Anderson County rolls past Union County 63-30
With their star quarterback back in the lineup after a knee injury, Anderson County took care of business as expected Friday night, Oct. 16, cruising to a 63-30 football victory at Union County.
Coach David Gillum was pleased with his team’s performance in the dominant Region 2-4A victory, which improved the Mavericks’ record to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in region play.
Union County fell to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in the region.
“It was a step in the right direction,” Gillum said. “I can’t remember any penalties, offense or defense. No turnovers. I can’t remember any busts as far as plays.
“We’ve tried to make a commitment in practice to being a little more businesslike and having a little more accountability when we’re having mistakes in practice,” the coach added. “About the things we needed to do going forward to be better, I felt like we did those things.
“We were favored, so we’re supposed to win this game, but you know, kind of the negative for us all season has been how clean are we playing with few, if any, penalties, bad snaps, busted assignments, those type things? It was a step in the right direction being really clean,” he said.
“Union County’s got a really good quarterback,” Gillum said. “He’s a savvy player, good arm, athletic, tough. He ran around and tried to extend plays. And it took us a couple of drives really to hone in on how to pressure him and things like that.
“Our defense played [well],” he said. “My first string and second string didn’t give up any points, and young kids got to play a whole lot. So it was good for the whole team.”
Gillum singled out several defensive players for their performances.
“I thought, defensively, ]that] Lyric Jackson had a big night pressuring the quarterback,” he said.
“Vance Young had a huge night in the run game and pressuring the quarterback,” Gillum said. “He got himself a strip sack, which was pretty impressive. You know, when your defensive lineman is smart enough to get the sack and take the ball away from the quarterback at the same time. And he recovered the fumble. That was pretty impressive.
“Our freshman linebacker Hunter Wade had a big game, and Landon Burnett played really well and Jack Davis played really well on defense,” the coach added.
Offensively, the Mavericks welcomed the return of quarterback JD Gillum, who had been sidelined with a knee injury.
“Really everybody played well,” Coach Gillum said. “JD came back from an injury, and I think he only had one incompletion and threw for four touchdowns and 215 yards in a little over a quarter.”
The receiving corps also delivered a strong performance.
“Our receivers played well; Jaxson Price played well; Coltyn Noe, I think, got his first touchdown in high school,” Gillum said.
Backup quarterback Brayden Sharpe, who had stepped into the starting role during JD Gillum’s absence, continued to impress his coach.
“He’s done a really good job filling in for JD, and he’s a really smart kid,” the coach said. “He knows the offense inside and out.”
Lane LaRue, Maddox Tackett and Cayson Kurriger each scored a rushing touchdown for Anderson County.
Elijah Johnson, Braxton McEndree and LaRue hauled in touchdown passes, while Cooper Downs added another.
In the kicking game, Eli Ledford converted seven extra-point attempts, while Caleb Egeland added another.