Mavericks notch seventh straight region title
Anderson County’s Daylen Cole gets past a would-be Gibbs tackler. (photo:Ricky Williams )
And the Mavericks did so in impressive fashion as they sent Gibbs into a state of shell-shock.
It was supposed to be a highly competitive showdown to crown the Region 2-4A champion.
But it was anything but competitive as Anderson County jumped off to a fast start and raced to a 55-6 victory over the Eagles on homecoming night at ACHS.
The Mavericks (5-4 overall, 4-0 in Region 2-4A) jumped out to a 27-0 lead by the end of the first quarter and extended that advantage to 55-0 by halftime.
They turned out the lights early on the Eagles (7-2, 3-1). Now, all that stands between the Mavs and a perfect region record is this week’s home game against South-Doyle (2-7, 1-3).
Anderson County, coming off fall break and a Week 9 bye, was well-rested, as Coach Davey Gillum gave his squad a week off.
“We gave them the week off and it’s hard for me to do, but we’ve done that for the last six or seven years,” Gillum said. “We put a lot of time in, in this program year-round.”
Well, apparently, that’s a recipe for success. The Mavs didn’t have much rust to shake off, as they took control of this one out of the gate with four first-quarter touchdowns.
ACHS scored first when Xavian James hit the end zone on a 48-yard scamper, and later added another score when he was on the receiving end of a 16-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Zae Hall.
Hall put up another solid performance as he was 9-for-14 for 265 yards and three touchdowns.
Defensively, Anderson County made things miserable for the Eagles, as it forced four turnovers before halftime.
Riley Wolfenbarger returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown, and nearly had another Pick 6 before he was pushed out of bounds on the Gibbs 1-yard line.
Enter running back Nick Moog, who scored on a 1-yard plunge.
Gillum said that his team’s defense was key against the Eagles.
“We’ve played a lot of good teams, and Gibbs has had a great year,” he said. “That being said, they probably haven’t played a team of our caliber.
“There was a little bit of shock early from them, which put them in positions to turn the ball over. We were controlling the game early, but when they turned the ball over early, we were able to transition that into points and turn it in to a lopsided game.”
It was truly a stellar performance for the Mavericks, who amassed 20 first downs and held Gibbs to just five.
Moog finished with 71 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.
James hauled in three catches for 93 yards.
Waylon LaRue ran for a score and caught a touchdown pass.
Next up for the Mavericks: Anderson County will host South-Doyle Friday to close out the 2023 regular season.
The Cherokees have won just two games in 2023.
They are, however, coming off a league win over rival Seymour last week.