Eight straight
Third-quarter surge leads Mavs to Region 2-4A championship
Anderson County’s Waylon LaRue continued making his case for the 2024 Mr. Football Tennessee award on Friday night. The senior speedster added 177 yards rushing on 16 carries to his 2024 total, and had four touchdowns in the Mavericks 49-6 rout of Gibbs. LaRue has 1,269 yards rushing through 8 games in the 2024 high school football season.
Anderson County beat the Gibbs War Eagles 49-6.
The Mavericks will travel to South-Doyle High School this Friday, looking to complete their eighth-straight season without a region loss.
Friday night’s game at Gibbs was one that many high school football fans had circled. The Eagles, loaded with senior talent, entered with an 8-0 (3-0 in the region) record, and they put up a fight, at least for the first half.
“There was a lot of emotion early, and they [Gibbs] came with a lot of energy,” Anderson County Coach Davey Gillum said.
“It was a bit of a sparring match in the first half. They do a lot on offense and defense, with a lot of movement. They know we’re bigger up front, which was smart on their part. A lot of times they were winning because of the chaos [they created].”
The Mavericks held a 14-6 lead at the break, but it wasn’t a “pretty” lead. The Mavs punted four times in the first half and turned the ball over on downs once.
Gibbs was able to move the ball largely relying on quarterback Warren Axton and running back Marquese Sharp, with senior Brady Hughes and Maddox Brackfield contributing as well.
However, the Eagles couldn’t reach the end zone, settling for two field goals from junior kicker Mikel Van Pelt. He nailed a 24-yarder with 6:24 left in the first quarter, giving the Eagles their only lead of the game at 3-0, and a 35-yarder with 7:44 remaining in the second quarter to make it a 7-6 contest.
While the Eagles’ defense posed challenges, they couldn’t contain Mavericks seniors Landen Hensley and Waylon Larue.
After Gibbs’ opening field goal, the Mavericks settled in. On second down and short, Hensley appeared to hand off, but held onto the ball, breaking free for a 40-yard run.
Two plays later, Larue scored from eight yards out, and after Jackson Payne’s extra point, the Mavericks led 7-3 with 2:29 left in the first quarter.
Gibbs responded with a 67-yard drive, but another Van Pelt field goal, this time from 35 yards, was all they managed, trimming the score to 7-6. That score appeared to be enough to hold until halftime, but after a series of punts, Anderson County had the ball with a little more than two minutes left. Larue broke the drought, finding a crease in the Gibbs defense and outracing them for a 38-yard score with 2:07 remaining in the half. Payne’s kick made it 14-6.
“Coming out at halftime, we were right where we wanted to be,” Gibbs Coach Brad Turner said. “But we left a lot of points out there.”
Then the game shifted. On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Anderson County’s Trent Strickland intercepted a pass in the flat at the Gibbs 29-yard line.
A 16-yard return, combined with a half-the-distance penalty for a hit out of bounds, gave the Mavericks first and goal at the six. After another Larue touchdown and the point after, Anderson County led 21-6.
“Even in the second half when we threw that interception, they scored, but we got it right back and drove all the way to the two-yard line … then the turnover,” Turner said.
On second-and-goal from the 18, the Mavericks forced a fumble and recovered at their 28-yard line. Two plays later, Larue scored his fourth touchdown of the night with a 66-yard run, extending the lead to 28-6 after the extra point.
Hensley then connected with Strickland for a 20-yard pass, which Strickland took to the end zone, stretching the lead to 35-6.
Another fumble recovery led to Taylor Davis’ 21-yard score, putting the Mavericks up 42-6.
Strickland set up the final score with an interception, giving Anderson County the ball at Gibbs’ 49.
Two plays later, Hensley found senior Riley Wolfenbarger for a 43-yard touchdown, and after the kick, the score was 49-6.
Anderson County scored 35 points in the third quarter, the longest drive lasting 48 seconds, with four touchdowns coming from two plays each and another on a fumble return.
In the final quarter, as the Mavericks pulled their starters, Gibbs had a chance to cross the goal line, but an interception ended the push.
Gillum credited halftime adjustments for the Mavericks’ success against Gibbs’ defense.
“We had to make some changes to counteract that and get bodies on bodies,” he said. “Once we did that, the offense got rolling. Defensively, everyone was making their assignments, and it was just punishing for the most part.”
Larue capped off another standout performance with 16 touches for 177 yards and four touchdowns.