Coach Gary Rankin’s Alcoa Tornadoes beat the Austin-East Roadrunners 56-28 in a TSSAA Class 3A quarterfinal on Goddard Field at Bill Bailey Stadium in Alcoa, Tennessee, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
When Gary Rankin took over as head football coach at Alcoa in 2006, he wanted the program to be the model of consistency.
That might have sounded strange to some back then.
After all, Alcoa had won a state title in 2000. And it had won championships in 2004 and 2005.
But sandwiched between those titles were a 3-7 season in 2002 and a 1-3 start in 2003.
Rankin didn’t want that type of ebb and flow.
“I knew a little bit about Alcoa. I knew they had been good in the past,” Rankin said Monday at BlueCross Bowl Media Day. “But it had a roller coaster (there) — win a state championship and be 3-7 the next year.
“My thing was the same thing it was when I went to Riverdale: just develop some kind of consistency. Did I think it would grow into this? No. But I don’t think anybody would have thought that at any place.”
The “this” to which Rankin is referring?
The Tornadoes have won 10 state titles in the last 13 seasons under his watch: 2006-10, 2013 and 2015-18. During this span, Rankin became the state’s all-time winningest coach.
And the three seasons in which they didn’t win a title, they lost to eventual state-champion CAK in the 3A quarterfinals (2011, 2012) by a combined three points and lost to CPA, 7-0, in the 2014 Class 3A state championship.
Alcoa (13-1) can add to their TSSAA-best 17 all-time state championships Friday in Cookeville, where they’ll take on Pearl-Cohn (14-0) at 3 p.m. Central at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium.
The Tornadoes are looking for a fifth consecutive gold ball.
Tristen Blankenship and the Alcoa Tornadoes beat the Austin-East Roadrunners 56-28 in a TSSAA Class 3A quarterfinal on Goddard Field at Bill Bailey Stadium in Alcoa, Tennessee, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
“Nothing changes. It’s just the game plan, and we got to stick to it,” said Alcoa junior defensive star Grey Carroll, a 2019 Class 3A Mr. Football finalist. “Be consistent every day. Do what Coach Rankin and Coach (Brian) Nix say and just keep it going.”
Nix is, of course, the longtime Alcoa defensive coordinator who has been the architect of many a great defense during this timeline of Tornado dominance. And that includes this year’s unit, which has shutout nine opponents in 14 outings.
Alcoa, defensively, hasn’t buckled under the state championship pressure. The Tornadoes have thrived on it.
They’ve given up just 8.5 points per game in their 11 championship appearances between 2006-18, pitching two shutouts and holding 10 of those 11 opponents to 14 points or fewer.
Alcoa played Covington’s Wing-T offense in each of the last two 3A BlueCross Bowls. But while Pearl-Cohn’s offensive scheme isn’t as complex to defend as Covington’s, Alcoa still knows the Firebirds pack a lot of punch with its offensive skill talent.
“They’re without a doubt a lot more athletic (than Covington),” said Rankin. “I think the two best (3A) teams in the state are in this championship game. That’s the way it should be.
“It doesn’t always hold true in all classes. But I don’t think there’s doubt that these are the two best teams.”
Meanwhile, Alcoa’s offense has matured throughout the season, breaking in a new starting quarterback (Sam Vaulton) to replace last year’s 3A Mr. Football, Walker Russell. The Tornadoes also saw a running back leave the program early in the season. That only paved the way for Ahmaudd Sankey to take the lead, and he’s rushed 76 times for 790 yards and 16 TDs.
Tristen Blankenship has emerged as a power back to complement Sankey’s style. He’s rushed 35 times for 379 yards and eight scores, finding a home more on offense at times now that Alcoa developed the linebacker depth it wanted. Even Jeffrey Bass (23 carries, 308 yards, 4 TDs) or Cade Tollett (26 carries, 246 yards, 7 TDs) can come in as a fresh set of legs.
Out wide, Maryville transfer Brayden Anderson leads the receivers with 21 catches for 401 yards and seven touchdowns.
“It took some time. We kept searching for pieces to plug in the right spot and make sure they can do what they do best. It always takes some time. But we got a pretty good handle on it now,” said Rankin. “We’ve got a lot of good kids who have done a lot of good things for us on offense this year … it’s not the same kid every week. That’s always good from a coaching standpoint and good for team morale.
“We’ve had 14 or 15 people score touchdowns this year.”
Pearl-Cohn doesn’t spread the wealth as much, concentrating its offensive production through a pair of backs and pair of receivers. The Firebirds have had to grind out wins at times to stay unbeaten and got to Cookeville via three close calls in the second round (28-19), quarterfinals (28-21) and semifinals (21-20).
It’s their first appearance in Cookeville since losing to Catholic, 48-8, in the 2015 Class 4A finale. The Firebirds haven’t won a state title since consecutive titles in 1996 and 1997.
Rankin won two state titles at Riverdale in the mid 1990s, too. He added more there in 2001 and 2004 before heading to Blount County.
A win Friday could be mean his 15th state title as a head coach.
“It’s been a great run, and a great time for us,” said Rankin, who now has 438 career wins. “I think I have a great staff and great support. Everything is in place there to be good: facilities, support, coaches, athletes — although I don’t think we have as many athletes sometimes as people think we do. We won a state championship the last two years, and we only had one person sign with Tennessee Tech. So, we’ve got a few more potential (college) athletes right now. But it hasn’t been like that every year.
“I still believe we’re winning because we’re a good team.”
And a more consistent one.