BY BRIAN HAMILTON
KNOXVILLE – Maryville quarterback Carson Jones put on a first-half clinic at Bearden Friday night, as the senior threw for four touchdowns — all before halftime — while amassing 150 yards on 15-of-18 passing.
“I think Carson Jones played about as good a game as I’ve ever seen him play,” Maryville head coach Derek Hunt said. “That’s as well as we’ve executed in a long time.”
Jones threw his first touchdown of the night to D.J. Burks for 10 yards, putting the Rebels in front 7-0 with 7:38 left in the first quarter.
The senior then found Jackson Phillips for a 7-yard touchdown, extending the Maryville lead to 14-0 after one quarter of play.
Jones’ third touchdown pass of the night came with 9:16 left in the second quarter, as he hit Markel Fortenberry for an 8-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead.
A 2-yard Noah Vaughn touchdown would extend the Rebels’ lead to 28-0 with 3:34 remaining until halftime. Jones’ fourth touchdown pass would come with less than a minute left in the first half, as he found Julius Toto for a 10-yard strike, giving Maryville a 35-0 halftime lead.
Bearden finally got on the scoreboard with 7:14 left in the fourth quarter when Drew Parrot found Max Gieseke for a 2-yard touchdown. The extra-point attempt was no good, however, leaving the Rebels with a 35-6 advantage.
Maryville tacked on one last touchdown on a 7-yard run by Jaydan McCord to make the final score 42-6.
The top-ranked Rebels (5-0, 2-0 Class 6A Region 2) will host Science Hill (3-2) on Friday night. The Hilltoppers are coming off a 55-27 win over William Blount. Bearden (2-3, 1-1 Class 6A Region 2) will host Class 4A Fulton (3-2) this week.