It's over: Maverick's run ends at Greeneville
The unstoppable force met the immovable object on Friday night in Greeneville and it fulfilled every promise of a number one vs. number two matchup.
Unfortunately for Anderson County and their fans, the Mavericks fell just short, losing 35-31 to the number one ranked Green Devils.
The Mavericks took the first possession of the game and took full advantage of the opportunity. Quarterback Stanton Martin led his team 83 yards in 12 plays as he and Mason Phillips picked up small chunks of yardage on the ground. Martin also twice drew the Green Devils offsides with his cadence. Facing second and five from the Greeneville 44-yard line, Martin completed a 39-yard pass to Austin Elliott to set up a first and goal at the five-yard line. Three plays later Phillips went high over a stack of offensive and defensive and into the end zone for the touchdown.
Clayton Utley kicked the extra point and Anderson County led 7-0 with 6:55 remaining in the first quarter.
On the Green Devils’ first possession it was not Mr. Football candidate quarterback Cade Ballard on display but the Mavericks’ defense as they forced a fumble and Austin Dunsmore recovered it on the Greeneville 26-yard line.
A pass interference call on the Green Devils gave Anderson County a first down at the Greeneville 13-yard line. On the next play, Martin completed a nine-yard pass to Ryan Moog. Martin then ran it in from four yards out for the score.
The extra point by Utley gave the Mavericks a 14-0 lead with 3:24 left in the first quarter.
A touchback on the ensuing kickoff gave the Green Devils the ball on their own 20-yard line. After an illegal procedure penalty forced a third and nine from the Greeneville 21-yard line, Dalton Wilson came untouched on the blitz and sacked Ballard for a 12-yard loss.
With the Green Devils punting from their own end zone, Trey Noe broke through the line and blocked the punt. Marquise Gallahar recovered the ball in the end zone as the cheers from visitor’s bleachers rocked the stadium.
Utley kicked the extra point to give Anderson County a 21-0 lead with 1:48 remaining in the first quarter.
Just when it looked as though the Mavericks were going to roll to another lopsided win, the Green Devils woke up. Like a heavyweight fighter rising from the canvas, Greeneville responded on the first play of the next possession as Ballard threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Dorien Goddard.
Eli Sheppard kicked the extra point to cut the Anderson County lead to 21-7 with 1:25 remaining in the first quarter.
The Green Devils held the Mavericks to a three and out on the next possession. On a second and 19 from his own 11, Martin scrambled for seven yards but went down with an injury. He was injured earlier in the game but stayed in the game.
Anderson County punted to give Greeneville the ball near midfield. The Green Devils appeared to score a touchdown on the next play but a holding call with no time on the clock brought the ball back to the Anderson County 27-yard line. Greeneville was given one untimed down and they made it count. Javeon Gillespi ran 27 yards for a touchdown and Sheppard kicked the PAT to cut the Mavericks’ advantage to 21-14 after one quarter.
Martin returned to the field for Anderson County to lead the ensuing drive. The Mavericks moved the ball from its own 19-yard line down to the Greenville 26-yard line before the Green Devils’ Seth Crawford intercepted a pass in the end zone for a touchback.
Greeneville moved the ball to midfield before the drive stalled thanks in large part to a tremendous tackle for loss by Gallahar who blew up a screen pass to force a punting situation.
The Mavericks took over on their own eight-line with Martin visibly limping.
He completed an 11-yard pass to Elliott and then a 29-yard pass to Elliott. Three plays later, Martin threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Moog.
Utley kicked the extra point and Anderson County pushed their lead to 28-14 with 1:53 remaining in the half.
Following the kick-off, the Green Devils took over on their own 16-yard line. Moog dropped a Greeneville receiver for a six-yard loss and it looked as though the Mavericks were going to carry a two-touchdown lead into the half.
And then Ballard happened.
The Green Devils’ quarterback fired an 89-yard touchdown pass to Jamian Thompson.
Shepherd kicked the extra point to cut into the Mavericks’ lead again, making the score 28-21 with 44 seconds left in the first half.
It appeared the game would go into the half with the home team down by one score.
And then Martin answered.
Starting from his own 20-yard line, Martin completed a 15-yard pass to Wilson and a 25-yard pass to Elliott. He then found Wilson for 10 more and Michael Carroll for another 16 yards.
After a quick spike, Utley ran onto the field and kicked the 30-yard field goal with no time on the clock to send the Mavericks into the break with a 31-21 lead.
Greeneville opened the second half with a promising drive as they marched from its own 26-yard line down to the Anderson County 10-yard line.
They were forced to settle for a 27-yard field goal attempt but the kick sailed wide and the Mavericks took over on their own 20-yard line.
Martin opened the second half with a 50-yard completion to Wilson. He then completed a 13-yard strike to Carroll.
On the next play, Greeneville’s Crawford intercepted his second pass of the game.
The Green Devils could parlay that into success as Moog intercepted a pass of the first play of the next Greeneville possession to give Anderson County the ball on the Green Devils’ 48-yard line.
The Greeneville defense stiffened as they held the Mavericks to a three and out.
Following the punt, the Green Devils took over on their own seven-yard line.
Ballard led his team 93 yards in 17 plays with a combination of runs and short passes. They scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Ballard to Ty Youngblood.
Shepherd kicked the extra point and the Mavericks’ lead was trimmed to 31-28 with 52 remaining in the third quarter.
The next Anderson County drive ended quickly as Crawford intercepted his third pass of the game.
Greeneville opened the fourth quarter with a nine-play, 57-yard drive. Ballard capped the drive with a 21-yard touchdown run.
Shepherd kicked the extra point to give the Green Devils their first lead at 35-31 with 9:24 remaining in the game.
A 42-yard return by Dunsmore gave Anderson County the ball on its own 43-yard line.
Phillips ran for four yards and Martin completed a 15-yard pass to Moog and a 21-yard pass to Wilson to give the Mavericks a first down at the Greeneville 17-yard line.
The drive stalled at the Green Devils’ 10-yard line.
Greeneville put together a time consuming 11-play drive that went all the way to the Anderson County four-yard line. Gallahar came up with a huge stop on third and goal from the two-yard line as he dropped the ball carrier for a two-yard loss.
With a little more than a minute left in the game, the Green Devils attempted another field goal but it failed miserably. It was so off that it actually hurt the Mavericks. The line drive went into the back of the offensive line and did not go into the end zone, consequently, Anderson County took over on its own four-yard line as opposed to its own 20-yard line.
After an incomplete pass on first down, Crawford intercepted his fourth pass of the game to preserve the lead and win for his team.
“From the second play of the game, Stanton played with a torn ACL. He is a gutty kid and that was a huge performance. It says a lot for him. He knew what our chances were if he didn’t go back in. It shows how much he cares for his team and his teammates,” Gillum said.
“It took away the fact that we could run him and open the offense up. It took away him scrambling around. He had trouble moving in the pocket. It was a warrior’s effort just for him to be out there. I told him not to go back out but he and the trainers decided he was healthy enough to try.”
“It was a great season. These guys have nothing to be ashamed of — we won 12 games for the first time in school history and won a region championship,” Gillum said.
Martin again managed to put up big numbers. He was 21-38 for 368 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a touchdown but was limited by injury to 19 yards on seven carries
Wilson had seven receptions for 105 yards while Moog had six catches for 126 yards and a touchdown.
Carroll had four receptions for 70 yards and Elliott had three catches for 59 yards.
Defensively, Gallahar finished with 21 tackles, including three for a loss.
Senior Thomas Roberts closed out his Anderson County career with 13 tackles while Moog had nine tackles, including two for a loss and an interception.
Dunsmore had eight tackles and a fumble recovery and Phillips had seven tackles, including a sack.
The Mavericks finish the 2017 season with a record of 12-1 and a Region 2-4A Championship. They also bid farewell to a talented group of seniors.
“The senior class had a good year. Mason Phillips had a great year at running back and at outside linebacker. He played outside linebacker at an All-State level,” Gillum said.
“Dalton Wilson had a record-setting year for us. He had the best single-best receiving season in school history. He is definitely the best cover corner we’ve had since I’ve been here,” the coach said.
“Thomas Roberts had a big year too. He was really the anchor on the offensive line and it was the same thing on the defensive line, he and Trey [Noe] kind of anchored that down,” Gillum said.
“Drew Hatmaker stepped in at inside linebacker and played great all year. He was phenomenal and one of the reasons the defense had no weak spots this year,” he noted.
“Austin Dunsmore — it was really his first year getting on the field for us but he had a great year at corner. A lot of people tested him but they had very little success,” Gillum said.
“Clayton Utley, our kicker, had a record-setting year for points. He ended up in the top 10 all-time in the state for scoring in a single season, which says a lot about the offense. He also did a great job kicking off,” the coach said.
“Chris Powell was the unsung hero. He played safety and did a great job, whether it was shutting down the run or playing man-to-man coverage. He also played slot receiver and caught a lot of balls even though he was one of our best running backs,” Gillum said.
“Anthony Barbera played center for us and started the past two seasons and did a great job. He had an All-Region-type year and played some defensive tackle and had some big plays for us as well,” he said.
“Brandon Elliott played some offensive line for us and was solid all season. He filled that slot for us and helped solidify that offensive line,” Gillum said.
“Landon Miller tore his ACL in the summer and spent the summer and most of the season rehabbing and getting back to where he could play. He never got back to full speed but it says a lot for the work he put in,” he remarked.
“Colby Proffit played defensive tackle and special teams. He made some big plays in that rotation,” Gillum said.
“Isaiah Wallace played linebacker quite a bit in different packages. He had a good year,” the coach said.
“Steven Davenport, our back-up punter, worked hard all year to teach himself how to punt. We just didn’t punt a whole lot this season so he didn’t get a lot of action,” Gillum said.
“Ben Cantrell [manager] has been with us for four years and is as much a part of team as any of the players. He will be missed,” the coach said.
The Courier News is working toward a special section looking back on the 2017 Anderson County football season. We hope to feature it in the Dec. 6 edition.
Game Stats
AC GHS
First Downs 20 25
Rushing Yds. 55 253
Passing Yds. 368 301
Comp/Att/Int 21-38-4 18-22-1
Total Yds. 423 554
Turnovers 4 2
Penalties 5-41 11-97
Time of Poss. 20:00 28:00