Treyvion Mathis showed a new level of quickness Saturday during youth league football action.
Playing defense, Mathis burst through the line so fast he took the handoff from the opposing quarterback and raced 50 yards the other way for a touchdown. For emphasis, he spiked the ball after crossing the goal line.
It was one of many Warren County highlights as all three Pioneer youth football teams were in action during a jamboree held at Nunley Stadium.
Mathis is a member of the 5-7-year-old Pioneers who captured a 14-6 victory over the Fayetteville Tigers.
QB Levi Scott had the offensive highlight of the game when he bounced an inside run to the perimeter.
Scott shrugged off a would-be tackler who appeared to have him by the shoulder pads to reach the sideline. Once there, he turned on the jets and outran everyone to the endzone for a 70-yard TD.
A.J. Whitman ran in for the extra-point conversion to give the Pioneers a 14-0 lead.
Fayetteville didn’t score until the final seconds when missed tackles allowed the Tigers to rattle off a 45-yard TD run. But the Pioneers stuffed the extra point to account for the final score, 14-6.
Defensive stars for the Pioneers included Braxton Jordan with 5.5 tackles and Brookx Weeter with 3.5 stops.
In 8-9-year-old competition, the Pioneers showed they’re a hard-hitting bunch, but they lost a close one to Marshall County, 6-0.
“We had some good form tackles, but we got caught out of position a couple times,” said Pioneer coach Justin Grissom.
Pioneer Aiden Fults was flying from sideline to sideline and making hard hits when he reached the ball carrier. Isaiah Robledo made two crushing hits from his CB spot, including one that sent the RB in one direction and the football in the other. Marshall County was able to recover.
Later in the series, Pioneer DL Junior Mares burst through the line like a wrecking ball, swatted a blocker aside, and pounced on a fumble to halt the Marshall County drive.
In 10-12-year-old competition, the Pioneers had their hands full against Marshall County in a 7-0 loss. Dakota Mullican had one of the Pioneer highlights when he recovered a fumble.
All three Pioneer teams will be in action this Saturday in Fayetteville. After taking a break for Labor Day weekend, the first home games will be played Saturday, Sept. 9 against Shelbyville.
The jamboree was played at Nunley Stadium due to crowd size, but all remaining home games will be played at Bobby Ray Elementary.