How McKenzie football's championship-or-bust approach brought home first TSSAA state title
CHATTANOOGA − Putting away the memories of last year's Class 1A championship loss to South Pittsburg was not an option for McKenzie entering the 2022 season.
Returning the nucleus of that team, including quarterback Jackson Cassidy and three-star running back Marquez Taylor, the 2022 season was championship or bust for the Rebels.
The Rebels made sure it wasn't a bust Friday evening as they beat Clay County 34-14 to win the Class 1A championship and the school's first football state title.
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"This is just tremendous," McKenzie coach Wade Comer said. "We had to go through a lot to get here again with all of the pressure on those kids with the expectations that it was this or nothing. It's a relief for us to get back here and to come out on top this time.
"I'm just so proud of those kids. They fought and played all season long to accomplish this."
McKenzie (15-0) entered the Class 1A championship having been the unanimous No. 1 team for the majority of the season. The Rebels scored 40 or more points 10 times and their two-point win over Fayetteville in the state quarterfinals was their lone single-digit win.
A lot of that success came on the heels of Cassidy and Taylor. Taylor ran for 1,803 yards and 38 touchdowns through the Rebels' first 14 games while Cassidy threw for 1,930 yards, ran for 628 yards, accounted for 35 total touchdowns and also recorded 61 total tackles.
It didn't take long for either player to make a mark against Clay County. Taylor scored on a 55-yard run on the opening play of the game and on McKenzie's next drive, Cassidy connected with Zay Webber on a 69-yard touchdown reception.
Cassidy was named the game's MVP, going 7-of-14 passing for 168 yards with three touchdowns. He ran the ball for 45 yards and also had a team-high nine tackles. Taylor finished the game with 163 yards rushing and two total touchdowns.
"We had a good group of seniors last year that just didn't get it done," Cassidy said. "We came in immediately last December after that game and began lifting and getting ready for the new year. Our slogan was 'Finish Strong' and we did that.
"I couldn't be any prouder of this group of seniors with what we were able to do."
It only seemed fitting that Cassidy and Taylor put the exclamation mark on the win with a 47-yard touchdown pass with 1:14 remaining.
Taylor said that he plans to announce his commitment to either Austin-Peay, Kansas or TCU sometime in the next few weeks. Until that happens, he plans on celebrating this moment that he's been waiting on since his freshman season.
"This has just been a great experience," Taylor said. "I love playing with these boys. I've been playing with most of them since we were in kindergarten and for us seniors, we've been dreaming of this moment since we were in eighth grade.
"We said back then that we were going to win a state championship our senior year and we did that."
Reach Joe Spears at jspears2@gannett.com. Follow him on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter @joe_spears7.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA football: McKenzie routs Clay County 34-14 for Class 1A title
