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NASHVILLE — It’s triplets.

Again.

For the second consecutive year, the opening day of championship week brought Tennessee Mr. Football status to three Blount County players.

Maryville swept the Class 4A honors for the second consecutive year, with quarterback Brent Burnette taking the back award and Aaron Douglas repeating for the lineman. Alcoa quarterback Randall Cobb made it three in a row for the Tornadoes, taking the Class 2A back designation.

“I’ve kind of learned to never say never, but you can’t imagine it getting much better than this,” said Maryville head coach George Quarles. “There is a great run of talent going through Blount County right now, and I’m glad I’m around for it.”

William Blount was also represented by punter Kase Whitehead, who was nominated as one of the top three kickers in the state across all classifications, but the Marshall commitment saw Mike Hammons of Polk County High take the honor.

“It’s one of the best areas for Tennessee High School football. There’s no doubt about that,” Burnette said of Blount County. “I thought Kase Whitehead was going to get it, too. He’s a great player. I knew Randall would win, and Aaron, he won it last year. It’s just great to be mentioned with all the great players who were up there on stage.”

Power of Three

Cobb, a 6-foot senior on a squad with few four-year players this season, has been focused on his team this season. The work toward leadership did not go unnoticed by a coach who knows what Mr. Football candidates look like.

“It’s a great award and great to be nominated. Any of the three that are nominated are good players. I’ve got 10, 11 maybe 12 kids up on the boards in this room, and I think Randall is as deserving as any athlete I’ve ever had that won it,” Alcoa head coach Gary Rankin said, pointing around at the banners commemorating past Mr. Football award winners. “He’s one of the best players in the state. You can break it down into 2A, and he won the 2A award, but he’s probably as good as any player in the state, I would think.

“His stats weren’t gaudy, but we never tried to make them gaudy. We’ve got a tailback that could have had gaudy stats if we had wanted him to. (Randall) has been really valuable to us as far as leadership because we’ve got a small senior class. ... We knew we were going to mix some young kids into that group, and sometimes that’s hard to do. But they’ve been great leaders, and the leadership thing alone has been outstanding from Randall and the rest of our seniors.”

The field-calm Cobb was up against Kendal Harper (Peabody) and Harrison Moore (Westview), and the dual-threat back was admittedly a bundle of nerves under the casual cool demeanor shown during the Monday morning interview sessions for Friday night’s 2A BlueCross Bowl — a third time meeting with Goodpasture.

The questions were largely the same as what the signal caller heard last year at this time when his main concerns were Alcoa’s chances at a three-peat in a rematch with Goodpasture. Cobb teased senior Chris Shiverdecker about his nerves before the Tornado running back was named a 2006 Mr. Football at the luncheon that followed.

“I was making fun of him for being nervous last year. I talked to Chris not too long ago, and he told me my stomach was going to be quivering, and it sure was,” Cobb said. “My knees were buckling and my stomach was turning. I didn’t know what to think on stage.”

Cobb’s award gives Alcoa a Mr. Football three-peat following Shiverdecker and Brandon Warren’s 2005 recognition. The quarterback, who has often appeared fluid and flawless on the field in amassing 1,800 passing yards and 21 aerial touchdowns with another 700 yards and 11 scores on the ground this season, took extra care to get things aligned just his way Monday at the Nashville Airport Marriott. The power of three was doled out among the family in the form of the three state title rings Cobb already owns.

“I gave my mom one of them and my dad the other one, so I guess they gave me a little bit of help,” said the senior, holding his trophy in one hand with last year’s ring on his finger. “They wore my rings during the last championship game. It means a lot for them to be here with me after everything they’ve done for me.”

Say my name

Just moments after Cobb became Alcoa’s fifth Tennessee Mr. Football, Maryville repeated the 4A sweep — sort of.

Douglas, a UT commitment at tight end, took the linemen honors for the second straight year, but then his nerves started when Burnette lined up six feet to his left with fellow backs finalists Curt Phillips (Sullivan South) and Jacquese Seward (Hillsboro).

“I was just wanting to see my quarterback get the award,” Douglas said. “I was so happy Brent got it.”

But “Brent’s” name didn’t come across; instead previously unknown Maryville quarterback “Ben Burnette” was announced the winner.

“That’s all right. It didn’t bother me that much,” said the quarterback, who has rewritten the Maryville record book from the workover given it by 2004 Mr. Football Cade Thompson. “I had no clue. I thought if they call my name, that’s great, but if not, we’re still playing in the state championship (Saturday). We have a great team I’ve been playing on, and I have to give all the credit to my teammates and coaches because they’re the ones that got me there.”

Douglas and Burnette, the fourth and fifth Rebels to be designated Mr. Football, came together for the multiple post event photo requests of media and family, but neither displayed the smile of individual accomplishment. The duo was still thinking toward the state title match with Maplewood.

“It’s an honor,” Douglas said. “But we both know there’s stuff above this and that’s the championship.”

“I know Brent and Aaron both feel really strong about this — it’s a team thing,” said Quarles. “They wouldn’t be here without a strong team around them, and they’ve done a great job of not letting this stuff go to their heads.”

With that thought in mind, the trio headed toward the exit and a ride home.

“He still has to make practice tonight,” Rankin said of Cobb with a laugh.

“They still have to go,” Quarles added, regarding Maryville’s Monday night film session.

And the trio of Tennessee Titans Mr. Footballs wouldn’t have it any other way.