Road trip proves unkind to Mavs
Walker Martinez out for the year; ACHS retools
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Anderson County’s Gavin Noe breaks through the line for a gain against Elizabethton on Friday night. - Ricky Williams
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Anderson County’s Nick Moog gets a pancake from Gavin Noe and protection from Eli Davis on his way to the Mavericks’ lone touchdown Friday night. - Ricky Williams
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Anderson County’s Zach Shannon breaks to the outside Friday night against Elizabeth- - Ricky Williams
The Anderson County Mavericks had a rough outing at Elizabethton Friday night, falling by a score of 26-7.
Playing without starting quarterback Walker Martinez, who was lost for the season to an injury, the Mavs’ offense was one dimensional for most of the evening. They moved the ball but were unable to score more than once.
“We went to a backup quarterback in the middle of the week and we had to retool,” said Mavericks Coach Davey Gillum. “We were just getting someone ready. We’ll do a little more each week, but we don’t want to put it all on somebody in one week.
“Our O-line is playing really well,” he said. “We actually played really well Friday. We had some dropped snaps, a couple of turnovers, and some penalties. We don’t have the same margin for error right now.”
Gillum also noted the work of his running backs and tight ends, as well as his receivers.
“We’ll go back from the ground up and do a little more each week until our quarterbacks get comfortable,” he said.
Elizabethton opened the game with a 70-yard touchdown pass from Bryson Rollins to Jake Roberts. Sean Smithdeal kicked the extra point and the Cyclones took a 7-0 with 10:44 left in the first quarter.
Both defenses dug in to keep it a one-score game until very late in the second quarter.
The Cyclones put together a five-play, 66-yard drive and scored on a 30-yard run by Rollins with just 48 seconds left in the first half. Smithdeal added the extra point to push the Elizabethton lead to 14-0.
Following an Anderson County turnover, the Cyclones took advantage and struck quickly. They went 25 yards in just three plays with Rollins capping the drive with a six-yard run with just 10 second left in the half. The extra point attempt failed but Elizabethton went into halftime up by a score of 20-0.
It was tough sledding for both offenses in the third quarter, but the Mavericks were able to put together a solid drive. They marched 67 yards in 11 plays with Nick Moog scoring on a seven-yard run. Zeke West kicked the extra point to trim the Cyclones’ lead to 20-7 with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter.
Once again, the game turned into a defensive stalemate until the mid-point of the third quarter. Elizabethton’s Cade Russell capped an 11-play, 65-yard drive with a 36-yard run for a touchdown. The Smithdeal extra point pushed the Elizabethton lead to 26-7, the eventual final score.
For the Mavs, Gavin Noe led the team with 123 yards on 24 carries. Zach Shannon had four carries for 66 yards. Nick Moog had 27 yards and a touchdown on 10 rushing attempts.
Defensively, Noe led Anderson County with seven total tackles. while Shannon had six and Moog five.
Jermaine Allen recorded an interception.
With the non-region loss, the Mavs fell to 2-4 on the season and 2-0 in the region.
They return to action Thursday at 7 p.m. when they host Carter in a region game that will be broadcast on My VLT.
