Alcoa wide receiver Brayden Anderson (4) tries to pick up yardage against Maryville on Goddard Field at Bill Bailey Stadium in Alcoa, Tennessee, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
Maryville’s defense wasn’t supposed to be doing what they are this season.
- Allowing just 7.5 points per game, much of which came in garbage time of blowout wins.
- Five shutouts in their last seven games, including last week’s 12-0 win over a defending-champion Oakland team that had averaged 49.5 points per game.
- No defensive player heftier than 235 pounds.
Even some of the Rebels themselves didn’t expect it.
“We had four new defensive backs. Up front, we were losing three out of our four starters (from the 2018 starting lineup). Initially, I didn’t think we’d be able to do what we’ve been doing,” said Maryville linebacker Seth Orren.
“But our whole defense is confident in what our goal is. Whenever you have everyone on the same page, it makes it a lot easier to play together.”
The unit’s whole body of work is mind-boggling when you put it under a microscope. But it has a chance at 7 p.m. Central on Saturday to be the best in its class.
Per the TSSAA’s depth charts for Maryville (14-0) in its Class 6A BlueCross Bowl Championship game against Ravenwood (13-1), the Rebels will start in a three-man defensive front.
Those three starters: DE Zach Braden (sophomore, 6-0, 220), NT Colton Peek (senior, 6-2, 210) and Ethan Ensley (senior, 6-0, 235).
Nothing with those measurables on paper that would strike fear into an opponent.
But a look closer shows a highly productive front, led by Ensley’s 31 tackles for loss and nine sacks.
Maryville’s bandit linebacker/end Lou Burchfield has turned out to be one of the area’s surprise players. Coming off a second knee surgery in three seasons, the 6-1, 190-pound junior has made 84 tackles with 19 tackles for loss, eight sacks, an interception and two fumble recoveries.
His breakthrough didn’t shock Maryville’s coaches, though. They routinely witnessed his ability and work ethic. It all came down to him just being healthy again.
“We had really high expectations for Lou going into the season, because we got to see him all summer and knew he’d be a fresh face. He’s had an incredible year for us this year and has had a nose for the ball,” said Maryville coach Derek Hunt.
“He’s such a great kid. Always smiling. He’s one of those kids who doesn’t want to come off the field. Wants to be on every special team. Somehow involved in the offense.”
Maryville’s D.J. Burks (1) and Mason Shelton (23) converse during their game against Bradley Central in Maryville on Friday, October 11, 2019.
The linebacking corps wasn’t a preseason concern. Not with Orren and especially not with Coastal Carolina commitment Mason Shelton, who leads Maryville with 117 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.
But the secondary could have been targeted as a possibly early weak point for the Rebels.
The group is comprised of three 12th-grade “Maryville kids” and a sophomore.
A “Maryville kid” is a term of endearment, really, that Hunt uses to describe one of his players who stays the course throughout his time in high school despite maybe an absence of abundant playing time and then contributes on the back half of his varsity career.
Those three “Maryville kids” starting in the secondary this season are: Jackson Jett (5-10, 165), Drew Crowder (6-2, 160) and Will Myers (5-11, 185). The sophomore is D.J. Burks (6-1, 185).
Burks has picked off three passes this season.
Crowder, who’s been known for being more of a basketball player at Maryville his previous three seasons, has intercepted four passes — including two last week in crunch time against Oakland.
“So that’s three seniors and a sophomore who have not started one game in their careers prior to this season who are now starting in our secondary,” said Hunt. “Credit those (seniors) for the work ethic they had their previous three years at Maryville and the maturity it takes to be patient and wait until your time comes.
“Credit Nick White and Ryan Tallent, who coach our DBs, in the job they have done in developing and preparing those guys for when their time comes.”
And what a punctuation mark a win over Ravenwood could be for Maryville’s defense should it find a blueprint to lock down the Raptors on Saturday night at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium.
They’ll have much to stop.
Brian Garcia, the senior QB at Ravenwood, has thrown for 2,734 yards and 36 touchdowns against only four interceptions.
His play is much akin to that of former Maryville quarterback John Garrett, said Hunt.
“So instinctive and smart. He’s at his best when the play breaks down. Makes stuff up as he goes,” said Hunt. “He doesn’t make mistakes. He’s a three-year starter and can sling it. He’s a heck of a football player.”
Rice commit Andrew Mason has been clocked as low as 4.3 in the 40-yard dash and has 41 catches for 980 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Ravenwood approaches with a running-back-by-committee ground game, which includes Tony Rice (948 yards, 7.5 yards per carry) and even Oklahoma defensive end commit Reggie Grimes.
He’s just one of 10 players on the Ravenwood lineup who have FBS offers.
But the recipe for a win is out there. Brentwood beat Ravenwood this season. Pulaski Academy, of Arkansas, scored 47 on the Raptors. Cane Ridge, which finished 8-4, played Ravenwood to a 28-15 game in Week 10.
Maryville has been outmanned before in title-game matchups with the likes of a Melrose and Whitehaven. And the Rebels have fared quite well.
The defense will just have to come to play one last time this fall.
“They are as big and athletic a team as we’ve seen all year,” Hunt said of Ravenwood. “Probably have as much college talent on the field as anybody we’ve played — maybe since I’ve been at Maryville.”