Anderson Co. Wins 4A Title, 1st Ever State Championship

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Dreams to become a champion has come true for the Mavericks as they get to take that "Gold Ball" home after hard fought, close victory over a very talented Pearl Cohn team.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It took several years of heartbreaks and close calls but finally, Anderson Co. can call themselves state champions after defeating Pearl Cohn, 34-30 in what was one of the best games of the weekend slate.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Many people were expecting fireworks coming into this game and that's exactly what you got within the first six minutes of the game. Pearl Cohn went on offense 1st and immediately made their presence known with a deep pass thrown for a touchdown from junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='258845' first='Keshawn' last='Tarleton'] </strong>to stud receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='193750' first='D'Arious' last='Reed']</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The very next play on the kickoff, Anderson Co. fumbled and the Firebirds recovered then proceeded to put another touchdown on the board to push their lead out to 14-0.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Early on, it looked like Pearl Cohn was gonna take control of this game but after taking a breath and calming down, Anderson Co. jumped back into the mix on the next offensive possession. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BenDownsACMAVS/status/1599078139900362752?s=20u0026t=k4mQDMfUgrey2YqplXd1Mw","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BenDownsACMAVS/status/1599078139900362752?s=20&amp;t=k4mQDMfUgrey2YqplXd1Mw </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mavs marched right down the field on a nine play drive, capped off by a nice pass from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='102284' first='Walker' last='Martinez'] </strong>to senior wideout <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='153948' first='Bryson' last='Vowell'] </strong>to get on the scoreboard. Well after forcing Pearl Cohn to go three and out, the Mavs got the ball back and scored again after a short yard run from <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='433125' first='Nick' last='Moog'] </strong>to tie the game up at 14-14. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a rough start, Anderson Co. was back in the game and feeling confident after two successful offensive drives. Now after tying the game up, it was time to figure out a way to slow down the Pearl Cohn offense but that would need more time as the Firebirds produced more points on their next drive.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The connection of the first between Tarleton and Reed was money as the junior signal caller threw a pretty over the shoulder ball to Reed and the explosive wideout made an over the shoulder catch to put Pearl Cohn back on top at 21-14.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For most of the 1st half, the Anderson County secondary had problems with the Pearl Cohn wideouts, especially Reed as he and others were able to get behind defenders and get open for big plays or touchdowns.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jumping back on offense, the Mavs were still rolling with their game plan and not flinching as the Firebirds took the lead. Martinez marched his team back down the field to throw his second touchdown pass of the half with this one going to linebacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='102213' first='Eli' last='Davis']</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BenDownsACMAVS/status/1599090762423336960?s=20u0026t=k4mQDMfUgrey2YqplXd1Mw","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/BenDownsACMAVS/status/1599090762423336960?s=20&amp;t=k4mQDMfUgrey2YqplXd1Mw </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An exciting first half of action ended by Pearl Cohn taking the ball with about 56 seconds to go and pushing their way down field, helped by a long pass from Tarleton to Reed to set up for a field goal that was good, pushing the Firebirds lead out to 24-20 headed into the locker room.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first period was some of the best football seen down in Chattanooga all week but would it continue in the second half? Yes it would but things did slow up to start the second period as both defenses made adjustments, forcing the offenses to make corrections.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Scoring didn't pick back up until late in the 3rd quarter after a missed hand-off by the Firebirds backfield gave Anderson Co. the ball inside their opponents five yard line, which resulted in a short yardage touchdown run by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='102293' first='Gavin' last='Noe']</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Holding a 27-24 lead, Anderson Co. would add more points to the board when Martinez made a nice read and throw to Vowell in the back of the end zone to push the Mavericks lead out to ten.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pearl Cohn wasn't dead yet as they immediately answered the Mavs' with an 80 yard touchdown pass from Tarleton to sophomore wide receiver <strong>Donovan Higgins</strong>, bringing the score to 34-30.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This had been an outstanding game that you knew would not be settled till the very end and that's how it went down. Both teams received the ball once more and both were forced to punt but trailing by four, Pearl Cohn would get one more shot with 18 seconds remaining.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long pass by Tarleton was picked off by Vowell and at the moment, the 1st ever football state championship would be headed to East and to Clinton, Tennessee.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Anderson Co. had finally done it. After many years of close finishes and hard fought season's, the Mavericks can now call themselves state champs after a tough 34-30 win over a good Pearl Cohn team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/TheJeffCate/status/1599124335054102529?s=20u0026t=k4mQDMfUgrey2YqplXd1Mw","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/TheJeffCate/status/1599124335054102529?s=20&amp;t=k4mQDMfUgrey2YqplXd1Mw </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player of the Game/MVP</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>(RB/LB) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='102293' first='Gavin' last='Noe'] </strong>- Anderson Co.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- Noe was a workhorse for the Mavs and a key contributor in his team's efforts towards winning the Class 4A championship. Working on both sides of the ball, Noe's biggest contributions came on offense where he produced two rushing touchdowns but was also leaned on late to churn out some tough yards to keep the clock rolling and push his team to victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Top Performers&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- (QB) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='102284' first='Walker' last='Martinez'] </strong>- Anderson Co.: The Mavs Mr. Football finalist had a solid day, commanding the huddle with his leadership and making several key throws for scores. Martinez is a cool customer behind center that will make any college QB room better.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- (WR) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='153948' first='Bryson' last='Vowell'] </strong>- Anderson Co.: The QB's go-to guy in this championship matchup was Vowell and put together a strong performance by producing two touchdown receptions while making several other key catches.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- ‘24 (WR) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='193750' first='D'Arious' last='Reed'] </strong>- Pearl Cohn: This junior wideout was the star of the 1st half where he produced 5 rec. for 155 yds and 2 touchdowns. Without the play of Reed in this game, the Firebirds wouldn't have been close to winning.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- (LB) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='102213' first='Eli' last='Davis'] </strong>- Anderson Co.: Davis has been a consistent performer all season long and this game was no different as he made several key contributions on both sides of the ball, including one touchdown reception.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- ‘24 (QB) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='258845' first='Keshawn' last='Tarleton'] </strong>- Pearl Cohn: Tarleton did everything he could to help lead his team to victory, throwing multiple touchdown passes and playing late through an injury that he would not come off the field for. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- ‘24 (RB/LB) <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='433125' first='Nick' last='Moog'] </strong>- Anderson Co.: Before going out with an injury, Moog was part of a two headed monster in the backfield with Noe and the junior back produced over a 100 yds rushing and one touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":446551,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/09/nmoog.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-446551"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->