thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

GREENEVILLE -- When it was over, Thomas Shuler would describe the feeling as that of running on clouds.

But the Maryville High School senior tailback and his teammates were stepping on Devils all the way to Murfreesboro on Friday night.

Buoyed by a prodigious ground attack that chewed through host Greeneville for 301 yards and an efficient passing game, the Rebels exploded past their hosts, 33-6, Friday before a standing-room-only crowd of 5,640 at Burley Stadium to clinch their fifth-consecutive appearance in the Class 4A state championship and 74th consecutive triumph.

"This game, I just felt like my feet were on clouds when I was running," said Shuler, who paced the Rebels with 104 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. "And I felt a whole lot faster on this (artificial) turf."

From the outset, Maryville (14-0) possessed a gear that the Greene Devils (11-3) couldn't match. Quarterback Philip Juhlin tossed two of his three touchdowns in a tone-setting first quarter in which the Rebels showcased a dizzying efficiency. Juhlin hit Chris Jordan from 26 yards for the game's first score and five minutes later found Mason Trenda on a corner fade to double the Rebels' advantage to 12-0. Shuler cleaned up the first-quarter dominance -- Maryville held the ball for 8 minutes, 37 seconds and amassed 193 yards on 20 plays -- from a yard out. The first of Zach Sharp's three PATs boosted the Rebels to a 19-0 bulge.

"I think it's big, and I keep saying, to me the road is not a huge disadvantage other than you have to get on the bus," said MHS coach George Quarles, who improved to 137-9, of his team's Usain Bolt-like start. "This field's a lot nicer than our field. We got to play on something besides mud and dirt. But I do think it definitely put a little bit more doubt in their minds because we got off to a fast start.

"You know they're thinking, 'Uh oh, maybe they are pretty good' -- that kind of stuff. On the other hand, if you don't come out and do that and let them hang around, then they get more confidence. And then you're in for a fight. ... We need to do it one more time."

That occasion will be Saturday at MTSU's Floyd Stadium, when Maryville seeks an unprecedented fifth-consecutive state crown against familiar foe Hillsboro (12-2), which outlasted Henry County, 31-24. Kickoff is 4 p.m. ET.

The Rebels ensured the program's eighth championship-game berth since 2000 when they seized upon Greeneville miscues and utilized more quick-strike offense in the third frame. After the Greene Devils netted just a 7-yard punt from their own 20 to the 27, Maryville needed just three plays to score; Trenda gathered another fade along the right sideline from 7 yards away.

Shuler then capped the game's scoring with a 22-yard dash up the gut. The sprint through the toothless Greeneville defense closed out a four-play, 72-yard drive in which Juhlin scampered 34 yards on one play and found tailback Buddy Jones in the flat for 12 yards the next.

Juhlin closed with 198 yards of total offense; 77 rushing yards on seven totes and 121 through the air with three scores.

"I thought Philip, this was probably his best game," said Quarles. "He gets it. It's kind of natural, not really something you can teach. The guys trust him and his decisions. It's been fun to coach. If we could get him to pitch every now and again, it would be a lot better. He doesn't like to pitch it. But Philip is one of those who does what he can do. He plays within himself, and I think that's important."

What similarly is important, Quarles said, is the team concept this group of Rebels have embraced from Day One.

"Oh, gosh. I know people get tired of hearing that, but if you'd have told me at the start of the year that we'd be 14-0 ... I was just thinking if we can get through these first two or three with just one loss, then we'll get better by the end of the year," said Quarles, 44-2 in postseason play. "I thought we might get good enough to do this, but I just didn't think we'd do this at 14-0. I think that's the exceeding-the-expectations part. But you give those kids credit. They deserve anything that happens because they have put the team ahead of themselves. They've worked together. They've just shown up and played, focused on the process."

And while it's a familiar process for most Maryville coaches and players, it's brand-new for first-year defensive assistant Nick White, a former Lenoir City head coach.

"It's very surreal. The season, looking back on it, seems like it has flown by," White said. "I don't know what it is. Seems like you blink and the season's over with. It's a very surreal experience, but, of course, around here it's kind of an expected thing.

"I think it's the little things. It's not that these kinds don't want to lose; they don't understand what it is to lose. They don't get riled up. They don't get panicked. Whatever adversity comes along, they just kind of say, 'OK, let's regroup and get after it.' And it's the whole thing, the community, the parents. It's the support of the administration and the school. I mean, the school is crazy. I've never seen school spirit like that before, and they're hard workers. They understand."

Trevan Hall paced the Greene Devils with 142 rushing yards and one touchdown on 26 carries.