Mavericks Look for Revenge Against Hanna

This picture may look familiar to Mavericks fans. Coming off two impressive wins to open the season and facing a 1-1 T.L. Hanna team. It’s exactly where Mauldin was at last year. And for most of last year’s game against the Yellow Jackets it looked like Mauldin was on its way to going 3-0. But Hanna scored late and then converted an onside kick recovery into a score with eight seconds left and they stunned Mauldin, 36-35. The Mavericks then lost two of their next three games.

Coach Doug Shaw has done what he can this week in practice to prevent a repeat. “We definitely let that one get away last year,” Shaw said. “And we’ve been focusing this week on telling the kids to play until the final gun.”

The Mavericks defense will get back lineman C.J. Young, who missed the first two games with a back injury and he’ll be needed. The Yellow Jackets, led by running back Will Gay, will be a step up in class for Mauldin. “One person is not going to tackle (Gay) so we have to get multiple people to the ball,” Shaw said. “They’re the fastest team we’ve seen so far. “

On the offensive side of the ball, Mauldin has lived up to its preseason expectations, averaging nearly 40 points a game even though they have struggled at times with turnovers and penalties. Running backs Reggie Lomax and Roy Nash are healthy as are the four wide receivers Shaw likes to utilize in the spread offense. With all their weapons healthy the Mavericks are looking for a big performance.

“If our offensive line holds up we should be able to score some points,” Shaw said.

This time Shaw wants to make sure those points are enough and he’s leaning on his experienced players to pull the underclassmen through. “We lost some leadership last year, but seniors like Jonathan (McLaughlin) and Reggie (Lomax) have stepped up," he said.

Kickoff is at 7:30. Directions to T.L. Hanna can be found here.