Published: November 30, 2008 12:30 am      

Russell’s strength on display

“I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:13.

The bible verse has been adorning the eye-black patches worn by Tyler Russell for most of this football season.

It’s unlikely, however, that Russell pulled from that verse more at any other time this year than Friday night — when the Meridian High School quarterback must have felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

Some 4,500 fans were on hand at Meridian’s Ray Stadium, most of them willing Russell on to lead the Wildcats to their third Class 5A South State championship in the past four years.

On the other sideline was Oak Grove, which in the past eight years has proved to be Meridian’s fiercest rival.

It was raining — the same steady rain which had soaked Charles Armstrong Field all day Friday.

And to make matters worse, Russell was just a few hours removed from attending a memorial service for his grandmother.

Dianne McIntosh McClendon, 56, of Franklin, Tenn., died last Sunday. What followed for Tyler Russell was a whirlwind of a week — one which culminated with tears of every kind for the Russell family and the Wildcat family here Friday night.

“A lot of folks don’t even realize what Tyler has been through this week,” Meridian coach Larry Weems said afterward. “Most folks don’t have a clue.

“His family got word Monday that his grandmother had passed ... he went through practice here and then got in the car to go to Nashville,” Weems said. “He missed two practices and got here at 3 in the morning (Thursday) to go through a walk-through.

“Then, he spent all day today at a service here in town. There was a lot at stake ... conditions were terrible.

“That’s a lot for a grown man to have to handle,” Weems said. “But it’s just a tribute to the character of that young man and his family.”

As far as I’m concerned, Tyler Russell is the best high school quarterback these eyes have ever seen.

Next week’s state championships will mark the end of my 19th football season in this profession. I’ve seen a lot of good ones — guys like Jason Campbell and Omarr Conner on a regular basis.

That’s not to say that Russell will end up starting in the National Football League like Campbell. But he has every trait which makes up an NFL star such as a Peyton Manning:

First and foremost, Russell has size. He stands about 6-foot-5, maybe a hair taller. He has a frame that can pack on as many pounds as a strength guy can wish.

Nobody’s ever called him fast. But he had no trouble running slap away from Oak Grove defenders Friday night. He has a strong arm, can make the short throw as well as the long ball — and throws as pretty a pass as you could imagine.

Most importantly, he's about as level-headed and well-grounded as they come for quarterbacks his age.

If Tyler Russell isn't the Mississippi Player of the Year, they should stop giving the award. Friday night's stats give him these numbers for the season: 191-of-287 passing for 3,086 yards and 39 touchdowns against just five interceptions.

As I've written on more than one occasion in this newspaper, Russell sat out 14 quarters worth of action during blowout victories in the regular season. That might not seem important to some folks; but I played around with some numbers before Friday's contest and came up with this:

If you take away those 14 quarters Russell spent as a cheerleader, he'd be something closer to 257-of-382 passing for 4,162 yards, 53 touchdowns and seven picks.

Scary, huh?

Of course, Weems nor Russell have ever been much about statistics, and the only one which seemed to matter to Tyler Friday night was this: Meridian won its 11th straight game, improving to 13-1 and earning a spot opposite national tyrant South Panola for the Class 5A state crown next Friday in Jackson.

"It wasn't easy," Tyler said. "But I had a lot of support. I had a lot of family here tonight ... we were just finally able to settle down and get going."

That's not to say he didn't think of Mrs. McClendon while he was on the muddy field ...

"When we scored, I started thinking about her," he said. "The last game she got to see me play was when we played Oak Grove here in the regular season."

She picked an awful good one. Tyler was 18-of-23 passing for 276 yards and two TDs that night in October.

His numbers in the dreadful conditions Friday didn't appear that good, as he went 13-of-29 for 165 yards and two touchdowns. But when you consider Meridian receivers combined for 11 drops and Oak Grove tossed five interceptions on the night — Tyler had none — it might just be his biggest performance of the year.

In the game's final minutes — after that fifth Meridian pick — Marcia Russell made her way to the track at MHS, gave me a hug and quietly said "This one's for Granny."

I guarantee you she's proud.