MURFREESBORO — Twice this past week Tyler Maples had fluid drained from an injured left ankle.

On Friday, Maryville High School’s senior wide receiver was a walk-through spectator on crutches.

Saturday night at Middle Tennessee State University, Maples was running, no limp in sight, into state championship legend status.

"I told all the coaches if my leg was black and falling off, I still wanted to play," Maples said. "This was my last time playing with all these guys and you can’t let something like that stop you."

Nothing stopped the Rebels or Maples.

His six catches for 130 yards and three touchdowns led the No. 1-ranked Rebels to a 35-10 Class 4A state championship victory against Hillsboro. East Tennessee won four state titles this year. Last month, Webb School of Knoxville won the Division II-A title, Alcoa won Class 2A on Friday and Fulton won Class 3A earlier in the day.

It was Maryville’s 45th consecutive victory, third consecutive state championship and sixth title in the past seven years.

"He wasn’t getting out of this one," Maryville coach George Quarles joked of Maples. "We knew he was going to be able to play and a lot of stuff was precautionary, just trying to keep him from putting pressure on it."

The Rebels (15-0) saved the pressure for Hillsboro.

Senior fullback Ryan Singleton added two touchdowns and the Rebels’ defense dominated despite the fact defensive coordinator Jimmy Gaylor was back home in Maryville recovering from a Friday morning back surgery.

The Rebels wanted to leave no doubt about this one. No dramatics. No trick plays necessary.

It wasn’t going to be anything like a few years ago when the Rebels used every play in the book to edge Hillsboro 29-26 in 2002 and 34-27 in 2001 for 4A titles.

"The seniors came out before this game and said we wanted to go into the fourth quarter knowing we’ve got this thing won," said Maples, a University of Tennessee commitment. "We didn’t want to have to use trick plays. We just wanted to show everybody we were the better team."

By now, there’s no doubt.

Maryville led 21-3 at the half with Singleton scoring on a 9-yard run and junior quarterback Brent Burnette connecting with Maples on scores of 14 and 32 yards.

The second Burnette-to-Maples connection came with five seconds to go in the second quarter, capping a five-play, 61-yard drive that took 34 seconds.

"I just love seeing Tyler running down the field," Burnette said. "He’s just a great player who makes big plays and makes me look good."

Burnette finished the game looking really good with 10-of-15 passing for 215 yards and three TDs. The one before the half was the biggest by far, according to Quarles.

"That score was the back breaker," he said. "It was huge. Burnette was on target all night and Maples caught it."

That gave first-year Hillsboro coach Scott Blade, a former assistant in Canyon, Calif., his first taste of East Tennessee football.

"I’ve been in this state for five months and this gives us a chance to see what the best looks like and see how far away we are from it."

Hillsboro (14-1) managed a 5-yard touchdown run from Jacquese Seward late in the third quarter to make it 21-10, but Maples wanted to provide more breathing room.

He returned the ensuing kickoff 27 yards to the Burros’ 39-yard line to smother any brewing Hillsboro momentum. Four plays later, Burnette found Maples all alone down the right side for a 23-yard score and a 28-10 lead.

"I was surprised to be so open a couple of times, but they were just great calls and great throws from Brent," Maples said. "You’ve just got to believe.

"It’s about this team, these coaches and this community. It’s a great thing to be a part of this."

By the time Singleton broke open for a 42-yard TD dash down the left sideline, the celebration had already been set in motion.

"The two touchdowns don’t mean anything to me," Singleton said. "It’s the Gold Ball, that’s what means everything to us."

Gold state-championship trophies are becoming common around Maryville.

One observer in the press box said he was getting a little bored with teams like Maryville, Fulton (3A) and Alcoa (2A) winning state championships every year (nine combined since 2003), but it never gets routine for Maryville’s Quarles.

"Forty-five (victories) in a row is pretty amazing, but there’s a lot of people to thank for that — coaches, players, fans, youth programs, everybody," he said. "There’s a lot of tradition around here with a little luck thrown in."