Sharpe steps in as injuries test Mavericks

October 7, 2026 by Alan Sloan

Anderson County suffered more than a loss in its Region 2-4A clash at Gibbs on Thursday night.

The Mavericks fell 41-29 and lost star sophomore quarterback JD Gillum to a knee injury early in the second quarter.

“JD got hurt, sprained his MCL, so he was out,” Mavs Coach Davey Gillum said. “We don’t know how bad a sprain, whether sprain or tear.”

Anderson County opened the game well defensively.

“It started out OK for us on defense,” Gillum said. “We got a pick, got the ball down to the goal line, ended up having to kick a field goal.”

Eli Ledford converted the opportunity with a 25-yard field goal.

“Defense played real well other than two slants and a reverse later in the game,” Gillum said. “They really struggled to move the ball at all.”

Gillum singled out Vance Young for his work on both sides of the line. Young finished with five solo tackles and five assists.

“Vance Young, I thought, was really the star of the game on the offensive and defensive line,” Gillum said. “If anybody gets a shout-out, he’s just been a rock star all year on the O-line. D-line, he’s dominated. They couldn’t run the ball. He had a lot to do with that.”

Senior lineman Karnell Mills also drew praise despite being forced out of the lineup for a stretch.

“Karnell played good, too,” Gillum said. “Karnell got banged up and was out a while. We had pretty much almost four new starters. Trenton Engle’s playing center, which is new to him, and he did good.

“Offensively, I wouldn’t say we were clicking. Had a couple of drops, and then we were struggling a little bit in protection. They did have a good, athletic D-line.”

When JD Gillum went down, receiver Brayden Sharpe stepped in at quarterback and helped keep the Mavericks in the game. Sharpe completed 11 of 16 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown and also ran for a score.

“Brayden Sharpe, he’s one of our receivers, but he stepped in at quarterback and he just did an unbelievable job,” Gillum said. “Really, as good as you could ever ask anybody in that situation.”

Senior receiver Jaxon Price became Sharpe’s top target, hauling in five passes for 149 yards and a touchdown despite dealing with a knee injury of his own.

“He really stepped up his game,” Gillum said. “He went and got a bunch of balls, had a huge night. He played with a little bit of a knee injury himself.”

Cayson Kurriger carried 11 times for 69 yards and a touchdown, while Lane LaRue had nine carries for 26 yards and a score.

“The running backs still ran hard,” Gillum said. “Riley Miller made some big catches and had some big hits on defense.”

The loss dropped Anderson County to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in Region 2-4A. Gibbs improved to 6-1 and 3-1 in the region.

Gillum credited Gibbs but said the Mavericks hurt themselves with mistakes that become costly against quality opponents.

“Congratulations to Gibbs. They definitely deserved to win, more because of how sloppy and uncoached we still look,” Gillum said. “We’ve got a lot to clean up on our part, and we’re not doing a very good job of getting that done.

“When you play a good team and turn the ball over and have penalties and extend drives for foolishness, you’re not going to win those games.”