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Mavericks ‘show up’ in second half to advance to state title

November 30, 2022 by Ken Leinart

Anderson County’s neighbors to the south wondered when the Mavericks would show up Friday night.

After watching the Red Bank Lions jump to a 13-0 halftime lead in the TSSAA 4A football playoff semi-finals, the Mavericks — the No. 1 4A team in the state — found their rhythm in the second half and took a 29-13 win for the school’s first trip to the state football finals.

“We were waiting for you guys to show up,” one Chattanooga sportswriter told Anderson County High School Head Football Coach Davey Gillum after the game.

The Mavs did almost everything wrong in the first half.

Almost.

Anderson County took the opening drive some 91 yards and were knocking on the door with a first-and-goal on the seven. The Lion defense dug in, but with a fourth-and-goal at the three, Mav signal caller Walker Martinez found a receiver in the back of the end zone for … a last- second swipe from Lion Cordell Howard knocked the ball to the ground for a turnover on downs.

Following that, the Lions took two plays to get one yard and then on third-and-nine, Lion Eric Hill swung a pass to the flat for Duane Morris, and 96 yards later the Lions had the lead.

“In that first drive, we had a lot of things go wrong,” Gillum said. “Missed blocks, missed assignments.

“We felt, logistically, we had what should have been an easy touchdown, and we didn’t get it.”

That first drive was telling, however. Gavin Noe and Nick Moog were beasts out of the backfield, and Martinez was on target — and that would be crucial for the Mavs in the second half.

The rest of the first half, however, belonged to the hosts.

“The next three or four possessions were all turnovers,” Gillum said. “Very frustrating.”

One of those turnovers, a fumble recovery by Lion Jordan Shaw at Anderson County’s 24-yard line, led to Lion A.D. Crutcher’s 15-yard touchdown in the second quarter and a 13-0 lead when the PAT was wide right.

“I wasn’t overwhelmed by the deficit at halftime,” Gillum said. “I was worried whether we’d get 29 points. And you wondered, ‘Are we going to have one of those nights?’”

But that wasn’t to be the case. It was just one of those halves, and the Mavs owned the second half.

Anderson County’s defense shut down the Lion offense. While the Mavs gave up 150 yards and two scores in the first half, they put the clamps on the Lions in the second half, allowing only 50 yards in the last two quarters — including forcing two turnovers that led to scores.

Maverick football had indeed entered the fray.

After Moog forced a fumble recovered by Andrew Meier, the Mavs marched 82 yards with Martinez connecting with Bryson Vowell from 16 yards out, and the score stood at 13-7 after Chris Nelson’s kick.

On the next Lion drive, Noe intercepted Hill and returned the ball to the Lion 17. Four plays later, Moog tallied from two yards out. The kick was wide left and the score stood at 13-13 with 5:04 to play in the third quarter.

The Lions hinted at doing something, but it never came to fruition. Facing a fourth-and-one at midfield, Eli Davis stepped to the forefront with a hit on Crutcher that turned the ball over to the Mavs.

Taking over with two minutes to play in the third, the Mavs put together a drive that spilled over into the final frame and was a clock killer. Behind big backs Noe and Moog, the Mavs were systematic in the march, converting two fourth downs and setting up the score with a brilliant hookup from Martinez to Vowell to put the ball at the two — from where Noe punched it in.

With 8:50 left to play, Nelson gave the Mavs a 20-13 lead with the PAT.

Again, the Maverick defense stepped up. Forcing a three and time to punt, the Lion kicker felt the rush and by the time he had tried to scamper out of harm’s way, Israel Small had a safety and the Mavs had a 22-13 lead.

The Mavs took the free kick 55 yards, relying on the legs of Noe and Moog — with Moog getting the last 11 yards for a score. With Nelson’s PAT, the Mavs put up the final point spread with 1:51 to play.

The Lions’ last gasp was shut down on a Moog interception with only a kneel from Martinez to end the game.

“I was still a little scared,” Gillum said of the Lions’ potential.

“They are so athletic. You’re one bad tackle away from what happened on that first drive.”

But, he said, the team never faltered.

“We talked to them at the half. Got after them a little bit. We just wanted to calm them down,” he said.

It worked.

Now the Mavs are playing for a state championship.

Kickoff is 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at Finley Stadium on the campus of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, against 12-2 Pearl Cohn Entertainment Magnet School out of Nashville.