CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Nothing fancy, just very, very effective.
In methodical fashion, top-ranked and perennial state power Maryville took apart Bradley Central 48-21 Thursday night in a Region 1-6A football matchup. The Rebels turned three first-half Bears turnovers into 17 points and scored on five of their eight first-half possessions in jumping to a 27-0 halftime lead.
"Our offense started a little sloppy, but our defense turned things in our favor and got us going," said Maryville coach George Quarles, who improved his overall record to an incredible 260-16 in 16 seasons. "We had to settle for field goals the first couple of times we got close before we finally got settled in on offense, but I really thought our defense was the difference. They were strong all night."
With all-state quarterback Cole Copeland sidelined with a shoulder injury he suffered in last week's upset loss at Hardin Valley, the Bears struggled against a stout Maryville defense. Bradley managed just 26 total yards in the deciding first half, averaging barely more than a yard per snap, while Maryville rolled up 244 first-half yards.
Copeland, a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga commitment who has thrown for more than 1,700 yards this season, is expected to return as early as the first round of the playoffs.
"Cole is a special player for us and he's been in a lot of big games but we have to pick up the pieces and move on until he can hopefully get back," Bradley Central coach Damon Floyd said.
After two first-quarter field goals, Maryville, a 15-time state champion riding a 58-game regular-season winning streak, found the end zone three times in the second quarter, beginning with a 4-yard run by Jordan Ervin, which came one play after a bad snap on a punt handed the visitors the ball at that spot.
A Bears fumble on their next possession, which to that point had been their best drive of the first half, led to a six-play, 62-yard Rebels drive, capped by a 9-yard TD pass from Dylan Hopkins to A.J. Davis. Maryville (9-0, 7-0) punctuated the impressive first half with a nine-play, 82-yard drive - a nice mixture of five runs and four passes - and ended with Ervin's 1-yard scoring run with just 17 seconds to go before halftime.
"Maryville does a great job of taking advantage of every break you give them," Floyd said. "That's what makes them such a good team. They're already tough to begin with, so you can't help them. That's just what Maryville does to you.
"I thought our defense fought hard in the first half. We turned the ball over on our side too much and put our defense in some bad spots, but they kept playing."
Bradley answered with three second-half scores, including a pair of TD passes by sophomore Dylan Standifer. Junior running back Adam Mullis had 30 tough carries for 143 yards for the Bears, who gained more than 200 yards in the second half.
Maryville ended with a balanced 209 passing yards - 198 of which came from Hopkins - and 258 on the ground, led by Isaiah Cobb's 89 on seven carries and Hopkins' 76 on nine carries.
With one regular-season game remaining, Bradley Central (7-2, 4-2) likely is relegated to finish third in the region behind Maryville and Hardin Valley.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis