Anderson County coach Davey Gillum sounds concerned that his team might not have the depth and experience to keep up when it visits Science Hill for the Hilltoppers’ home opener tonight.
Kickoff at Kermit Tipton Stadium is 7:30 p.m.
The road team has won each of the past three in the series of programs with winning tradition, but that could end this season.
While the Mavericks (1-0) were sneaking past Powell, 28-25, last week, Science Hill (1-0) rolled 35-14 at Elizabethton. Senior Baylor Necessary ran for three touchdowns, including a 99-yarder. Necessary, better known as an inside linebacker, took direct snaps and ran roughshod through the Cyclones.
Gillum was impressed with all four of the Hilltoppers’ ball-carriers. Shifty Ian Mathes, speedy Aiden Perry and powerful sophom*ore Nalique Anderson all did damage with their carries.
“They’re all good,” Gillum said. “Obviously, the Necessary kid stands out. He gave us fits last year in the Wildcat. He took one to the house, maybe took two to the house last year. He’s a great football player – offense and defense.
“He’s big and physical, runs really assertively. You know, he doesn’t run like some tight end or linebacker you’re sticking at tailback. He runs like a big, downhill tailback, and he’s hard to tackle. And I don’t know if I’ve seen the kid get caught from behind. So he’s really fast. I have tons of respect for that kid.”
Anderson County has a home run threat in tailback Waylon Larue.
“My little tailback is 4.3 or 4.4 40 guy,” Gillum said. “So he’s not the typical big pounder we’ve had. But if we get this guy outside, he’s gonna go the distance.”
The Mavericks have a new quarterback, or new to them, at least. Landon Hensley was all-state last year for Campbell County.
“He’s a good player, but it was a totally different system, different verbiage,” Gillum said. “We’re a little more complex. We’re trying to get all 11 of ‘em comfortable and it’s a lot for him to process, but he’s doing a great job. I think he’s gonna have a really good year, but we’ve just gotta get everybody on the same page.”
Science Hill coach Stacy Carter noted Anderson County’s size in the trenches. Right tackle Elijah Dorton, another transfer from Campbell County, is a 6-foot-5, 295-pounder.
“The quarterback can play, the running back’s good and the offensive line is just huge,” Carter said. “The safety (Israel Small) is really good. He plays some receiver, too.”
Gillum is even higher on Small.
“I think he’s the best safety in Tennessee,” Gillum said. “Trent Strickland plays our SAM, which in our defense is really a strong safety. He was all-state last year, a great football player. And then Taylor Davis is a high-motor kid, hard to block. Ty Murphy’s been starting on both sides of the ball. He’s a good football player and played well against Powell.
“Offensively, Ty at center is our most experienced kid. We’ll rely on him to verbalize and make sure we’re all on the same page up there. We think we’re gonna have a good O-line. We’re just a long way from having the chemistry right now.”
Gillum said Science Hill’s defense can be complex.
“They move a lot on defense,” Gillum said. “They do a good job in the box in the 3-4 and give you a variety of fronts. We’ve gotta be able to recognize that and get bodies on bodies. It’ll test our O-line’s chemistry and IQ, and that can be tough this early in the season.
“Defensively, we’ve gotta tackle well and be physical. When they get in their Wildcat they are tough to deal with. They hurt us with that last year. Hopefully we can do a better job getting ‘em out of it and making ‘em play conventional offense.”
Junior defensive lineman Haiden Cox had a productive performance for Science Hill at Elizabethton last week.
“He was our defensive player of the game,” Carter said. “It was an outstanding performance. He played great. He played zero snaps last year. So that’s what happens when people grow and get in the weight room.”
Science Hill’s depth, especially on what is expected to be a sweltering hot night, probably concerns Gillum most.
“Most of our guys are playing both ways,” Gillum said. “Powell had some really long drives with the quarterback extending plays, and things like that. You keep the defense on the field for some 10- and 15-play drives, and then those kids have to go back out on offense. It can be rough.”
Science Hill had a rough night last week with the officials, who flagged the ‘Toppers for 198 yards.
“Anderson County is a good football team, a lot like they were last year,” Carter said. “We’ve just gotta worry about ourselves. We’ve gotta eliminate these penalties and things like that.
“We’ve got a good bunch and we can play with a lot of people, but we can’t beat good teams with 198 yards of penalties. We were fortunate to win having that many penalties.”
Science Hill got the best of Elizabethton in terms of physicality. That impressed Gillum, who often sees the Cyclones in the playoffs.
“The season’s long and we don’t know where any of us are going to be in Week Nine or Week 10,” Gillum said. “But right now I think Science Hill’s one of the better teams in East Tennessee. I think they’re gonna be a formidable opponent for people, especially if you’re gonna play inside the box with ‘em.
“You know, E-town (Elizabethton) has made a living the last 15 years being big and physical, and they definitely took the worst end of it in the box against Science Hill last week. So that’s quite an accomplishment for the Science Hill program.”
Anderson County beat Elizabethton en route to an undefeated season in 2022. And the Mavericks blitzed Science Hill, 48-6, on Steve Spurrier Field that season.
“We threw the ball that year as good as any team I’ve seen in Tennessee throw the ball, and not just middle school pass screens,” Gillum said. “I’m talking vertical passing game, receivers making contested catches. That ain’t something I can generate year in and year out. Those were some special kids and they made special plays. We made a bunch of ‘em that night.
“We were up 49 (48) at halftime, but you’re six inches away from it being 7-0. That’s how contested a lot of those catches were. We just made plays. So I didn’t leave that game saying, ‘We’re a lot better than Science Hill.’ I was like, ‘Man, we were on fire tonight, but I wouldn’t want to play them next week.’”
Between the penalties in the win against the Cyclones and getting waxed by Anderson County the last time it traveled to Johnson City, Carter’s had plenty of fuel for motivation this week.
“Absolutely, our practices have been good,” Carter said. “We’ve got tough kids. We’ve got physical kids. We’re pretty deep. Hopefully we can make a big improvement from game one to game two like you’re supposed to and get after ‘em.
“Anderson County has a great football team, great tradition. So it should be just an awesome game.”
