Soon after securing the first state championship in Anderson County football history, senior star Bryson Vowell was letting go of his receiving gloves, splitting them between a pair of young Mavericks fans.
Those gloves had served him well, helping Vowell's hands play a pivotal part in the TSSAA Class 4A BlueCrossBowl as the Mavericks mounted a comeback to defeat Pearl-Cohn 34-30 on Saturday at Finley Stadium.
The 6-foot-4 Vowell secured a perfect season for Anderson County when he leaped high in the air to intercept the final pass of the game. Vowell also provided a 34-24 lead with 8:49 left in the fourth quarter as he hauled in his 17th touchdown catch of the season, making the grab in the back of the end zone on senior quarterback's Walker Martinez 54th touchdown toss of the year.
"This means everything in the world to us, our fans, coaches and every player who has come before us," Vowell said. "I have watched AC football for my whole life, and they have been so close to this moment. For us to finally succeed and win it all is something so special.
"I had a sleepless night going through the game about a million times in my head. Those two plays I made in the fourth quarter were all ones I dreamed of. To be able to do them in real life means a lot."
Pearl-Cohn (12-3) held a 24-20 lead at halftime as junior receiver D'Arious Reed asserted his dominance with five catches for 167 yards and two scores. The first play of the game, he streaked downfield for an 80-yard touchdown on a pass from Keshawn Tarleton.
Anderson County (15-0) made a key adjustment at halftime as senior defensive back Jermaine Allen shadowed Reed in the second half and held him to just one catch for a yard. Overcome by joy, Allen did a backflip at midfield before his team grabbed hold of the gold ball trophy in the postgame ceremony.
Just a play after senior standout running back/linebacker Nick Moog went down with an injury, state championship game MVP Gavin Noe rumbled in on fourth-and-goal for a 1-yard touchdown with 44 seconds left in the third quarter to give Anderson County a 27-24 lead. Noe finished with 30 carries for 138 yards.
Moog also finished with 115 rushing yards on 19 carries and was all smiles holding the gold ball, despite being on crutches after the thrilling victory.
"Pearl-Cohn is a great team and the best one we have faced," said Vowell, who finished with seven catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns. "They put us in a 14-0 hole early, but we kept our foot on the pedal and kept on fighting."
Israel Small led the Anderson County defense with six tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack, and Andrew Meier's recovery of a Pearl-Cohn fumble led to Noe's go-ahead touchdown run.
Donovan Higgins finished with 95 receiving yards, which included an 80-yard touchdown catch for the Firebirds' final score with 8:36 left in the fourth quarter.
Oakland 42, Beech 6: The Patriots won their third consecutive Class 6A title and most dominant in that stretch. Senior star and BlueCross Bowl MVP Eric Taylor rushed for 175 of Oakland's 279 yards and scored four touchdowns on 18 carries for the Murfreesboro program.
Taylor's explosive 83-yard run with 8:43 left in the third quarter ignited a 28-point third quarter for Oakland (14-1), which led 14-6 at halftime in the ninth and final game of the TSSAA's three-day championship event, which was held at Finley for the second season in a row.
The two previous title runs, Taylor had starred mainly as a hard-hitting safety. In his final three playoff games, he finished with 486 yards on 39 carries and 10 touchdowns.
Beech (13-2) was held to 199 total yards as Nathan Hepborn led the state champs' defense with two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.