Magical, Unexpected Season
The 2000 team was only 2 years removed from a finishing 10-3
in 1999, in Coach George Quarles first season at
No one saw what was coming in the first 4 games of the 2000
for the Rebs.  Stumbling out of the gate, the Rebels dropped 4
straight games and folks began to question whether or not
Quarles was the man for the job.

Making things worse, the 4 losses came at the hands of arch
rivals Alcoa, Central, Heritage and Halls.  Although the defense
had kept the Rebel in all of those games minus the Heritage
game, the offense just couldn't get untracked, only amassing
35 points over that 4 game span.

Hope came in the form of a respectable win at William Blount
the following week.  Just like that, as it seemed, the switch was
turned on and the Rebels would go on to complete one of the
most unimaginable comebacks in the history of the MHS
football program.

With the unwaivering guidance of Coach Quarles and his staff,
the Rebels reeled off 11 straight victories after the first 4 games.

As impressive as that is, even more so was the resilience of
the Rebel offense.  Snapping back from the slow start, the
Rebel O would go on to average just over 27 points down the
stretch, taking the pressure off the D and opening games up.

With senior leadership from Scott Wilkes, Kyle Harris, Stephen
Pacifico and Chase Anderson, the Rebels became a team
possessed, playing each game as if it were the last and
extending an improbably regular season all the way into the
playoffs.  

The Rebs even found time for revenge along the way, sending a
Halls team that had beaten them previously home for the
season.

The magical, unforgettable season was capped off with a
thorough dismantling of TSSAA West powerhouse Memphis
East 33-14 in the Blue Cross Bowl for the 4A State
Championship.
2000 Schedule
2000      George Quarles        11-4
AAAA TSSAA State Champions
Alcoa                                 7-14 L
Central                              14-21 L
Heritage                            0-28 L
Halls                                  14-21 L
William Blount                   19-7 W
South doyle                      31-12 W
Knox West                       40-15 W
Powell                              24-17 W
Anderson Co.                  21-7 W
Clinton                             38-7 W
Hixson                             24-21 W
Halls                                21-3 W
Rhea Co.                         21-6 W
Greeneville                     28-12 W
Memphis East                 33-14 W
 
Twice is Certainly Nice...
Morristown West in the regular season (31-24), the Rebs went on
to improve throughout the season. A convincing 40-7 trouncing of
Central late in the season was a prelude of things to come in the
4A playoffs in 2001.

In the first round of the playoffs, Maryville jumped out to a 42-0
halftime lead and crushed Cleveland 55-14. The secound round of
the playoffs was a game that everyone that season had been
waiting for.... Red Bank.

Lead by Gerald Riggs Jr., the Lions who had won the 5A
championship in 2000 dropped to 4A in 2001 and everyone had
penciled in this game since early August. The Rebs dominated
the Lions 36-14, viewed in front of one of the largest crowds in
Skeeter history.

The Black Swarm was all over Riggs from the start to the last
whistle. In the third round of the playoffs Maryville destroyed Rhea
County 61-14, thus setting the table for a rematch with Mo-West in
Morristown in the semis.

In a qaugmire at Burke-Toney field the Rebels exacted revenge
against the Trojans 23-7. The Rebs led 23-0 when the Trojans
avoided the shutout with a punt return late in the game. Rebel
backs Carl Stewart and T.J. Brock chewed up the Trojan D behind
a great performance by the Maryville O-Line. The Rebel D, lead by
Colton Baker, completely shut down the Trojan Offense.

The first Maryville-Hillsboro clash happened the next week at the
Boro in the 4-A title game. The undefeated Burros fast, big, and
athletic finally ran out of gas as the Rebs won 34-27. Stewart was
awarded offensive MVP for his outstanding play.

The 2001 Rebs will be remembered for improving steadily and
getting on a roll as the playoffs began. Lead by Carl Stewart, T.J.
Brock, Nick Giles, Colton Baker, great line play on both sides, a
great receiving corp, the 2001 Rebs will always be remembered
as a complete TEAM, who maximized their potential and brought
home their second consecutive Gold Ball.
2001 Schedule
2001   George Quarles    14-1
TSSAA 4A State Champions
Alcoa                           45-19 W
Halls                           17-10 W
Heritage                      54-6 W
Morristown West       24-31 L
William Blount           31-7 W
Powell                         42-16 W
Carter                          47-21 W
West                            42-0 W
Central                        40-7 W
Clinton                        55-6 W
Cleveland                   52-14 W
Red Bank                   36-14 W
Rhea County              61-14 W
Morristown West       23-7 W
Hillsboro                    34-27 W
 
It's a Three-peat!!
Averaging a mind boggling 40+ points per contest, the '02 Rebels
outplayed, out hustled, out skilled, out schemed and thoroughly
demoralized all in their path.

No one scored more than 14 points on the Rebel D that year until
game 6 of the regular season.  Two of those TD's coming late in the
Powell game against Maryville's clean-up crew.

Finding the endzone against the Rebel defensive unit indeed proved
tough all year.  Opponents averaged a paltry 10 points and only two
teams scored more than 20 points on the Rebs through not only the
regular season, but the playoffs as well.

The Rebel offense had big guns, led by seniors Drew Galyon, Brad
Merritt, Jacob Holt, Carl "the Truth" Stewart and Russell Clement.

Equally impressive were the youngsters on the O unit.  Led by Junior
Alex Rouse at QB and eventually sophomore Cade Thompson, Tyler
Gaskin, Andrew Clement, Kirk Harris, Dave Garner, Adam Parnell,
Chris McCord and Antonio Byner would see significant playing time
as juniors and sophomores.

Leading the Rebel defensive front were Seniors and Juniors Drew
Galyon, Brad Merritt, Lucas Tipton, Russell Clement, Denarius "Dee"
Arrington, Kirk Harris, Tyler Gaskin, Logan Flowers, Brad Headrick,
Chris Voto, Cole "Rhino" Mckinney and Ryan Headrick.

The season culminated in the second of two classic championship
games against Hillsboro High School.  The Boros would bring
everything they had, but it would prove to not be enough as the
Rebels would go on to win the 3rd TSSAA 4A State Championship in
a row.  

Only two other teams had ever achieved the 3 peat.  Brentwood
Academy of Nashville was one of those teams.
2002 Schedule
AAAA TSSAA State Champions
Alcoa                              56-14 W
Halls                               35-0 W
Heritage                         49-7 W
Morristown West           49-7 W
William Blount                 31-10 W
Powell                           49-21 W
Carter                            35-0 W
West                             38-7 W
Central                          28-24 W
Clinton                           55-7 W
Hixson                          44-0 W
Powell                          40-11 W
Cleveland                     40-14 W
Morristown West          28-10 W
Hillsboro                       29-26 W
 
A Team on a Mission...
Coach Quarles and Cade Thompson led the 2004 Rebel squad past
all 15 opponents and to the promised land for the 4th time in a short
6 year span.

With the sting of a loss to the rival Morristown West Trojans in the
semi-final game to end the 2003 campaign still ringing in their ears,
the Rebels got to business early in 2004.

Reeling off multi-touchdown scoring deficits in every game they
played in 2004, the Rebels enjoyed a 31 point margin of victory on
average.   They outscored their opponents 592-135 and on 5
occasions, their opponents never found the endzone.  

Those scoreless foes are a veritable who's who of 4A football power
in East Tennessee, including the Halls Red Devils, revenge on the
Morristown West Trojans, the Rhea County Eagles and up until then
the undefeated Tennessee High Vikings.

The defense only allowed an average of 9 points in 2004, led by run
stuffer Matt Valentine and QB headhunters Gary Tucker and Jeff
Smith.  Defensive backs Steven Childs, Andrew Clement and Ryan
Jenkins were equally impressive, playing both ways most games
and never showing fatigue.

The offense was equally impressive, tearing up opposing defenses
with misdirection, sure footed running, a stellar short passing game
and all the right answers in long and short 3rd down situations.

With the injury bug dropping stalwart leaders Jon Lawhon, Antonio
Byner, Adam Parnell and Ryan Tallent along the way, the Rebels
proved resilient, constantly finding great replacements like Ryan
Singleton, Tank Baker, Tanner Caylor and Kat Kimsey .

One of the things this '04 class will always be remembered for is
their never die attitude.  In close playoff games against Powell and
Central, the Rebels kept their heads, refusing to play anything less
than their brand of football.

That was never more true than in the eventual TSSAA 4A
Championship game against the Melrose High Golden Wildcats.  
With speed to burn, the Wildcats came to Murfreesboro with a
crippling defense and an offense capable of home run hitting.

In one of the closest 4A title games in the history of the TSSAA, the
Wildcats and Rebels traded drives that would have easily yielded
scores against inferior foes.

The game would eventually be decided on the Wildcats Achille's
Heal, special teams play.  After the dust cleared, the Rebels had
narrowly held off one of the more physical teams a Rebel squad had
ever played, 7-6.  
2004 Schedule
2004      George Quarles       15-0
AAAA TSSAA State Champions
Carter                              55-6 W
Alcoa                              31-18 W
Halls                               24-0 W
Heritage                         45-0 W
Morristown West          38-0 W
William Blount                49-21 W
Powell                           42-10 W
West                             49-14 W
Central                          56-10 W
Clinton                           57-10 W
Rhea Co.                       34-0 W
Powell                          21-16 W
Central                         35-24 W
TN High                        49-0 W
Melrose                         7-6 W
2005 College Signees
Rhett Brooks
Jeff Smith
Steven Childs
Cade Thompson
Cory Everett
Bobby Browning
Matt Gardner
 Murray State
Tennessee Tech
Carson Newman
South Carolina
Maryville College
Maryville College
Centre College
 
They said it couldn't be done...
Most folks had told the 2005 Rebels that after graduating an SEC
caliber quarterback and 10 total Rebels starters, they couldn't get to
Murfreesboro, much less win another gold ball.

So, the Rebels did what they always do: got coached up, retooled,
worked out like men possessed, practiced, practiced, practiced and lo
and behold, gold ball #10.  So much for the experts.

Those same experts told the Rebels they couldn't even win game #1.  
They told them that all the division 1 potential on Alcoa's star studded
team wouldn't possibly go into the history books 0-4 versus these
Rebels.  The Rebels had no offensive line, no big threat on offense.  
This was the year.  The streak was over.

After one very outstanding performance from a determined young O line,
two all star running backs, two young QB's and a stellar defense, the
Rebels walked away from Goddard Field 1-0, with a 41-21 win.  This
would get to be habit over the following weeks.

All Rebel fans knew that the MHS defense would be great. The 2005
defensive line was arguably the best in school history. Gary Tucker was
the best defensive tackle to come thru Maryville in some time. Adam
Cable, Josh Smith and Anthony Jackson made up a great DT rotation.
The DE and Linebackers were also positions of strength. The
secondary was a little young but talented. This defense was the best yet
under Coach Quarles and staff.

What shocked many about the 2005 team was how good the offense
turned out to be. Especially right off the bat against Alcoa. The Offensive
line dominated all year long. Ryan Tallent was a great running back in a
long line of great RB's.

Tyler Maples established himself as a big time playmaker. Aaron
Douglas started his 1st game vs Alcoa and played great. The most
pleasant surprise was how good the quarterbacks played. They had
huge shoes to fill. Derek Hunt and Brent Burnett had to follow Cade
Thompson. That's  saying a lot, as Cade would go on to QB for Steve
Spurrier at South Carolina.

The 2005 team played with a huge chip on their shoulder. They felt like
they had something to prove. They proved it. They beat a supremely
talented Alcoa team handily. They drilled a good Powell team twice.
They beat a great Central team twice. They beat an undefeated
Morristown West team on the road and in terrible weather in the
semifinals. They avenged their 2003 loss with that win.

The Rebels summed the year up with a thorough beating of a very
athletic and talented Melrose team for the state title. Melrose had some
of the best athletes in West Tennessee, like starting ACC RB Graig
Cooper.

Maryville had a lot of great stats that year, on both defense and offense.
Maybe the greatest stat of all is 720 minutes of football Maryville played
in 2005 without trailing a single time. Impressive...
2000 State Championship
2001 State Championship
2004 State Championship
2002 State Championship
2005 State Championship
Red Rebel Championships: 2000 - ?
2006 State Championship
Was this the year it ended...
Maryville was favored to win the title in 2006. Sometimes it is harder to
win state when everyone expects you to.

The strength of this team was the skill players. Outstanding receiver in
UT signee Tyler Maples. Maples solidified his place as the best WR in
MHS history by overtaking team records set by his own older brother
Ryan.  He put an exclamation point on his success with 60 receptions
for 1250 yards and 20 TD's in 2006.

Another outstanding skill player was junior standout and TE Aaron
Douglas. Douglas is a UT commitment as well. Though his offense
was not keyed to highlight his many skills, Douglas still found a way to
shine with great blocking, soft hands and 4 TD's on the season.

Other outstanding skill players were Furman signee and RB Adrian
Baker, RB Ryan Singleton, future star WR Steven Shiver, senior QB
Derek Hunt and junior QB Brent Burnett.

Hunt and Burnette split time evenly at QB, but still managed 170
completions, 2920 yards and 30 TD passes collectively.  Both showed a
willingness to put team first always and work together towards the
common goal.  Rare qualities in young men their age.

All Maryville needed to score points in bushels was an offensive line to
protect those skill players. As usual, David Ellis did a masterful job of
molding a very good offensive line. Louis Darras and Justin Huskey
were great leaders on the line.

Darras fought shoulder injuries off virtually every week, to come back
and take nearly every snap of the season.  He'd end up giving up his
senior season of baseball to anchor  the Rebel line, since his injuries
would eventually require surgery.

On defense, all Rebel fans knew that the secondary and linebackers
were going to be very good. The defensive line was a concern. In
gradual steps new guys like Justin Smith, Josh Cantwell and Marcus
Englehardt learned their roles and got better and better.

Justin Smith showed future brilliance in the Alcoa game, blocking 8
passes and nearly intercepting one.  He would miss most of the regular
season due to a hand injury sustained in that game, but would come
back to play in the championship game, where he did intercept a pass.

Maryville had to beat the best of the best along the way, like Alcoa, Rhea
County, Red Bank, Morristown West and Hillsboro for a record 11th
state title. They got it done. Maryville would have a scare vs Brainerd in
round 2 of the playoffs. Although Brainerd had not had a stellar regular
season, the came together at the right time and nearly beat the Rebels,
with their speed and athleticism.

A big plus for the 2005 and 2006 teams was the kicking game. Taka
Koyano assured long starts for opposing offenses and made long field
goals of 43 and 45 yards.  His contributions might be the most sorely
missed in 2007.
 
WR Tyler Maples
Univ.  Tennessee
RB Adrian Baker
Furman University
LB Tanner Caylor
UT-Martin
PK Taka Koyano
Univ. Tennessee
DE Dwight Wood
Lambuth
LB Landon Hall
Carson Newman