Anderson County is Region 2-4A champ for five years straight
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Mavericks’ senior running back Zack Shannon (30) finds open field during Fridays’ win over Gibbs. Shannon had two carries for 44 yards on the evening. - Tony Cox
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Anderson County’s hard-driving workhorse Gavin Noe churns out a few extra inches near the goal line on Friday night. Noe gained 148 yards in 18 carries and had three touch- downs for the night. - Tony Cox
It wasn’t pretty, but the Anderson County Mavericks claimed the Region 2 4A championship with a 19-6 win at Gibbs Friday night.
The win also marked the 28th consecutive region win for the Mavericks. To date, they have gone a staggering six seasons without a loss in region play. They end the regular season hosting a region game against Scott on Oct. 29.
“Offensively we moved the ball, but similar to the Elizabethton game, at some point in the drive we were having some lack of execution or fumbled snap or something like that which ended our drive and we weren’t getting in the end zone,” said Mavericks Coach Davey Gillum.
“Really, we didn’t get it [the offensive miscues] cleaned up until the fourth quarter,” he said. “Both teams were still struggling. Our defense played well, but our offense didn’t play clean. That kept our defense on the field for most of the night. Just not a very clean game for us on offense — snaps, turnovers, and penalties at bad times,” he said.
Gillum also noted that the Eagles were playing for their last shot at the postseason and fought hard. The loss effectively ended their hopes for the playoffs this season.
After a scoreless first quarter, Gavin Noe scored on a 32-yard run. The extra point attempt failed and the Mavs led 6-0 early in the second quarter.
The Eagles answered with a touchdown but the play was not without controversy as it appeared the receiver caught the ball out the back of the end zone, however the play stood. The extra point attempt failed and the game went into the half tied at 6-6.
From that point on, the evening belonged to Anderson County. Noe scored his second touchdown of the evening in the third quarter to put the Mavs up 12-6. The extra point attempt failed.
The Anderson County defense clamped down on Gibbs keeping them off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.
Noe added his third touchdown in the fourth quarter and Chris Nelson added the extra point to make it a 19-6 final.
Noe finished the game with 148 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Nick Moog added 50 yards rushing on 13 carries.
Quarterback Cody Miller was 12-23 for 169 yards.
Bryson Vowell led receivers with six catches for 91 yards while Zach Shannon had two receptions for 44 yards.
The defense, which stood strong all night, was led by Eli Davis with 12 total tackles, including a sack. Moog had nine total tackles with a sack and fumble recovery while Tate Russell had nine total tackles with a fumble recovery. Kaleb Livingston had eight total tackles and Noe had seven total tackles including two sacks. Shannon also had seven total tackles, including a sack.
Thor Williams intercepted one pass and Zeke West recovered a fumble.
As of press time, complete game stats were not available.
The Mavericks (4-4 overall, 4-0 in the region) have an open week and return to action on Friday, Oct. 22, when they play at Bearden in non-region action. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.