Friday, Nov 09, 2007 - 11:22 PM By Brian T. Smith Bristol Herald Courier BRISTOL, Tenn. ??” Thomas Turnbull planted his feet and jumped. When Turnbull came down, both of his black cleats and the football he was tightly grasping appeared to rest above white paint. Turnbull had scored a touchdown. The Vikings were still alive. Or were they? A sideline referee momentarily lifted his arms up to signal a score, then dropped them back down. Two more refs ran over. As opinions, pleas and threats rang out from the stands, Tennessee High??™s 2007 football season hung in the balance. Twenty seconds later, it was over. The refs ruled that Turnbull had come down inches short of the goal line. While Volunteer fans stormed the field, a Vikings fan tried to throw a maroon-and-silver pom-pom at the feet of the departing refs. "You ruined my senior year!" the fan shouted. But the result was the same: Tennessee High had fallen to Volunteer 21-14 in overtime on Friday evening in a Division I Class 4A first-round state playoff game at The Stone Castle. "I don??™t know what the rules are, but my feet were in," a stunned Turnbull said. "But that??™s part of high school football." Turnbull fought off a Volunteer defensive back and pulled down a desperation pass from Tennessee High (8-3) quarterback Mason Canty on 4th-and-6 in OT. Canty began the play by rolling left, and then turned right when he ran into a wall of Falcons (6-5) defenders. After checking off his first two options, Canty kept his feet moving and found open ground near the 12-yard line at the right hashmark. Then he found Turnbull waiting two yards into the end zone. Since Canty threw off his back foot, his pass lacked velocity. Turnbull ran up to catch it, came down and ??¦ "I was at a bad angle ??¦ I don??™t know," said Vikings coach Greg Stubbs. "That??™s an official??™s call. Just like last week." Tennessee High won the coin flip to determine overtime possession, and the Vikings chose to defend their goal first. But the Falcons turned three straight rushing plays into a touchdown when Chris Ward bowled his way through the Vikings??™ middle for what became a game-winning score. Even with the overtime controversy, Tennessee High??™s offense struggled to find its footing all game. Keenan Shephard led the Vikings with 136 yards on 19 rushes, but he and Turnbull (two 7-yard touchdown receptions) were the lone Viks to stand out on offense. "We just, um, we just didn??™t get some things done tonight," Stubbs said. "We didn??™t execute that well. We didn??™t get some things done in the running game. Didn??™t get it going like we normally do." The Vikings turned their opening drive of the game into six quick points. Turnbull pulled down a short pass from Mason Canty and ran seven yards into the end zone, putting Tennessee High up 6-0 with 8 minutes, 50 seconds left in the first quarter. But the Falcons bounced right back. Volunteer quarterback Keith Cradic (11-for-18 passing for 110 yards; 128 yards rushing) connected with Aaron Bennett on a crossing pattern, and Bennett turned the simple route into a 55-yard gain. Cradic then jumped, dove headfirst and twisted his way into the end zone two plays later, pulling the Falcons within 7-6 at the 7:20 mark in the first period. Cradic looked two-steps faster than the Vikings??™ defense in the early going, and Volunteer turned his fast feet and strong legs into a major advantage. Cradic burned the Vikings for a 55-yard sprint via a QB sneak late in the second quarter. And Shane Barlow made it 13-7 Falcons when he knocked over two Tennessee High defensive lineman and fell in the end zone with 37.6 seconds left in the first half. Volunteer will now move on to face Greeneville on the road at 7 p.m. next Friday. btsmith@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2569 Volunteer 21, Tennessee High 14 Volunteer 7 7 0 0 7??”21 Tennessee High 7 0 7 0 0??”14 Scoring Summary TH??”Thomas Turnbull 7 pass from Mason Canty (Perrin kick) V??”Keith Cradic 5 run (Cradic kick) V??”Shane Barlow 2 run (Cradic kick) TH??”Turnbull 7 pass from Canty (Perrin kick) V??”Chris Ward 2 run (Cradic kick) Team Stats First Downs: V 12, TH 11; Rushes-Yards: V 42-182, TH 37-150; Passing Yards: V 110, TH 60; Comp-Att-Int: V 11-18-0, TH 8-17-0; Fumbles-Lost: V 4-1, TH 3-1; Punts-Average V 6-31.3, TH 5-35.4; Penalties-Yards TH 5-30, V 2-20.