PREP FOOTBALL: Tennessee High stops South, claims conference title

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – The road to the Big Eight Conference championship runs through Bristol.

The top-ranked Tennessee High Vikings rushed for 290 yards Friday en route to a 38-22 win over the Sullivan South Rebels. The emotional victory clinched a perfect 10-0 regular season and the Big Eight title for the Vikings.

THS coach Greg Stubbs, who received a Gatorade shower in the final seconds, was delighted with the crisp performance of his senior-laden team.

“I’m so happy for this bunch,” Stubbs said. “We’ve got a big senior class with 23 kids, and they are very deserving of this kind of night.”

Tennessee High collected 227 total yards in the first half en route to a 17-7 lead. Behind the blocking of 6-foot-4, 275-pound senior Alex Taylor, the Vikings kept powering away in the second half.

“We had a rough time running the ball compared to what we’re capable last week against Daniel Boone, so our main goal tonight as offensive linemen was to drive the ball down the throat of the defense the whole game,” Taylor said.

A traffic jam began to form nearly two hours before the start of the game, with many South fans waving Rebel flags. Taylor admitted that the big-game atmosphere added to the motivation.

“We’ve been hearing about the crowd for this game since Monday,” said Taylor, a college prospect who can bench press around 320 pounds. “That just added to our tempo. Ever since we lost on this field in our sophomore year after leading in the first half, we’ve been wanting this one bad.”

The margin expanded to 24-7 with 3:15 left in the third quarter when THS quarterback Taylor Harmon split three South defenders on a 20-yard scoring pass to Matt Pendleton.

“We got a little sloppy in the fourth quarter, but our offense and defense played tremendous,” Stubbs said.

THS senior running back Keenan Shepard, who rushed for 1,562 yards and scored 21 touchdowns last season, led the Vikings Friday with 108 yards rushing on 12 carries. Shepard has been slowed by an injury in recent weeks.

“Welcome back Keenan Shepard,” Stubbs said. “You saw tonight why Keenan is a great running back. When he’s hitting all on all cylinders, it makes us real good.”

Shepard accounted for 77 yards rushing on six carries in the first half Friday despite missing most of the second quarter with a leg injury. Fullback Bradley Tallman supplied 40
yards rushing, two touchdowns and solid blocking for THS, while Carlos Howard and T.J. Simmons combined for over 100 yards rushing.

“We’ve got about five excellent backs,” Taylor said. “If one player goes down, another one steps in.”

Sullivan South, which had won four straight conference titles, entered the game on a four-game winning streak against THS. The Vikings had won four straight conference titles before South began its run.

“This is always a tough game,” Stubbs said. “South has gotten the best of us the past four years, and that’s one reason I’m so happy for this bunch of seniors. They’ve seen us lose this game before and they played great tonight.”

South relies on relentless 5-foot-7 senior tailback Bobby Taylor and senior receiver Ashton Zanoni. Senior quarterback Aaron St. Clair returned to the lineup for the first time in six
games for South Friday and rushed for 68 yards on 23 carries, but he was unable to connect with Zanoni on a single pass.

“Tennessee High is a great football team, take nothing away from them,” said South coach Stacy Carter,  who has directed South to 60 wins in six seasons.  “Our kids fought until the end, and we’ll back be back next week.”

The full TSSAA playoff pairings will be announced this morning. THS is assured of a home game next week

“We just have to hope that we can face [Tennessee High] down the road, and see what we can do,” Carter said.

Carter led the Rebels (8-2) to the state quarterfinals last season. With 10 players on the roster over 230 pounds, South was favored to win the Big 8. THS was tabbed for third behind South and Dobyns-Bennett.

Taylor churned for 109 yards rushing on 22 carries, as Tallman, Chris Clark and Cameron Bell led the Viking defense.