LaRue powers Mavericks past Fulton with 210 yards, two touchdowns
Anderson County’s Landen Hensley hands the ball off to Waylon LaRue during the Mavericks’ home matchup against Fulton on Friday night. (photo:Dwayne Wilder )
The Mavericks senior contributed on both offense and defense to help his team extend its long winning streak.
LaRue rushed for 210 yards and scored two touchdowns on 27 carries as the Mavericks outlasted Fulton 48-27 at ACHS. He also had an interception.
LaRue, who waited his turn behind Gavin Noe and Nick Moog, has excelled in all three of Anderson County’s 2024 games. He achieved all this despite feeling under the weather.
Coach Davey Gillum couldn’t be happier.
“I’m extremely proud of Waylon and the season he’s having,” Gillum said after the Mavericks improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the region. “He put in a lot of work, and it shows.
“He is on pace for a record-breaking season for us. His speed and strength are special. Regardless of who we face, we know Waylon is the fastest kid on the field.”
LaRue is a versatile weapon for the Mavericks. In addition to his rushing, he has caught three passes for 17 yards. He also made a major impact on special teams, with a 100-yard kickoff return in Week 3 against Bearden.
Gillum said fans haven’t seen the best of LaRue, who gave the Mavericks a 7-0 lead against the Falcons with a 21-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter.
“As good as he’s been, I believe his best games are still ahead of him,” Gillum said. “This is all still new to him. He had limited carries coming into this season.
“With every rep he takes, he gets better. Friday night, he showed a lot of toughness. He played through sickness and rushed for more than 200 yards, even though a 98-yard run was called back. His desire to succeed, combined with his talent and toughness, makes him a special player.”
The Mavericks had 11 penalties against Fulton (1-3, 0-1), losing 79 yards, which was frustrating for Gillum.
“Offensively, we need to play cleaner,” he said. “We obviously need to cut down on penalties, but we also had too many missed assignments on the offensive line.
“Time and reps should fix that, but we need to speed up the process because our own mistakes are hurting us. Defensively, we need to keep improving on the little things—tackling, assignments, and physicality. We’ve gotten better each week, and I believe we will continue to progress.”
Anderson County, which defeated the Falcons 50-14 last season, took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter when quarterback Landen Hensley connected with Trent Strickland on a 21-yard touchdown pass. It looked like the Mavericks were on their way to another easy victory.
But the Falcons had other plans.
Albert Johnson had a 73-yard touchdown run, and Javon Moulden threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Derrick Smith to pull Fulton within a point at 14-13. The Falcons had a chance to tie, but kicker Emanuel Mosqueira missed the extra point.
The Mavericks extended their lead to 21-13 just before halftime on a 4-yard run by Hensley, who had another solid performance.
He completed 17 of 25 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns, although he did throw one interception. He also had three carries for seven yards and a rushing touchdown.
LaRue added a touchdown run in the third quarter to make it 27-13, but Moulden connected with Smith on a 64-yard scoring pass to close the gap to 27-20.
Hensley’s touchdown pass to Israel Small made it 34-20 before Fulton scored its final touchdown on Moulden’s third touchdown pass of the game, again to Smith.
For the Mavericks, Cody Miller scored on a 2-yard run, and Hensley connected with Riley Wolfenbarger on a 35-yard touchdown pass to seal the win.
Anderson County has now won 40 consecutive region games dating to 2017.