Tour de Fource: Rebs cap historic run with 4A title

By John Brice
of The Daily Times Staff

MURFREESBORO ­— Consider this a four-gone conclusion.

Mere hours after Alcoa became the first program in TSSAA history to forge to a four-peat, top-ranked Maryville took matters a step further with a 28-13 win in the Class 4A BlueCross Bowl Saturday at MTSU’s Floyd Stadium.

The win produced the Rebels’ fourth-consecutive state championship and pushed their winning streak to 60.

“Crazy,” MHS coach George Quarles said, who claimed his seventh title in nine years atop the program. “I talked to Coach (David) Ellis and we were hugging, and I did say ‘Can you believe 60 in a row?’ You never, ever even thought about that. We talked about 14-0 and trying to get to 15-0.”

But in tackling history, consider:

Maryville is the first school in Tennessee high school football with four-straight unblemished 15-0 campaigns.

The Rebels have won 60 consecutive games, 99 of 100 and 113 of their last 115; they last lost during the regular season in September 2001.

“After we won as freshmen and went 15-0, we said we want to do this,” said MHS quarterback Brent Burnette, who earned Offensive MVP honors with 222 passing yards and two touchdowns. “We talked then about going 60-0.”

Tied at 7-all with a Maplewood team just four years removed from a winless season, Maryville seized command with a 14-point second quarter. Thomas Shuler darted to paydirt from 3 yards out. Chris Jordan slipped behind the Cougar secondary — no defenders within 30 yards — to catch Burnette’s 34-yard strike for a 21-13 halftime edge.

“Chris Jordan, and we’ve talked about it, has had so many big plays this year,” Quarles said. “Two more touchdowns (including the game’s first) and had a big touchdown last week. He just is a big-play guy.”

A 30-yard trick play to Shuler, who rushed for 116 yards, in the third quarter was all that Maryville would need to cement its historic run. Burnette pitched behind the line to Stephen Shiver, who turned and fired across the field to a wide-open Shuler.
“This is just so unbelievable,” Shiver said.