West Recap
By Bill Mynatt, Radio Voice of Powell Panther Football on AM 620 WRJZ

        Powell got on the board late in the first quarter, and it was senior QB Dustin McPhetridge who put the Panthers ahead.  McPhetridge made the correct read on the option and kept the football, following the blocks of the left side of the line – seniors Chris Easterday and Kobe Crisp – cutting up the field and sprinting in to the end zone from 25 yards away.  After a running in to the kicker penalty on the point after attempt moved the football to the 1 ½ yard line, head coach Matt Lowe decided to go for 2.  The decision turned out to be a good one, and Darian Logan took the handoff out of the power set and found the end zone up the middle.  Powell led 8-0 at the 27 second mark of the 1st quarter.  
    Powell’s defense then did its job and forced a West punt, as Powell looked poised to add to the lead midway through the second quarter.  A turnover deep in West territory snuffed out that potential scoring drive, however, and the half would end  that 8-0 score. 
    Just as it has done many times this season, the Panther offense made the most of its first possession of the second half.  McPhetridge led his team on a 7 play 80 yard drive, consuming 2 ½ minutes of clock.  Powell scored on Dy’shawn Mobley’s first of his 3 second half touchdown runs, this time from 4 yards away.  The kick was missed, and Powell led 14-0 at the 9:30 mark of the 3rd. That score that would stand through the end of the quarter.
    The Panthers then put the game away in the 4th and final period behind 2 more Mobley touchdown runs.
    The first score occurred on a 5 yard run, culminating a 6 play 65 yard drive.  McPhetridge then found fellow senior Drake Owenby on a 2 point conversion pass, and Powell led 22-0 with 8:10 to go in the game.  
The final Mobley TD run came on a 51 yard burst up the middle, once again silencing the critics who claim that Mobley doesn’t have the speed to be considered an elite tailback.  Mobley scored pulling away from the Rebel DBs, and after Neely’s kick, Powell had a 29-0 lead with just 1:35 to go. 
    West scored at the 23 second mark against Panther reserves on a 4 yard run by Christian Bozeman.  West’s attempt at a 2 point conversion on a dipsy doo was turned away, and then after Nick Hammond recovered George Bullock’s onside kick attempt, Powell only had to take a knee to run out the clock and preserve the 29-6 semifinal win.
Powell, now 14-0 on the year, moves on to play in its second ever state final game.  The only previous Powell appearance in the championship game came in 1991, a 49-7 loss to Brentwood Academy.    
    West sees its season end for the second consecutive year in the semifinal round, matching last year’s 11-3 final record. 
    The Panther defense was spectacular all night long, shutting down the balanced offensive attack of the Rebels.  With the first defensive unit on the field for the first 46 ½ minutes of the game, Hawkins’ unit allowed just 120 yards of total offense, and were never seriously threatened.  West final scoring drive against Powell reserves netted 60 yards, giving the Rebels 180 total for the game.  The Rebels averaged just 2.3 rushing yards per carry (36 attempts for 84 net yards), far below their season average of 6.1 rushing yards per attempt.  
    Senior DB Brady Williams fueled the Powell defensive effort with an interception and a recovery of an onside kick.   
    The Panther running game, however, was its normal productive self in averaging 7.2 yards per attempt on 44 carries for 316 yards.  Mobley, as he has been all year long, was the workhorse, gaining 234 yards on 28 attempts.  McPhetridge added 52 yards on his 12 tries, and Logan 30 yards on 4 carries.  
    Powell’s passing game was efficient, just as it has been throughout the playoff run.  Landon Wright had 3 catches for 28 yards, but all three were good for 1st downs that kept drives alive.  One came on a 4th down conversion, and the other two in 3rd down situations.  
    Mobley’s 234 total gives him 2,859 rushing yards for the season.  The state record for one season is 3,008, held by former UT and Tennessee Titan running back Troy Fleming.  Fleming’s record year came as a senior at Battle Ground Academy in 1998.  Fleming is currently an assistant coach at Anderson County High School.  Mobley needs 149 yards in the Blue Cross Bowl to tie – 150 to surpass – Fleming’s mark.  Mobley’s 234 against West vaulted him from 9th to 2nd on the current state record list, passing former Fulton Falcon Dennis Rogan (2006 season) and former Farragut star (2007 season) Andre Sterling, among others on the list on Friday.  
Blue Cross Bowl Tickets:     Tickets to the Blue Cross Bowl are $12 per day, and are available through Powell High School and at the Tucker Stadium gate on game day.  If you purchase your tickets in advance through Powell High School, Powell will get to keep part of the proceeds.  You can call the school at 938-2171 for information on purchasing tickets.  
    Blue Cross Bowl game schedule (times listed are Eastern Time, Cookeville is on Central time, home team listed first):
Thursday:
4:30 PM    D2-A University School of Jackson 11-1 vs. St. George’s 10-3
8 PM        D2-AA Chattanooga Baylor 11-1 vs. Ensworth 11-1
Friday:
1 PM        1A South Pittsburg 12-2 vs. Wayne County 13-0
4:30 PM    3A Christian Academy of Knoxville 12-2 vs. Milan 13-1
8 PM        5A Powell 14-0 vs. Henry County 14-0
Saturday:
1 PM        2A Friendship Christian 11-3 vs. Dresden 12-2
4:30 PM    4A Greeneville 13-1 vs. Nashville Maplewood 11-3
8 PM        6A Maryville 14-0 vs. Memphis Whitehaven 
    Panthers the home team this week:  This is the year that teams coming out of the Eastern side of the bracket are designated as the home team, meaning that Powell will wear its home uniforms in the championship game.
More Blue Cross Bowl news coming this week:  Check back to www.powellpanthersfootball.com  periodically this week, as we will have more on the Blue Cross Bowl, including a scouting report on the Patriots of Henry County.  
 
Powell-West Game Statistics:
Scoring
P    :27 1st        McPhetridge 25 yard TD run
            Logan 2 point conversion run
P    9:30 3rd    Mobley 4 yard TD run
            PAT kick missed
P    8:10 4th    Mobley 5 yard TD run
            McPhetridge to D. Owenby 2 point conversion pass
P    1:35 4th    Mobley 51 yard TD run
            Neely PAT kick
W    :23 4th        Bozeman 4 yard TD run
            2 point conversion attempt failed
Powell                West       
29        Score            6
59        Offensive Plays    53
6.9        YardsPerPlay    3.4
18        First Downs        11
316        Rush Yards        82
93        Pass Yards        98
409        Total Yards        180
7/64        Penalties/Yards    8/50
2        Turnovers        2
26:28        TimeOfPoss        21:32
8/13        3rdDownConv    3/11

Powell Rushing
Mobley    28 carries for 234 yards and 3 TDs
McPhetridge    12 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown
Logan        4 carries for 30 yards and a 2 point conversion

Powell Passing
McPhetridge    6 of 12 for 85 yards, 1 interception and 1-2 point conversion
H. Owenby    1 for 2 for 8 yards

Powell Receiving
Wright 3 for 28
Logan 2 for 44
Wood 2 for 21
D. Owenby 1 for 3, 1 2 point conversion

Powell Kicking
Neely     1 for 2 PAT
Wood 1 punt for 36 yards

Powell Misc. Defense
B. Williams – 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery

West Rushing
Francis 19 for 21 yards
Flood    5 for 36 yards
Bright 7 for 23 yards
Bozeman 3 for 6 yards, 1 TD
Mitchell 1 for -1
Marshall 1 for -3

West Passing
Francis 6 for 11 for 98 yards, 1 interception

West Receiving
Flood 2 for 44
Stinson 2 for 37
Bright 1 for 11
Golden 1 for 6

West Kicking
Bullock 4 punts for a 38.0 average

West Misc. Defense
A. Fisher – Fumble recovery
Hale - Interception