CROSS PLAINS, Tenn. -- All week long, Tyner's defense heard about East Robertson's potent rushing attack led by Tennessee Titans Mr. Football semifinalist Zech Prince.
In temperatures below freezing Friday night, Tyner put on a dominant display against Prince & Co., pitching a first-half shutout on the way to a 35-7 road victory in the TSSAA Class 2A quarterfinals.
"We knew they were going to come out pretty hard," Tyner senior defensive back Zashun Hubbard said. "We hit them hard, and once we got ahead, we kept our foot on the gas. There is nobody who can beat Tyner but ourselves. As long as we continue to prepare and stay focused, we should get that gold ball on December 3."
Tyner (12-1) will host York Institute (9-4) in a semifinal next Friday as coach Scott Chandler's "Ram Train" stands one win away from a trip to Finley Stadium for the BlueCross Bowl state championship game. Riverside (11-2) and Huntingdon (11-2) meet in the other semifinal.
East Robertson (11-3) had a 16-play drive to open the game that lasted nine minutes, but it ended in a turnover on downs. The hosts also fumbled the ball away twice in the first half as Josiah Bridgeman and Jaden Isbell made key recoveries.
Senior Markel McKinley was special on Tyner's opening drive as he totaled 48 yards on six touches before Trae Ruffin made an impressive catch-and-run on a comeback route for a 22-yard touchdown on a pass Mr. Football semifinalist Josh Jackson, resulting in a 7-0 lead with 11:44 left in the second quarter.
Ruffin could not be stopped in the first half. With 3:14 before intermission, he trucked a defender across the goal line for a 20-yard touchdown on another pass from Jackson. The touchdown marked a streak of five straight catches by Ruffin for scores over a six-quarter span and upped his season total for touchdown receptions to 13.
"We are not going to be stopped," Ruffin said. "We want this too much and it means to much to us."
With Jamarion Varnell and Jersey Chubb playing suffocating run defense and a lockdown secondary, the Rams ran away with the quarterfinal victory.
McKinley finished with 107 yards on 24 touches, adding two rushing touchdowns.
"We are hungry," said McKinley, who has 19 touchdowns and more than 1,000 total yards this year. "My teammates said they needed me tonight, and I had to come out and show out for them."
Jarius Cameron had five catches for 65 yards and added 28 rushing yards and a 12-yard score.
Jackson was stellar again, completing 14 of 17 passes for 150 yards.
"We are one step away from the state championship game," Jackson said. "This is what we put all the hard hours in for. If we keep playing like this, no one can stop us."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.