‘Great night for the program’
Anderson County notches season high score in win over Chattanooga Central
With a Chattanooga Central defender closing in, Ander- son County’s Garrison Terry jumps for a pass, which then COLLIN RIGGS| COURIER NEWS sails just out of reach during last Friday’s game in which the Mavericks won 53-0. (photo:Collin Riggs )
Anderson County hosted the Pounders for a conference game on Friday, Oct 16, their first home game in three weeks, putting the Pounders at 1-8 for the season and 1-5 in their league, while Anderson County climbed to 6-2 overall, and remained undefeated in the league.
Gavin Noe and Josh Miller started the game strong for the Mavs with Gavin Noe scoring the first touchdown on a 10-yard run, followed by two touchdowns by Miller on 19- and 14-yard runs.
It was the second half where the Mavs really kicked up the heat, with Garrison Terry scoring the fourth touchdownof the night for the Mavericks on a 23-yard interception return.
Terry scored a second time for the Mavs upon completion of a 35-yard pass from Walker Martinez.
Stone Hatmaker stepped up to round out the half for the Mavericks on a stunning 70-yard pass to Eli Braden for AC’s sixth touchdown, putting them up 40-0 going into the second half.
The Mavs didn’t stop there, though, gaining two more touchdowns before the end, with a 1-yard rush by Hatmaker in the third quarter and a 2-yard rush by Davis in the fourth quarter in a decisive show of force before their upcoming game against East Hamilton.
Anderson County’s defense held the Pounders in check for the entirety of the game, allowing them only 21 offensive yards, allowing only a single first down.
The Mavericks finished with 151 net rushing yards to Chattanooga Central’s three, while the Mavs finished with 282 passing yards to the Pounders’ 18.
Anderson County finished the night with 433 total offensive yards, while Chattanooga Central finished with just 21.
Zach Shannon was a large part of that defense, with six total tackles, while Maxx Oglesby and Kaleb Livingston finished with four solo tackles each.
David Gillum, head coach for the Mavericks, said he was proud of how well the team did on both sides of the ball, but said the defense played an “almost perfect game.”
“They only had about 20 yards for the game and that was after our JV and freshmen played a lot,” he said. “So, defensively, we had almost a perfect game.
“Overall, it was just a great night for the program.” he said.
Gavin Noe led the team on rushing yards, gaining 102 yards across nine attempts, followed by Josh Miller with 33 yards across two attempts. On passing, Martinez and Hatmaker were joined by Tate Russell.
Martinez finished with 87 passing yards, while Hatmaker finished with 124 yards and Russell with 71 yards.
On the receiving side, Cole Phillips led with three receptions, while Eli Braden, Garrison Terry, Zeke West, Zach Shannon, and Bryson Vowell had two apiece.
“All of them played really well,” said Gillum, in reference to the younger players.
“Starters got in and played really well, and then a lot of our younger guys played really well, too,” he said.
“Our second group of receivers all made plays,” Gillum said. “Eli Davis ran the ball really well for the young guys. Tate Russell came in and played quarterback and threw the ball really well and had several completions.”
All those touchdowns gave kicker Daniel Bethel quite a busy night. Bethel kicked 537 yards across nine kickoffs, seven of which were touchbacks.
Gillum said that it was nice to see the improvements at all levels throughout the game.
“The boys played extremely well in all phases of the game,” he said. “It really seemed like everybody who stepped on the field played well, so just a good night for everyone. It’s good when you see your program making strides at all levels, and I was really pleased with the team’s performance.”