Mayes Lions' top stopper

Every dominant defense needs an enforcer -- a player willing to sacrifice his body to deliver punishing hits that cause an opponent to worry more about his whereabouts than making a play.

Keith Mayes is Red Bank's hammer. The 5-foot-10, 200-pound powder keg also is a keen student of the game and has earned coaches' praise as the "quarterback of the defense."

"He's a bone-crunching hitter," Lions coach Tim Daniels said. "He just lays people out. He had two of the hardest hits I've seen, against Howard and East Hamilton, on kickoff coverage. He'll flat-out hit you.

"When he first came here he was just an athlete running around making plays. But he's learned about technique and how to dissect an offense, and that has made him more dangerous for us."

Mayes is a four-time winner of the team's weekly "wood award," given to the player who delivers the hardest hit. That willingness to make opponents wince is a key reason the Lions allow less than 100 rushing yards and 10 points and create an average of three turnovers per game. Red Bank held nine opponents to their lowest point totals of the season and has invoked the TSSAA's 35-point mercy rule in its last four games.

"Everybody we play comes out playing hard because of who we are," Mayes said. "But after about a quarter or two of getting hit, they usually start to lay down.

"I like being the guy that other teams are looking for."

The top-ranked Lions (11-0) have had the program's most successful run, having won five of the last six district/region titles and having advanced to the state quarterfinals twice in the last three years. Before that, Red Bank had made it past the second round only twice in 26 years (1978 and 2000).

The Lions have a chance to extend their quarterfinals streak under Daniels tonight, hosting perennial power Fulton (8-3) in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs. The Falcons have won three state titles this decade, and their three 2009 losses came to teams still alive in the postseason.

Mayes was one of three Lions transfers originally ruled eligible by the TSSAA before the 2008 season but declared ineligible days later. That ruling change left Mayes, Keon Williams and Kevin Fortson to sit out all of last season.

Before this season, Mayes was moved from linebacker to strong safety. He has excelled at his new position, including making sure the defense is aligned properly. And by taking a few steps back deeper into the secondary, he has a full head of steam when he closes in on a play.

"Once I got used to it, I liked the switch because now I get a running start to come in and make a big hit," Mayes said. "I've always loved the big hit, and I was so excited to get back out there this year that I wound up getting nervous and throwing up before our first three games.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself to do more since I didn't get to show what I can do as a junior."

Even without the all-important junior year, when most talented players begin catching the eye of college scouts, Mayes assuredly will earn a scholarship. He is being most heavily recruited by Middle Tennessee State and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Besides being an intimidating presence on defense, Mayes has played four positions on offense, returns kicks and punts and is on the kickoff coverage team. He has returned three punts, one kickoff and one fumble for touchdowns, ranks among the team's top four tacklers and even completed a 43-yard pass this season.

"It's unbelievable now all that he does for us," Daniels said. "He has really matured into a complete player for us.

"When he first got here and saw how hard we worked during conditioning, weightlifting and practice, he made the comment that football was supposed to be fun. I told him winning is fun. Now he understands we have to work during the week and the payoff, the fun, comes on Fridays."