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Contrary to the rumors, Maryville did not win its fourth consecutive state championship last Friday.

True, the top-ranked Rebels trounced No. 2 and previously unbeaten Red Bank 52-20 in a game that wasn’t even that close, but the gold football won’t be given to anybody prior to Dec. 8.

“I would say they’re wrong,” MHS coach George Quarles countered when asked whether last week’s marquis matchup served as an unofficial title contest. “It was just the quarterfinals.

“Don’t get me wrong; it was a good win for us, but it wasn’t hard for us to get back to work this week. We got the kids out of the clouds pretty quick.”

Yet it is obvious why last week’s victory was viewed by many as the toughest hurdle preventing the Rebels (13-0) from garnering a seventh BlueCross Bowl victory in eight seasons. Since Maryville established its current prowess in 2000, it has won its semifinal matchup against the Region-1 representative by an average of three touchdowns, that despite a 2003 loss to Morristown West.

Sullivan South (12-1) is the fourth delegate the Tri-Cities area has sent to slay Goliath during that span, but the Rebels of Upper East Tennessee might be the most worthy opponent MHS has faced. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. tonight at Jim Renfro Field.

“We’re coming to play football,” said Sullivan South coach Stacy Carter. “All we can do at this point in the season is prepare like we have each game. We know what we do (well), and we’re not going to change anything.”

What Sullivan South does is put their quarterback in a position to make plays. Behind the arm and underneath the legs of senior Curt Phillips, a Wisconsin commitment who draws comparisons to current Heisman-Trophy candidate Tim Tebow of Florida, Sullivan South has racked up 42 points per contest.

“He’s the best player to come out of this part of East Tennessee in a long, long time,” Carter said of his 6-foot-3, 218-pound signal caller, who has accumulated more than 50 total touchdowns this season. “I’ve heard a lot of the older folks around here say he’s better than (former Heisman winner Steve) Spurrier ever was.”

Maryville counters with a half-decent player of its own under center. Like Phillips, Brent Burnette is a Mr. Football finalist, and the senior has thrown for more than 3,000 yards and 33 touchdowns this season.

“He gets my vote (for Mr. Football),” Quarles said of his leader, who threw for five scores in last week’s victory. “Brent’s had an awesome year. Without him we’re probably playing basketball and wrestling, doing those other things that you do after football season is over.”

Regardless of which quarterback is better, Maryville is still Maryville, and 58 wins in a row doesn’t happen by chance.

“Maryville isn’t going to be fancy and flashy, but they have great technique and they do everything well,” said Carter, who in four years has transformed South from a fledging mid-level squad to a perennial championship contender. “They aren’t going to roll out a ton of big-time talents, but they have a bunch of so-called ‘average’ high-school players who just don’t screw up.

“Every one of those kids plays above their talent level.”