1 week Ago By By JEFF BIRCHFIELD [email protected]
It evened out for Science Hill overall last Friday night. The Hilltoppers now hope things even out with Maryville. Science Hill (8-2) had an unlikely win over Cleveland.
The Blue Raiders with a 1-point lead just needed to take a couple of knees and win the game. Instead, they fumbled the snap and Elijah Belnavis recovered for the Hilltoppers. Quarterback Spencer Taylor completed a long pass to tight end Corbin Laisure which set up a game-winning, 28-yard field goal by Easton Miller.
In his first field goal attempt of the year, Easton Miller stepped up and nailed it for the 30-28 victory. “We didn’t have much time. We used our timeout on a run, and we were out of time outs right there,” Science Hill coach Stacy Carter said.
“They got a sack there, and we came off the field quick. You know, Coach (Matt) Glover does a good job of getting those guys out there quick. So they got the ball set — good snap, good hold, and everything was great.
” Aiden Perry, the team’s leading rusher with 941 yards and 10 touchdowns, got banged up in the game. He is listed as questionable for Friday night. With him out of the lineup against Cleveland, Baylor Necessary had 14 rushes for over 100 yards, to go along with a passing touchdown and a game-high 14 tackles on the defensive side.
Necessary has 118 tackles on the season, and was named the Johnson City Press / Kingsport Times News Player of the Week. “We had to give it to him. We don’t want to beat him up,” Carter said.
“You know, you make 14-15 tackles, that’s tough, but we needed him and he stepped up for us.” Necessary has accumulated 559 yards and 11 touchdowns on 58 rushes. Ian Mathes has added 405 yards on 57 carries.
Taylor is up to 1,517 passing yards and 12 touchdowns, completing nearly 67 percent of his throws. On the defensive side, Cole Fleeman has 71 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Nalique Anderson has 45 tackles, two pass breakups, an interception, four sacks and three forced fumbles.
HEADING TO MARYVILLE The Hilltoppers will be looking for revenge after the Rebels (10-1) scored with three seconds left for a 23-17 victory back in September. It was a game which Maryville coach Derek Hunt said his team was outplayed and outcoached. The Hilltoppers were able to run the ball effectively that night, including a 72-yard breakaway by Necessary right before the end of the first half.
Maryville came away with a big stop on fourth down and then went 87 yards on the game-winning drive. Price Davis, who scored on a 58-yard pass play and a 1-yard run, punched it in again from a yard out for the winning score. Davis has 1,013 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on the season.
Carter pointed out the Rebels only scored on the one big play, it was more of them making smaller gains, especially in the passing game with quarterback Will Jones. “How they scored was, you know, that is meticulously drove down the field, throwing the ball and moving the ball,” Carter said. “He’s (Davis) a good running back, but the quarterback is still the key.
He’s the guy that kind of gets him going to the whole deal.” Jones has 379 rushing yards to go along and four touchdowns to go along with his passing numbers. Maryville has been a stumbling block for Science Hill the last two seasons in the playoffs and has 13 straight wins in the series.
Both teams have respect for the other, especially after the game in Johnson City. Some of the defensive standouts include linebackers Matthew Covert and David Crawford, defensive tackle Zak Hampel, and safeties Nolan White and Andrew Smith. “They’re just a good sound football team all the way around,” Carter said.
“You still think about that opportunity to beat them. I’m sure they’ll have another game plan, but I think we’ll be ready to go too. It should be a great football game.
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