Maryville meets challenge to remain No. 1

Maryville is still No. 1 in 6A, but No. 8 Bearden is good too.

The two-time Class 6A defending state champion Rebels turned back the host Bulldogs 21-3 last Friday night.

Nevertheless, Maryville head coach George Quarles was quick to admit that the score didn't indicate how tough the game was.

In fact, he told a call-in talk show audience in Knoxville, "That's the best Bearden team we've played since coming into the district."

Bearden (5-1) came to play.

Report by Brad Pope

Maryville running back Shawn Prevo fumbled after a reception on the first drive and Bearden would turned the recovery into a 25-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

The Bulldogs forced two more turnovers, including an interception by Hunter Henry to halt another Maryville drive with 4:27 to play in the first half.

However, after a quick stop by the Rebel defense and a few big plays by their offense, Maryville got an 8-yard scoring run by Trenton Shuler to go to intermission leading 7-3.

No team in East Tennessee not named Alcoa usually plays Maryville that tough.

Quarles used the score to help deliver his halftime talk with his team.

"We needed a game like this. That was our message at halftime," Quarles said. "Overall, our kids did a pretty good job of that. They weren't pointing fingers, they weren't screaming and hollering. I thought in the second half we did a much better job of taking care of the ball."

Bearden opened the third quarter with a 15-play march, but the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs after being stopped on a fourth-and-two run.

Maryville stretched its lead to 14-3 at the end of the third quarter on a 15-yard touchdown reception by Logan Winders.

Maryville scored the final points of the evening with 3:19 remaining in the contest on a 25-yard run by Shawn Prevo on fourth-and-inches.

The Rebels winning streak is now at 35 games, but the question remains if Bearden can improve and compete with Maryville come playoff time.

"We needed to hang in there and handle some adversity because we haven't had a whole lot," Quarles said. "I thought they (Bearden) played really well. They had a good game plan. We told our kids at halftime that we were very fortunate to be ahead and our kids responded. That's what you have to do when things aren't going that well."

The only change in this week's AP Poll at the top was in 1A where South Pittsburg defeated Whitwell 49-2 a week after losing a shootout to (4A) Signal Mountain 55-54.

The Pirates host Arlington Christian from Fairburn, GA on Friday. The Arlington Christian website reads that the school is playing South Pittsburg.

Coach Vic Grider might have the most difficult schedule in the state.

His Pirates will host No. 1 (2A) Boyd-Buchanan on Oct. 12, travel to No. 9 (3A) Polk County Oct. 19 and host No. 3 (2A) Grace Christian on Oct. 26 to end the regular season.

The Associated Press' Top 10 teams in each of Tennessee's six Division I non-financial aid classifications and in the combined Division II financial aid classification as selected by Tennessee AP-member sportswriters and broadcasters. With first-place votes in parentheses, records through October 1, total points based on 10 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 10th-place vote:

Class 6A

Record Pts Prv

1. Maryville (18) 6-0 207 1

2. Siegel (1) 7-0 167 2

3. Whitehaven (1) 7-0 157 T3

4. Kingsport Dobyns Bennett (1) 7-0 143 T3

5. Science Hill 6-0 115 5

6. Brentwood 7-0 106 7

7. Mt. Juliet 5-1 80 8

8. Bearden 5-1 60 6

9. Oak Ridge 5-1 56 9

10. Riverdale 5-2 28 10

Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, Dickson County 19.

Class 5A

Record Pts Prv

1. Beech (21) 7-0 210 1

2. Knoxville West 5-1 165 3

3. Jackson Northside 6-0 164 2

4. Lenoir City 5-1 135 5

5. Powell 6-1 111 6

6. Clarksville NE 5-1 83 10

7. Ridgeway 4-2 71 8

8. Daniel Boone 5-1 68 9

9. Henry County 5-2 55 4

10. Hardin County 6-0 25 NR

Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, South Doyle 19. 12, Clarksville 13.

Class 4A

Record Pts Prv

1. Giles County (20) 6-0 208 1

2. Covington 6-0 181 2

3. Knoxville Fulton (1) 5-1 159 3

4. East Hamilton 5-1 141 4

5. Livingston Academy 6-0 121 5

6. DeKalb County 7-0 107 6

7. Lexington 5-1 86 7

8. Maplewood 5-2 55 8

9. Greeneville 3-3 42 9

10. Dyersburg 6-1 30 T10

Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, Mitchell 24.

Class 3A

Record Pts Prv

1. CAK (13) 7-0 200 1

2. Alcoa (7) 7-1 185 2

3. CPA 6-0 155 3

4. Cheatham County (1) 6-0 143 4

5. South Gibson 6-0 109 6

6. Milan 6-1 108 5

7. Sullivan North 6-1 80 8

8. Elizabethton 5-2 68 9

9. Polk County 5-1 56 10

10. Fairview 5-2 18 NR

Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, Tyner Academy 14.

Class 2A

Record Pts Prv

1. Boyd Buchanan (17) 6-0 202 1

2. Dresden (2) 7-0 180 2

3. Grace Christian (1) 5-1 165 3

4. Friendship Christian (1) 6-1 154 4

5. Oneida 5-1 109 6

6. Adamsville 6-1 106 7

7. Hampton 5-1 71 9

8. Cascade 5-1 68 8

9. Houston County 5-1 36 5

10. Watertown 6-0 23 NR

Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, Trousdale County 12.

Division 1A

Record Pts Prv

1. South Pittsburg (8) 5-1 190 2

2. Gordonsville (6) 5-1 177 3

3. Moore County (3) 7-0 162 4

4. Greenback (2) 6-1 152 1

5. Huntingdon 6-1 126 5

6. Coalfield (2) 6-0 122 6

7. Clarksville Academy 6-1 79 7

8. Copper Basin 6-1 67 10

9. West Carroll 5-2 34 8

10. Union City 4-3 15 9

Others receiving 12 or more points: 11, Collinwood 12.

Division II

Record Pts Prv

1. Ensworth (19) 7-0 190 1

2. Brentwood Academy 5-1 158 3

3. Knoxville Webb 5-1 125 4

4. MUS 5-2 123 6

5. CBHS 5-1 99 2

5. St. George's 7-0 99 5

7. University-Jackson 7-0 77 8

8. Briarcrest 7-0 69 9

9. MBA 5-2 57 10

10. Baylor 4-3 43 7

Others receiving 12 or more points: None.

All Associated Press members in Tennessee are eligible to participate in the high school football poll. Those who voted for this week's poll are: Chattanooga Times Free Press; The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville); Cleveland Daily Banner; The Daily Herald (Columbia); Cookeville Herald-Citizen; State Gazette (Dyersburg); Elizabethton Star; The Greeneville Sun; The Jackson Sun; Johnson City Press; Kingsport Times-News; The Knoxville News Sentinel; Marshall County Tribune; The Commercial Appeal (Memphis); The Daily News Journal, Murfreesboro; The Tennessean (Nashville); The Oak Ridger (Oak Ridge); The Paris Post-Intelligencer; Union City Daily Messenger; WCMT, Martin.