By JIM STEELE
pressbox1.com

ALAMO - There may have been several who have signaled the end of the gravy train for the Huntingdon Mustang football team.

Despite having one of the best players in its school's history last year and a solid senior class, Huntingdon missed the state playoffs for the first time since 1992, finishing with a 5-5 record. Many pundits in West Tennessee have signaled the end for the Huntingdon joy ride, but those estimations may be premature.

The Mustangs looked sharp in their three wins during the Sport Orthopedic and Spine Kickoff Scrimmage at Crockett County Friday evening.

Huntingdon dispatched Bolivar 6-0, Lexington 13-0 and Crockett County 3-0. Mustang coach Mike Mansfield, who has accrued a 143-58 mark at Paul Ward Stadium, was pleased with his team's performance and pre-season preparation.

"I like our level of energy but we've done a ton of conditioning," said Mansfield, pointing to his charged up team. "Look at them; they are ready to play another couple of quarters."

Mansfield said the Mustangs emphasized fitness in pre-season and conducted workouts at 6 a.m. this pre-season.

"We have been trying to sell these kids on conditioning," said Mansfield, "and I think they see that it's paying off."

The Mustangs started strong against Bolivar with a touchdown pass from senior Cole McAdams to Caleb Crocker. That lifted Huntingdon to a 6-0 victory over the Tigers in the opening varsity scrimmage.

Later, Huntingdon romped past Lexington 13-0. McAdams raced 26 yards for a touchdown with 10:45 to play in the matchup. Then the senior quarterback, a Ripley transfer, dashed 10 yards for another score. He added the PAT and Huntingdon claimed a 13-0 victory.

Against Region 7-3A champ Crockett County, the Mustangs managed a 30-yard McAdams field goal and it stood up for a 3-0 decision.

"You know, we're getting a little better," said Mansfield. "When we started, our offense was a little ahead of our defense and when we had our first scrimmage, we didn't tackle well."

But the coach said the team has gotten incrementally better through its pre-season scrimmages and then Friday night.

"Tonight, our pursuit was better," said Mansfield. "We made a few mistakes, but I liked our attitude and energy level. We tried to make good things happen."

In other action:

BOLIVAR 9, McKENZIE 7: McKenzie seemed to have control of its opening-round pairing againt the Bolivar Tigers. The Rebels were somewhat effective moving the ball and took the lead with Tyler Moore's zig-zag jaunt to the end zone. Harris Laughrey added the PAT and the Rebels led 7-0.

Bolivar managed a field goal to draw within four, 7-3, then scored with :20 to play in the scrimmage to lead 9-7. McKenzie had the ball for two last plays, but couldn't canvass the necessary 65 yards for the score. Last year, Bolivar tacked on a late score to upend the Rebels in the Alamo scrimmage.

CROCKETT CO. 6, LEXINGTON 0: Terry Lyons raced 33 yards with 6:30 to play in the Cavaliers scrimmage pairing with Lexington. Action stayed pretty much in the middle of the field until late when Lyons scored for Crockett County.

McKENZIE 7, LEXINGTON 0: McKenzie scored on its first possession of its scrimmage with the Big Red Tigers and then its defense made it stand up.

The Rebels balanced its attack against Lexingon. Carr found the mark for a big gain to Kyle Kirk, then two straight 8-yard bursts from Jacob Fussell and a Carr scramble set the Rebels inside the red zone. After a penalty, Carr Hit Shabree Payne for a 16-yard completion down to the Tiger 6. From there, Tyler Moore exploded for the touchdown. Laughrey booted the PAT and the Rebels led 7-0. That was that.

Lexington went three-and-out on its next possession, punted away to McKenzie and the Rebels ran out the clock. Lexington left the scrimmage scoreless in three pairings.

"We have a long way to go," said Lexington coach Steve Lindsey. "We have fine young men and we have to do fundamentals a lot better; we also need to decide if our guys are going to be players or not."

Lexington faces Crockett County in the Huntingdon Jamboree next Friday night then opens the season with traditional rival Riverside on Aug. 31.

McKENZIE 14, CROCKETT CO. 7: McKenzie set the tone quickly against the host Cavaliers, marching 65 yards in 10 plays for the opening score.

Payne kept a drive alive with a possession catch for a first down then Moore carried five straight times and deposited the Rebels down on the 2 where Carr broke the plane. Laughrey booted the PAT and the Rebels were up 7-0.

Jake Johnson made a big stop on a busted play by Crockett County and McKenzie got the ball back. From there, the Rebels marched 58 yards for their next score. Payne's 15-yard catch, Fussell's 16-yard explosion and Kirk's 9-yard reception landed the Rebels at the Cav 3 where Moore scored for the 14-0 lead.

On the first play of the next series, Crockett County showed why it's a dangerous squad. Al Lewis romped 65 yards off a counter play, beat the defense around the left side and scored the only Cavalier TD of the night. On the next possession, newcomer John Campbell recovered a fumble and the Rebels marched all the way down to the 3 when time expired.

McKenzie football coach Wade Comer's reaction to his team's effort was mixed. One could sense a smoldering disdain for the Bolivar loss, but he did observe his team's improvement as the event wore on.

"We got a little better, but we still have a long way to go," he said. "We have a little cleaning up to do and we still have people out of position."

Comer said he was pleased with the way the Rebels ran the ball.

"We weren't clean, but we ran it well," he said. "Moore ran exceptionally well, but we still had some players out of position at times and our timing was off a little bit. Moore is getting out quicker."

The coach liked what he saw in the passing game, but there were things to fix there.

"We threw the ball well at times," Comer said. "But we have to protect better."

The Rebels will face Camden in the Huntingdon Jamboree next Friday night at Paul Ward Stadium. Then McKenzie will entertain Dresden in the season opener. The Rebels have beaten the Lions three straight times.

"This was a great opportunity for every team here," said Crockett County coach P.A. Pratt. "Everyone gets to see every team and see all the different sets. Having five teams everyone gets different looks."

The Cavaliers came into the event without some of their top players. Seven are out nursing injuries and Pratt was forced to start three sophomores. But Crockett County will have a couple of weeks to get ready. It faces Lexington Friday in the Huntingdon Jamboree then travels to Humboldt on Aug. 31 for the season opener.

"We have two weeks to work and get ready," Pratt said.

Derek Carr was the top passer in the skills competition, heaving the pigskin 56 yards. Last year, he won at 62 yards. It was the third straight year a McKenzie player has won the competition. Drew Hayes won the passing event in 2005 with a 67-yard toss. Huntingdon's Cole McAdams won the kicking contest. Crockett County won the tire-roll competition.