Maryville 38, Powell 13: Some Things Are Inevitable
Down their starting QB Jordyn Potts, it was a tough night for the Panthers on Rivalry Thursday against Maryville.
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Some nights there is just not a whole lot you can do to flip the script on an opponent. This week’s Rivalry Thursday contest between Maryville and Powell was one of those ball games for the latter. The final score of 38-13 for win No. 2 of the season for Derek Hunt’s Rebels is a bit deceiving. With the Panthers’ starting quarterback Jordyn Potts out for the big-time contest, the odds were already stacked against Powell being able to go blow-for-blow on offense against the Rebels for four quarters. The Rebels went into halftime up 17-0 and got up to by as much as 24-0 midway through the third quarter. It wasn’t the flashiest way to win a football game, but win the game the Maryville Rebels did to move to 2-0 on the season while the Panthers fell to 0-2.
It is always interesting to see a team show their hand a bit on their opening drive, and that is what we saw with Maryville in this one. The Rebels did not score on their opening drive, however, they would score on the following two. (It could have been three-straight drives, but the Rebels missed a field goal on their fourth drive of the contest.) The team’s leading tailback Noah Vaughn, a Virginia commit, was the story. Whether it was an inside zone run or an outside run, the Rebels were not going to shy away from putting the ball in their best player’s hands. Vaughn was going to find that hold in the B-gap. The Rebs also got No. 2 and No. 7 involved in that opening drive with some quick screens and inside slants, but the Rebels were not aiming to make a splash. They wanted to make a dent.
And then another.
And another.
Maryville head football coach Derek Hunt told me after the game, “I was proud of our kids. I told them all week it was going to take four quarters. Powell’s gritty, they’ve got good athletes, great defensive line. They’re good.”
Coach Hunt was right in his post-game assesment of the Panthers. While the offense struggled to piece together a long, sustained drive throughout the first half, they kept fighting. “Gritty” was the perfect way to describe Powell in this one. The defense gave the offense a chance with their bend-don’t-break style. If you were looking for a fireworks show, Powell vs. Maryville was not the place for you, and Powell’s coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for not allowing many explosive plays early on in this one.
The 2021 5-A state champions fought hard in the trenches to give their playmakers in the backfield and out wide an opportunity on Thursday night. Tailback Connor Wheeler was one the Panthers who performed well for the Panthers on Thursday night. Powell head coach Matt Lowe told me after the game, “I’m extremely proud of our offensive line. I’m extremely proud of Connor Wheeler and everything that he’s doing. We know he’s talented, he’s big-time. He’s got a chance to be really special.” And you saw flashes of that on the field Thursday night.
He’s not alone, though. Outside of Vaughn, who quietly rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns, you saw the future of the backfield right behind him in No. 1. Indeed, Price Davis as a complementary back to Vaughn was just too much for the Panthers on Thursday night. “Price Davis is a heck of a football player,” Hunt told me after the game. He continued, “He’s just a sophomore, but, man, he’s good. He’s going to be really good as time allows.” The future is bright in the running-back rooms at Powell and Maryville.
Ultimately, though, it was Maryville who took care of business in Week 2 of the young high school football season in East Tennessee. You could count the number of deep shots the Rebels took on one hand in this one, but that’s OK.
Hunt added, “Tonight I was comfortable with it because that’s what we needed to do to win.” They needed their defensive line to cause havoc in the backfield, their secondary to contain Ayden Greene on those crossing routes over the middle and Vaughn to make those dents. Four yards here, six yards there before the eventual touchdown-burst play. All of those dents added up to a 38-13 victory for Maryville over Powell on Thursday night.
Chase Thomas is the Sports Renaissance Man, Atlanta Sports Guy and Vol For Life. He is a graduate student at the University of Tennessee and resides in Knoxville, TN. Chase obtained his undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of North Georgia. He has written for a variety of publications that include Outsider, SB Nation, VICE Sports, SI’s The Cauldron, Cox Media Group & ESPN’s TrueHoop Network. You can email him at chasethomaspodcast[at]gmail.