Spoofhounds win 4th straight Highway 71 matchup
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Junior quarterback Trey Oglesby overcame a three-interception night to lead Maryville to a 24-0 win against Savannah. Oglesby threw two touchdowns and rushed for another.
Make it four straight Highway 71 titles for the Spoofhounds — a perfect 4-0 mark against their biggest rival for this crop of Maryville football seniors.
Despite the closest margin so far this season for unbeaten Class 3 No. 1 Maryville, the Spoofhounds used a pair of second-half touchdowns to breeze past chief Midland Empire Conference rival Savannah for a 24-0 win at the Hound Pound, their 33rd consecutive home victory.
“A lot of great effort on both sides of the football,” head coach Matt Webb said. “The guys played extremely hard with their effort, especially defensively. Anytime you turn the ball over five times on offense and hold a team scoreless, that’s playing good defense. … A lot of guts. Our defense showed that tonight.”
The shutout win — Maryville’s defense’s third blanking of the year — didn’t come without some difficulties in the first half. On the first possession of the game, Spoofhound junior quarterback Trey Oglesby tossed an interception into the arms of Savannah defensive back Kydone Wandfluh.
Savannah’s best opportunity in the opening half came late in the first quarter, but a field-goal attempt went awry when junior Peyton Smith bobbled the hold.
Maryville’s second series went three-and-out before its third drive of the night, which extended into the second quarter, ended with a 30-yard field goal from sophomore Jacob Reuter, giving the Hounds a 3-0 lead.
The first possession of the night that ended in points for the Spoofhounds with Reuter’s field goal wouldn’t have been possible without a pair of third-and-10 conversions from Oglesby to junior receiver John Zimmerman. Oglesby’s first pitch-and-catch with Zimmerman went for 20 yards before Zimmerman came up with a 34-yard reception to put the ball at Savannah’s six-yard line, eventually setting up the field goal.
After the Spoofhound defense forced another three-and-out from the Savages’ option offense, Oglesby hit senior receiver Chip Dunlap over the middle as Dunlap broke through five would-be tacklers for a 41-yard touchdown. The long score gave Maryville a 10-0 lead that held until halftime.
Though the Spoofhounds gripped a 10-point lead at intermission, Oglesby was saddled with three interceptions after tossing a pair of picks in the final five minutes of the second period.
“I have a lot of faith in my quarterback,” Webb said. “I think he’s the best quarterback we’ve seen all year and he’s on our team. He knows he’s not supposed to turn the football over, but at the same time, it takes a lot of resiliency on him. It shows his maturity even when you do have those interceptions to step in there and make the next play and play the next play and make the throws that he needs to make. … Those big plays to Johnny and Chip were big, crucial moments. A couple of them were on long yardage.”
The continued confidence to put the ball in Oglesby’s hands paid off with a seven-yard keeper from the junior which ended in the end zone as Oglesby stretched across the goal line with 1:19 left in the third quarter.
Maryville didn’t get deep inside Savannah territory by accident, though — after dominating the field position battle for most of the third quarter, the Savages had a chance to pin the Spoofhounds deep with a punt from near midfield. The boot bounced inside the Hounds’ 15-yard line, but Zimmerman snared it and darted up the sideline to make it all the way back to Savannah’s 31, keeping the field position pendulum pointing in Maryville’s favor with a 54-yard return.
“Johnny’s a very good athlete. He’s made plays all season,” Webb said. “That’s a huge special teams turnaround there. We talked about at halftime that we knew we were going to kick off so we wanted our defense to come out and get a stop right away. … We got some really good field position. It was just an ebb-and-flow game. Luckily, we came out ahead.”
Less than two minutes after Zimmerman’s shifty return, Oglesby punched in his score for the Hounds to hold a 17-0 lead heading to the fourth.
Maryville added to its advantage early in the final quarter, as Oglesby rolled right on play-action inside Savannah’s 10-yard line before finding senior Hunter Hayes for a six-yard touchdown. Reuter pounded the extra-point through the uprights and the Spoofhounds held a 24-0 lead that held until the final whistle.
To cap the Hounds’ strong defensive night, junior cornerback Cole Phillips and Reuter each intercepted passes out of the hand of Savannah junior quarterback Blake McGinness during the final period. Maryville limited the Savages to 100 yards of total offense, including just 35 rushing yards on 33 attempts.
Oglesby finished his night 11-of-20 for 216 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Junior fullback Elijah Green led the rushing attack for the Hounds with 42 yards on eight carries, while junior receiver Spencer Morrison paced the receiving corps with 63 yards on two catches. Zimmerman racked up 54 yards on a pair of receptions.
The Spoofhounds (8-0, 6-0) clinched at least a share of the MEC championship with Friday’s win, and will face Lafayette in the regular-season finale at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 at the Hound Pound for a shot at the outright title.
“We’ll talk next week about how it’s important for kids to be unselfish in this world,” Webb said. “Help your teammates, help each other. But at the same time, when you’ve got a chance to not share anything in a conference title, it’s OK to play a little selfish next week. We want to win it outright. It’s OK to have that feeling and play with energy.”
DALTON VITT/DAILY FORUM
Maryville junior receiver John Zimmerman came up huge for the Spoofhounds, making several plays on third-downs and adding a lengthy punt return to help his side defeat rival Savannah, 24-0, on Friday at the Hound Pound.
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Spoofhounds senior running back Dakota Beemer moves behind blocks on a screen play in the third quarter of a 24-0 win over Savannah.
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En route to a 41-yard touchdown, Maryville senior receiver Chip Dunlap sheds one of five tackles to help the Spoofhounds top Savannah, 24-0.
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Against a stout Savannah rush defense, Maryville junior fullback Elijah Green breaks through the line and hits the hole on Friday night, ending in a 24-0 win for the Hounds.
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Spoofhounds junior tight end Blake Schreck lays out for a diving catch on a throw from junior quarterback Trey Oglesby in Friday’s 24-0 win over Savannah.
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Senior defensive end Dustin Piper celebrates as he walks away from a sack of Savannah quarterback Blake McGinness in Friday’s 24-0 win for Maryville.
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Maryville senior Hunter Hayes catches a swing pass from junior Trey Oglesby and looks for the goal line, scoring on a six-yard pitch-and-catch in the Spoofhounds 24-0 win against Savannah on Friday.
