Blue Cross Bowl Report
By Bill Mynatt, Radio Voice of Powell Panther Football on AM 620 WRJZ
It was all set up to have a real storybook ending. The problem was that the story didn’t end the way Powell Panther fans had hoped, as Henry County kicked a late field goal and then made a defensive play that ended Powell’s potentially heroic comeback. The story ended with Henry County capturing its first ever state championship on the strength of a hard fought 17-14 win over the Panthers at Tucker Stadium on the campus of Tennessee Tech University last Friday night.
The game was reminiscent of a heavyweight fight. One team would land a punch, then the other team would counter. One team would be on the verge of a knockout, and then make a mistake, and vice versa. Powell and Henry County came in to the game as the co-#1 ranked teams in the final class 5A AP poll of the year, and the game flow confirmed that these were the two best teams in class 5A in 2011.
Powell struck first, getting on the board at the 6:31 mark of the opening quarter. A 3 play 56 yard drive paid off when senior running back Dy’shawn Mobley scored on a 3 yard run. Josh Neely’s kick put Powell up 7-0.
Henry County countered after receiving the ensuing kickoff, and they did it quickly. Shaquille Allen powered in from 2 yards away, culminating a 4 play 58 yard drive. Kyler Ainley kicked the extra point, and the game was tied with 5:20 to go in the opening period. That wouldn’t be the last time we would hear Ainley’s name in the game.
The Panthers regained the lead early in the second quarter. Another quick drive did the trick, and this time it took only 3 plays to go 55 yards to the end zone. Mobley, again, found the end zone from 6 yards away. Neely’s point after was true, and Powell led 14-7 with 10:20 to go before the half.
Henry County then answered once again.
Allen scored on his second 2 yard run of the game after a 9 play 62 yard drive, eating up 3:47 minutes of clock. Ainley’s kick knotted the score at 14 all. That score held in to halftime.
Powell returned the second half opening kickoff to its own 35, and looked to start on another scoring drive on its first second half possession, just as it had done many times during the year. A long run by Dustin McPhetridge took the ball to the one yard line. The official ruled that McPhetridge was down at the one, so Powell had first and goal from that point. Mobley got in to the end zone on the next play, but an illegal procedure penalty moved the ball back to the 6. Henry County’s defense stopped Mobley for a loss of 3 on the replay of first down. On 2nd down, McPhetridge couldn’t come down with a high snap, and after a scramble Henry County’s Andrew Jelks – a Vanderbilt University commitment – came up with the football, as the Panther scoring threat had been turned away.
Early in the fourth, the Patriots had an opportunity to take the lead, but the Panther defense rose to the occasion. Facing 4th and goal at the 2, Henry County coach James Counce decided against trying a field goal, going for the touchdown. The Panthers came up huge, stopping Allen at the one and giving possession to Powell.
Powell’s offense began a march to try to regain the lead. A long Mobley run put the Panthers in business, but the drive stalled at the Henry County 23 after a 9 play 77 yard drive. Powell turned the ball over on downs with 6:21 to go in the 4th quarter.
The Patriots then began what would turn out to be the eventual game winning drive. It took Henry County 9 plays to go to the Powell 15, but again, the Panther defense found a way to keep the Patriots out of the end zone. Counce opted to send Ainley on to the field to attempt a 32 yard field goal. The kick was good, and Henry County led 17-14 with just 1:57 left in the game.
After the ensuing kickoff, Powell took over at its own 20, needing to go 80 yards to win the football game. Executing a two minute offense to near perfection, Powell drove to the Henry County 15 on 11 plays, converting a huge 4th and 12 on a McPhetridge to Landon Wright pass in the process.
The Panther dream of ended, however, when Patriot defensive tackle Randall Dunlap made the play of his life, stripping McPhetridge of the football and recovering the fumble himself.
With just 31 seconds remaining and no times out left, all the Panthers could do is watch Henry County QB Najee Ray take a knee in the victory formation, and watch the Patriots celebrate on the other sideline as the clock ran to 0:00. Pandemonium reigned on the visitor’s sideline, while heartbreak was the story on the Panther side of the field.
Henry County finishes its season at a perfect 15-0, while Powell closes out the 2011 campaign at 14-1. The 14 wins are the most in Powell High School football history for a single season.
Another record was set by Powell’s sensational running back Dy’shawn Mobley, this time a Tennessee state record.
Mobley’s 209 rushing yards pushed his season total to 3,068 rushing yards for 2011. Mobley broke the record that had previously been held by Troy Fleming at 3,008 yards for Battle Ground Academy in 1998. Fleming went on to play for the University of Tennessee, The Tennessee Titans, and now serves as an assistant football coach at Anderson County High School.
Mobley was named as the game’s Offensive MVP. Dunlap took the Defensive MVP honors.
While the season may have ended on Friday night, the coverage of Powell High School football at www.powellpanthersfootball.com hasn’t. We will have the All District team as soon as it is made available, as well as coverage of the Toyota East-West All Star game, in which Mobley, McPhetridge, and Tony Foster will be participating in on next Saturday at Carson-Newman College. We’ll also have coverage of the PHS Football Banquet and off season news leading up to spring practice in late April/Early May.
Link to compete statistics from the Powell-Henry County Blue Cross Bowl game:
http://tssaa.org/2011Champions/StateFootball/5ABox.htm
Photos courtesy of Eric Kennedy:
