Blackburn finishes high in career White House charts

By Kris Freeman for White House Football

NASHVILLE – White House senior quarterback Ranen Blackburn ended his career with the White House Blue Devils this week as one of the most successful athletes in school history.

He was a semifinalist for Mr. Football in Class 3-A, and among 23 seniors graduating from the Class of 2022 for White House. The Devils lost 17-13 at East Nashville last Friday to finish 11-2.

Blackburn was hoping to be named to the Mr. Football finalists for Class 3-A, but that dream ended on Tuesday night when the Tennessee Titans announced the final three in each category, and Blackburn was just on the outside looking in. Nevertheless, he will remain one of the top football players in White House Blue Devils history.

Blackburn led the Blue Devils to an 11-game winning streak, the Region 6-3A champions, and finished in the Class 3-A quarterfinals. He set the school record at White House for most combined passing and rushing yards, and was second all-time rushing and rushing touchdowns behind 2005 Class 3-A Mr. Football winner Ricky Ladd.

Ladd is the only winner in White House football history, but there have been 10 total nominations.

• Ranen Blackburn 2021 semifinalist
• Blaine Boone 2008 finalist
• Rogers Gaines 2007 finalist
• Ricky Ladd 2005 * winner
• Ricky Ladd 2004 finalist
• Brian Jones 1998 finalist
• Jonathan Finch 1997 finalist
• Kevin Harris 1997 finalist
• Wes Langford 1995 finalist
• James Taylor 1990 finalist

The Ricky Ladd story:

Ladd ended his career at White House in 2005, playing two and a half seasons with a senior class who made four playoff appearances, won a Region 6-4A championship, and advanced to the Class 4-A semifinals in 2004 and the Class 3-A quarterfinals in 2005. Ladd holds school records for rushing with 4,430 yards, 54 rushing touchdowns, 59 overall touchdowns and 366 career points. He rushed the ball 624 times for an average of 7.1 yards per carry, caught 25 passes for 419 yards and three scores, returned four punts for 55 yards and a touchdown, returned 30 kicks for 729 yards and a score, and returned three interceptions for 21 yards. In all, he finished with 5,564 all-purpose yards, and made 96 tackles and defended 14 passes on defense.

Ranen Blackburn was a league of his own:

Blackburn had 4,412 rushing and 50 touchdowns on the ground. But Blackburn added the additional passing yards to his resume with 1,867 through the air and a completion percentage of 50 percent with 106-of-212 connecting. He threw 17 additional touchdowns through the air and caught five passes for 52 yards and one touchdown. Blackburn rushed 667 times in his career and averaged over 6.6 yards per carry and overall 7.1 yards per play combined rushing, passing and receiving.

Blackburn is the school record holder with 23 career 100-yard rushing games, and finished second behind Ladd in total points scored with 308. He also punted for 696 yards and had 213 yards in special teams returns. He is also an award-winning member of the White House track and field relay and long jump teams.

Here is the Ranen Blackburn career file:

• 1st in career 100-yard games (23)
• 1st in most passing + rushing yards combined (6,279)
• 1st in career 1,000-1,000 rushing + passing
• 1st in single season 1,000-1,000 rushing + passing
• 2nd in career rushing (4,412)
• 2nd in career rushing touchdowns (50)
• 2nd in career 200-yard rushing games (4)
• 2nd in career scoring (308)
• 2nd in longest pass completion (85 yards)
• 4th in all-purpose yards (4,677) – does not include passing
• 5th in single season rushing touchdowns (21)
• 7th longest run from scrimmage (86)
• 8th in career passing (1,867)
• 8th in single season rushing (1,521)
• 8th in single season points scored (128)
• 8th in longest punt (64)
• 9th for career 100-yard passing games (6)
• 11th in single season passing yards (1,204)
• Two-time Main Street Preps All-County First Team (expected to be three)
• Two-time award winner and All-Region 5-4A Team
• All-Region 6-3A Team
• First high school quarterback to win a game at Nissan Stadium
• Tennessee Titans Player of the Week
• Prep Football Talk Player of the Week
• 615Preps Player of the Week
• Multi-time TNHSFB Player of the Week
• Main Street Preps Player of the Week
• Multi-time nominee as The Tennessean Boys Athlete of the Week
• Multi-time Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee Player of the Week
• State of Tennessee High School Football Preseason All-State Class 3-A
• Tennessean Class 3-A Mr. Football Watch List
• Tennessee Titans Class 3-A Mr. Football Semifinalist
• Main Street Preps All-County Track and Field (Relay)