2007 CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONS


2007 CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONS!!! Three years in Class 3A . . . Three straight BlueCross Bowl berths . . . A 2007 State Championship!!! David Lipscomb’s football team has accomplished what many people said that they could not do. The team heard that the move to a new level of football would mean zero championships and very little success to match what they had enjoyed in Class 2A. Instead of listening to the all of the “you can not’s” from around the state, the Mustangs seem to follow the saying of that if the move “meant zero, and zero means nothing, then nothing is impossible!!” Each of the last two years, the team has climbed to the very peak of the mountain top only to be stopped one step short. But on this particular Saturday afternoon in Murfreesboro, the purple and gold David Lipscomb flag was firmly placed into the peak of that mountain top as the Mustangs had reached the pinnacle of Class 3A football in Tennessee. A huge throng of the Mustang Nation joined as one throughout the game and cheered the team to victory. Students, faculty, staff members, parents, families, former players, alumni and friends of the Mustangs packed the visiting side of Floyd Stadium on the MTSU campus as David Lipscomb went toe-to-toe with defending state champion Knoxville Fulton. When the final horn had sounded the Mustangs had become the 2007 Class 3A State Football Champions with a solid 32-24 win over the Falcons. Evan Webb was named as the game’s Defensive MVP as the junior linebacker completed the game with 14 tackles (2 TFL), an interception and 15 yard return, fumble recovery and a forced fumble. Russ Moneypenny scored the first points of the game for the Mustangs on a 1 yard run with 8:23 remaining in the first quarter. The offense had been given great field position by way of a Falcon miscue on their fourth down punt attempt. The snap sailed over the head of punter Derrick Humphrey giving the Mustangs a short drive to the end zone. Fulton showed that they were not going to let an early mistake ruin their day as the Falcons scored in only three plays. Quarterback Jonathan Blair connected with Terrence Cobb on a 57 yard pass play to bring the Falcons within a point at the 6:57 mark as the two-point conversion attempt failed. David Lipscomb made the next stand on a Zach Rogers interception at Fulton’s 44 yard line. Seven plays later, Rogers put on his offensive team shoes and went the final four yards into the end zone for the Mustangs second TD of the first quarter. Kyle Lehning added the PAT for a 14-6 lead. Evan Webb picked off another Falcon pass on the next series to put the football back into the hands of the purple and gold. Fulton’s offense scored again on a 9 play, 73 yard drive taking 4:12 off the clock. However, the two-point conversion pass fell incomplete preserving the Mustangs’ lead. Lehning added a 25 yard field goal at the 3:42 mark of the second quarter to give David Lipscomb a 17-12 lead at halftime. Rogers’ second interception of the game with 0:56 remaining ended Fulton’s final first half push toward the end zone. The Falcons came out of the locker room rejuvenated and stopped the Mustangs after an initial first down forcing the second punt of the game. Behind Offensive MVP Terrence Cobb, Fulton put together an 80 yard drive in 9 plays to take their first lead of the contest at 18-17. How would the Mustangs answer? A 39 yard third down pass play from Caleb Simpson to Rogers followed by a 41 yard Jeremy Holt scamper down the right sideline provided the message to all loud and clear. Holt’s TD run was made possible by the initial blocks by the O-line and the tremendous downfield hit by Moneypenny opened the final path for Holt. Lehning’s extra point gave the Mustangs a 24-18 lead with 3:38 to go in the third quarter. The final 15 minutes became a battle of stamina and determination. The final turning point of the game came on consecutive plays near midfield with just over 8 minutes remaining. Fulton faced a third and two at their own 47. Cobb gained one yard on third down as Evan Webb’s strong tackle took him to the ground. On fourth down, Cobb’s number was called once again. He bounced off the first Mustang defender, broke free from two more as he continued down the line before he was finally tackled by three more Mustang defensive players. A review of that play summed up the entire game for the Mustangs as their will to win and heart of a champion showed through. The Mustangs scored a final TD on Moneypenny’s 3 yard run with 2:01 remaining. Fulton gave one final push as Cobb crossed the goal line for the fourth time of the afternoon with five seconds on the clock to provide the final eight point margin. As the clock flashed three zeros, the Mustangs’ celebration finally began. The 2007 Class 3A football gold ball was coming home to Nashville to reside on the David Lipscomb campus. Many terms could be used to define the season. However, the best would be the five words used back at Camp David that the team placed on t-shirts and within their hearts as the motto for the season. Play Fast and Finish Strong. And finish strong they did!! Time will pass and lives will change. But on this day and forever more, this brotherhood of players, managers and coaches will forever be known as STATE CHAMPIONS!!! From Newspaper Accounts: MURFREESBORO - The Fulton High School football team was eager for a fourth state title in five years. The penalty flags late showed just how much. Trailing by six points midway through the fourth quarter, Fulton jumped offsides twice - once on fourth down - and prevented itself from regaining possession for a game-tying or potentially game-winning score. David Lipscomb turned those mental lapses into points and claimed the Class 3A championship for the first time with a 32-24 victory Saturday at Middle Tennessee State's Floyd Stadium. All told, Fulton was whistled for 10 penalties for 79 yards, threw three interceptions and lost one of four fumbles. Fulton senior running back Terrence Cobb was named the game's offensive MVP for his 155-yard, three-touchdown day. Cobb, the defensive MVP in last year's final, also caught two passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. His 1-yard touchdown run with five seconds left in the game cut the deficit to eight points. But the Falcons (12-3) couldn't recover the onsides kick, which didn't travel the required 10 yards. "They're a heck of a team," said Fulton senior receiver/defensive back Derrick Humphrey of Lipscomb. "I'm proud of my team for not giving up. They were just making bigger plays than we were making." Lipscomb (14-1), which lost in the Class 3A state title game the previous two seasons, got 133 yards rushing and a touchdown from Mr. Football finalist Jeremy Holt. The Mustangs' junior wing back Zach Rogers, the brother of University of Tennessee wide receiver Austin Rogers, ran 10 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. He also picked off two passes. Fulton only trailed 17-12 at halftime, despite three turnovers, six penalties and a bad punt snap that led to a Lipscomb score. Fulton coach Buck Coatney said there was no yelling in the locker room at the break, that the team was focused. It showed. Fulton found the end zone on its first offensive possession. Cobb ran the ball five times in the nine-play drive for 66 yards and had the 3-yard scoring run that gave Fulton its first lead, 18-17. The Mustangs answered the bell, though. Rogers caught a 39-yard pass on third-and-8, and Holt carried it across the goal line on a 41-yard run the next play. Lipscomb led 24-18 with 3:38 left in the third quarter. Cobb fumbled on Fulton's ensuing possession, and then the teams swapped turnovers on downs - Fulton's was the latter and came with 7:59 to go. Cobb was stopped on fourth-and-2 at Fulton's 47, breaking three tackles before the fourth pursuer stopped him. "What a great game he had," said Lipscomb coach Glenn McCadams of Cobb. "We couldn't get him on the ground. I think everybody on our defense hit him on that fourth-down play." Fulton's defense almost forced a Lipscomb punt on fourth-and-5 at the Falcons' 42. The Mustangs again ran a tricky shift that prompted an offsides penalty on Fulton and produced a first down. "That (shift) was huge all game," said Coatney. "It's nothing we hadn't seen. "It's one of those things where we didn't do a good job of coaching, I guess." Fulton bit again four plays later, and the offsides penalty moved the Mustangs to the Fulton 16. And with 2:01 to go, Russ Moneypenny scored from 3 yards out for the 32-18 lead. "The old Dallas shift is still effective," said McCadams. "We did that when I was coach at Peabody in West Tennessee. I've been doing it here for 26 years. It's nothing new. Everybody that plays us knows about it. (Fulton) knew about it." "It works late in the game when you get tired, you're thinking about making a play and not watching the ball as much." A screen pass from Fulton quarterback Jonathan Blair to Vic Smith down to the Lipscomb 1 with 12 seconds left set up Cobb's final score of his Fulton career. "Everybody said we weren't going to be here," said Coatney. "But these guys thought we would be. "It's bittersweet. But these guys have got some (championship) rings themselves. I'm especially proud of them for not quitting and laying down." © 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.