Dean's List: Hillsboro, Jordan face No. 1 Maryville in 4A state final

For resurgent Hillsboro, there is one more mountain to climb, but it’s a very tall one.

Allowing nothing to stand in their way, the determined Burros overcame the loss of their QB in the first quarter and used a Herculean receiving night by split end Corey Jordan to bring down No. 2 Henry County (13-1) last Friday.

It added up to a 31-24 victory over the previously unbeaten Patriots from Paris and shipped the Burros (12-2) to the Class 4A state final against top-ranked Maryville Saturday in the Blue Cross Bowl in Murfreesboro.

Junior quarterback Greg Young, who has passed for almost 1,800 yards, went out with a ligament injury to his thumb just three plays into the game. He appears definitely lost for the title game.

But enter Keith Perry at QB, who engineered a key 17-0 second quarter burst when he scored one TD and threw a TD pass to Jordan. He also iced the game by recovering an onsides kick in the final minute. Young’s one completion before his injury went for a 71-yard scoring strike to Jordan, who caught three passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns.

“We knew Henry County had a great team, especially offensively, but we just played our game like we have all year, and everyone stepped up when Greg got hurt,’’ Jordan said.

Hillsboro held the highest scoring team in the state to more than 20 points under its average. It placed Hillsboro in the final for the fifth time in the last eight years. There, the Burros meet Maryville, winner of four straight 4A titles and 74 games in row.

“It was a wonderful football game,’’ said coach Scott Blade. “We went up against two of the top offensive players in the state, it was a huge challenge for our defense, and they were up to it.

“We lost out starting quarterback after three plays, and Keith Perry came in and performed admirably,’’ Blade said.

Maryville has three finals wins over the Burros, the last one in 200,6 which handed Blade his first loss at Hillsboro.

“They’re a great team, they’ve won all those games in a row for a reason,’’ Jordan said, adding, “we have to be careful with the ball, and make them (Maryville) work for every yard, force them have to make long drives.’’

“The goal is to play in December, in the finals,’’ Blade said. “It’s very exciting to be there again. It is a huge challenge for us, but we’re looking forward to it.’’

Busy schedule: Drew Maddux pretty much eats, drinks and sleeps basketball.

The Christ Presbyterian boys coach is a part-time broadcaster on CSS, an analyst for a college basketball Friday on 104.5 The Zone and a Sunday Night TV talk show. And, yes, he coaches the Lions, too.

Last week, Maddux was part of the crew for the CSS-TV broadcast of the MTSU at Vanderbilt game Monday night, coached his CPA team against Hillwood Tuesday night, scouted a JV game Wednesday and watched video.

Maddux then took his team to the Ensworth Thanksgiving Big E Challenge Friday and Saturday against Ravenwood and Clarksville. He took Thursday off to eat some Thanksgiving turkey, but practiced his team Friday morning, prior to the tourney.

“The CSS telecasts take about 3-4 hours of preparation, but it’s something I enjoy doing,’’ said Maddux, a former Vanderbilt scoring standout. “Basketball is a sport I love and I’m so blessed to have an administration at CPA where I have so much freedom.”

Incidentally, Maddux said that CPA standout post player Zaccheus Mason suffered a concussion in the football quarterfinal playoff loss to Goodpasture and didn’t compete last week.

“We’re not going to rush him back,’’ Maddux said. “We want to give him time for a complete recovery.’’ CPA next visits Ryan Tuesday night.

Mr. Football awards: Montgomery Bell Academy and Davidson Academy have two finalists each who are up for Mr. Football awards at luncheon today in at Embassy Suites Hotel in Murfreesboro.

MBA Quarterback Spencer Wise (back), along with highly recruited tackle Wesley Johnson (lineman), were named for the Big Red, which captured both Mr. Football awards last year.

Justin Williams, who has rushed for 2,801 yards and 39 TDs, both Nashville area bests, was named as one of the three finalists as a DII-A back. Bear teammate Blair Arrington was a DII-A lineman finalist.

Also standout Ensworth quarterback Tavarres Jefferson (back) and Brentwood Academy’s Thad McHaney (lineman) were also named finalists from the as the area, which has two of the three finalists in both back and lineman categories in DII-AA.

In Class 4A, Hillsboro’s Eric Gordon (back) and Maplewood’s Romario Cathey (lineman) were named finalists.

David Lipscomb, which lost in the semis Friday, also has two finalists, including Tennessee commitment Zach Rogers (back) and linebacker Evan Webb (lineman) in Class 3A.

In Class 2A, Goodpasture 1,000-yard rusher Ben Cunningham was named as a finalist.

In Class 5A, Franklin High QB Graham Nichols who has passed for more than 2,000 yards, along with 1,000-yard passer Chaz Scales of Centennial, are both finalists.

Hume Award: The winner of the annual Hume Award will be named today, following a luncheon at Vanderbilt University Club. Finalists include Donte Moore (East Literature), Charles Bedell (Hillwood), Jarron Guthrie (Hunters Lane), Quatavius Parks (Maplewood), and Bryan Hartzell (Overton).

Davidson’s Williams high up: Davidson Academy tailback Justin Williams finished among the national prep leaders in several categories – rushing, 2,807 yards (third), TDs, 39 and points in a season, 236 (both fifth), most yards rushing in a game, 360 (ninth).

With Williams back for two more seasons, expect the Bears to be very much in the hunt again for a second straight DII-A title and third in four years.

“I love our division,’’ coach Paul Wade said. “You have nine guys going both ways, 34 guys on the team, old-school football. It’s the way it used to be.’’

BA returns nucleus: Expect Brentwood Academy to be in the thick of the playoff action next season, following two straight finals appearances under coach Ralph Potter.

“We have a good nucleus of players returning, especially on offense,’’ Potter said, following his team’s finals loss to MUS. “We have to develop consistency in what we’re trying to do.’’

The Eagles return seven of 11 starters on offense, including leading rushers Victor Caro and Joshua Tate, along with QB Cody Nelson, and three on defense.

Cross-Country team: The Metro coaches All-Cross Country team was announced last week. The runners of the year were Jeff Musick of Lipscomb (boys) and Miranda Klein of Lipscomb (girls). Coaches of the year were David Rowe of Brentwood High (boys) and Luke Finley of Independence (girls) in AAA; Stephen Dorris of MLK (boys) and Earl Lavender of Lipscomb (girls) in A/AA; and Robert Pruitt of MBA (boys) and Jack Henderson of Harpeth Hall (girls) in DII.