Mavericks take fight out of Cyclones to advance to quarterfinals
The Anderson County Mavericks continued their historic season last Friday night with a 38-21 win over visiting Elizabethton.
The win not only moved the Mavericks to 12-0, it also advanced them the third round of the Class 4A playoffs.
The Anderson County defense set the tone early as they forced a quick three and out from the Fighting Cyclones on the opening drive of the game.
The Mavericks took over on their own 27-yard line following the punt. Quarterback Stanton Martin opened with a seven-yard completion to Ryan Moog and then Mason Phillips ran for six more. Martin then completed an eight-yard pass to Austin Elliott before scrambling for 14 more yards. He then completed an 18-yard pass to Dalton Wilson and a six-yard pass to Andrew Hatmaker.
Facing fourth and two from the Elizabethton eight-yard line, Martin threw into the end zone. The pass was incomplete but the defender was flagged for pass interference to give Anderson County a first and goal at the four-yard line. On the next play Martin threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Wilson.
Clayton Utley kicked the extra point to stake the Mavericks to a 7-0 lead with 6:00 left in the first quarter.
The Fighting Cyclones answered with a eight-play drive that took the ball to the Anderson County 36-yard line before they turned it over on downs.
On the first play of the next possession, Martin threw a 50-yard pass to Wilson to give the Mavericks a first and goal at the Elizabethton seven-yard line.
The drive fizzled when a fumble gave the Fighting Cyclones the ball on their own three-yard line.
They put together a seven-play drive that moved the ball to midfield before they were forced to punt.
Anderson County responded with a five-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Martin to Wilson.
Utley added the PAT and the Mavericks led 14-0 with 9:52 remaining in the second quarter.
Each team traded possessions and Elizabethton took over on the Anderson County 38-line following a punt. Seven plays later, Corey Russell scored on a two-yard run.
Jaxton Holly kicked the extra point to cut the Mavericks’ lead in half at 14-7 with 3:47 left in the second quarter.
Anderson County answered with an eighth play drive but it bogged down due to penalties and they punted it away.
On the ensuing drive, the Fighting Cyclones faced fourth and two from the Mavericks’ 40-yard line. Phillips crashed through the line and sacked quarterback Carter Everett for an eight-yard loss.
Anderson County took over on its own 48-line with less than a minute left in the half. Martin played pitch and catch with Wilson on three consecutive plays for gains of six, nine, and 29 yards.
Utley kicked a 33-yard field goal with eight seconds left in the half to give the Mavericks a 17-7 lead at the half.
It was as close as the Fighting Cyclones would get as Anderson County opened the second half with a 93-yard drive, highlighted by a 40-yard run by Phillips. Martin capped the eight-play drive with a seven-yard touchdown run.
Utley sent the extra point into the chilly wind and through the uprights to extend the Mavericks’ lead to 24-7 with 10:10 remaining in the third quarter.
The Anderson County defense then forced a three and out to give the offense the ball on its own 25-yard line.
The Mavericks’ offensive line continued their dominant play as Martin completed an 11-yard pass to Phillips. He then completed a 17-yard pass to Elliott (following a penalty). Chris Powell then ran for nine yards. Martin then fired a 46-yard touchdown pass to Michael Carroll.
Utley kicked the extra point and the Anderson County lead swelled to 31-7 with 6:39 left in the third quarter.
After each team traded possessions, Elizabethton put together a seven-play, 38-yard drive. They scored on a one-yard run by Everett.
The extra point attempt failed and the Mavericks lead 31-13 with 1:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Anderson County used the remainder of the quarter and part of the fourth quarter as they marched 89 yards in eight plays.
Phillips scored on a three-yard run and Utley added the extra point to give the Mavericks a 38-13 lead.
The Fighting Cyclones added a touchdown late courtesy of a nine-yard run by Russell. They converted the two-point conversion to make the final 38-21.
Anderson County never trailed in the game and was rarely challenged on either side of the ball.
“Our defense really stepped up tonight. They’ve played like that all year. I know we took some bad media last week with Grainger. We had a couple of kids out [in that game] and we had to put new people in. Grainger is an anomaly as far as the type of football they play — it’s not a conventional offense. It’s not what we built ourselves to guard. We’ve built ourselves for conventional spread-type teams. We knew that’s what we would see tonight and what we will see next week,” said Davey Gillum, head coach of the Mavericks.
“It bothered us to hear we have not played anybody and that’s why the defense has played well or we’ll have to score 70 to win and all of those kinds of things. Our guys went to work this week. They had a chip on their shoulder and played great all the way around. Our cornerbacks are small but they’re good. Dalton Wilson shut down one side of the field all night. We got pressure on the quarterback and shut down the run. That offensive line that was supposed to be so good, we gave them fits and they didn’t know what to do,” he said.
“Our offensive line owned the line of scrimmage. We dominated the second half. Martin had a fabulous night. I don’t care what anyone says, he’s Mr. Football. He’s the best player in the state of Tennessee,” Gillum said.
Martin, a Class 4-A Titans’ Mr. Football finalist, finished 28-35 for 385 yards and three touchdowns. He also led the team with 112 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries.
For the season, Martin has thrown for 3,315 yards and 45 touchdowns. He has rushed for 773 yards and eight touchdowns.
Phillips finished with 74 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.
Wilson led the Mavericks with nine receptions for 179 yards and two touchdowns while Moog had seven grabs for 56 yards.
Elliott had six receptions for 58 yards and Carroll had four catches for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Phillips led Anderson County with 12 tackles, including two sacks and four tackles for a loss.
Moog and Powell each had nine tackles including one tackle for loss each.
Carroll and Austin Dunsmore each had six tackles while Marquise Gallahar had five tackles. Carroll also had an interception.
The win sets up a clash of 4A superpowers as the 12-0 the second ranked in the state Mavericks visit the 12-0 number one ranked in the state Greeneville Green Devils on Friday.
The matchup could well be the defacto Class 4A state championship game.
Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.
Should the Mavericks win they will return home to host the state semi-final game.
Game Stats
EHS AC
First downs 17 26
Rushing yds. 88 198
Passing yds. 185 385
Comp/att/int 19-38-1 28-35-0
Total yds. 273 583
Turnovers 1 2
Penalties 6-41 12-122
Time of poss. 21:30 26:30