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MURFREESBORO — Four years and 240 quarters of football had come down to this: Maryville quarterback Brent Burnette capping a surreal moment kneeling on synthetic grass, 10 of his closest friends surrounding him.

The play is called “Victory Formation” and no one has ever done it better than Maryville High School, which again turned this Midstate ‘Boro into a Maryville annex. With a methodical, workmanlike effort that symbolized a methodical, pressure-filled season, the Rebels downed Maplewood, 28-13, Saturday at MTSU’s Floyd Stadium to win the Class 4A BlueCross Bowl.

Quite literally it was the crowning moment for a group of roughly 20 Rebel seniors who never lost a game in their high school careers. It emphatically punctuated four years of perfection.

“That’s when it set in, just walking to the sidelines,” said Burnette, the offensive MVP for his 15-for-22, 222-yard and two touchdown performance. “We did it, and it’s just the best feeling in the world to be able to hold up that gold ball again. When we called ‘Victory’ in the huddle, and that’s our play to kneel it, I just knew that we’ve made this goal a reality.

“It’s an awesome feeling.”

Maryville’s seniors will have learned to drive while in high school.
Forged friendships that transcend time.

Some have become eligible to vote.

They will have never strapped on a black helmet with “Rebels” plastered on the side and lost a game.

History books tell us this never has been done before, this unblemished reign of perfection; common sense tells us it never will be done again.

“Fourth quarter and about a minute to go, I looked over to (Aaron) Douglas and said ‘Man, we went 60-0,’” said senior Stephen Shiver, who intercepted a pass and threw a game-clinching touchdown to Thomas Shuler on a trick play. “Four state titles, I don’t know if there are many people who can say that.

“Even when I’m 30 or 40, I can say to my kid or whoever, I didn’t lose a game in high school, and that’s really special to me.”

Special is the word that echoed through every bleary-eyed interview, players and coaches alike overcome with emotions that first swell during 6 a.m. summer workouts. There was talk this season that Maryville was vulnerable; the expectations too overwhelming. Fifteen wins, only three by single digits, were the answer.

“We mentioned the pressure we were under and the talk of a win-streak,” said Rebel coach George Quarles, architect of this never-before-seen run of seven crowns in eight seasons, who recently rejected the overtures of Hoover (Ala.) High School to lure him away. “We had so many injuries. A lot of times you just felt like ‘Well, maybe it’s not meant to be. Maybe we’re just not going to be able to get it done.’

“These guys persevered, and it is a gratifying year, no question. It’s tough when everybody expects you to do it, and then it’s almost tough when you’re supposed to do it and you’re maybe not doing it enough during the year.”

What the Rebels might have lacked this season in their customary domination they made up for in an unfailing companionship for the players alongside them.
Many teammates never pondered the possibility of losing; not because they felt invincible. Rather, they felt like they couldn’t let each other down.

“This is the best feeling I’ve ever felt. A lot of people did say we were down, and we struggled in the beginning,” senior center Broughton Greene said. “We came through it with a lot of hard work and teamwork. We came together these last few weeks and probably played better than any Maryville team that has ever come through here.

“Our coaching staff did a great job of getting us prepared, and I’m just so proud of all these younger guys and all these senior guys mean the world to me. I’ll never forget this.”

Neither will the coaches. As sport so often does, this game mirrored life in some ways for Maryville’s coaching staff. Wayne Thompson, with Quarles & Co. through the first eight years, returned to the sideline for this game. Joe Pinkerton, an assistant principal at MHS, coached his final game.

No one has ever seen a group like this. It’s a statement that says as much for the coaches as it does Maryville’s players.

“This group has learned how to win,” assistant coach Mike White said. “It doesn’t mean anything about next year, but this group right here knew how to win. And when you said to them, ‘We can’t turn the ball over,’ it was like it really meant something to them. And they wouldn’t fumble or throw an interception or whatever. When you think about drives in games that were pretty close, like the Halls game, when you had to have a drive at the end to finish, that’s what championship teams do.

“The leadership on this team, from the head coach to the quarterback (Burnette) to the big tight end (Douglas) to Broughton Greene to Jeffrey Booker to Stephen Shiver, it’s just been fantastic.”

Historic.

John Brice is sports editor. Write to him at: The Daily Times, P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, TN 37802-9740, or e-mail to: john.brice@thedailytimes.com