HENDERSONVILLE – For one quarter, Gallatin looked like a worthy opponent for District 9-AAA rival Hendersonville.
That all changed in the second quarter as Hendersonville reeled off 21 points before the half, rolling to a 56-14 victory over the visiting Green Wave.
Hendersonville (5-0, 3-0) broke free after being tied at 14 after one quarter — the first time the Commandos had not led after 12 minutes all season.
It was the fourth time in five games Hendersonville has won by the TSSAA’s mercy rule.
“The game started like we thought it would,” Hendersonville coach Bruce Hatfield said. “The second quarter was obviously favorable to us. We caught a few breaks and started making some plays.”
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Gallatin (1-3, 0-2) scored on a 19-yard run from sophomore tailback Jordan Mason and on a 69-yard connection from senior quarterback Julian Meador to junior tailback Dorian Banks, who lined up wide on the play. Mason led the Green Wave with 92 yards on 13 carries.
“We had our opportunities early,” Gallatin coach Mark Williams said.
“(Hendersonville) came out and scored, and we responded. That was a positive thing. We responded again, so we were in the game early.”
From there, the Commandos took over, racking up 600 yards of total offense (538 rushing, 62 passing). Leading the way was senior tailback Cameron Turner, who needed only six carries to amass 194 yards.
He scored twice — one on a 5-yard run in the third quarter and later in the third on a 79-yard run.
It came one play after senior safety Braden Schwerdt intercepted a tipped pas.
“We just had some breakdowns,” Williams said. “We can’t play that way against a good team like that.”
Hendersonville stopped Gallatin with 22 seconds left, taking over at the Green Wave 43-yard line. From there, Turner and sophomore Terrell Carter worked the ball to the Gallatin 2-yard line with five seconds remaining. Instead of kicking a field goal, junior Jack Towe took it in as the first-half clock expired.
“I thought about taking a knee,” Hatfield said. “We ran a couple of plays just to see what the outcome would be and all of a sudden, you’re there. We talked about it with our coaches and our team, and they wanted to put it in.”
Towe (five carries, 60 yards) and Carter (nine carries, 136 yards) each scored twice.
Senior fullback Shane Watrous capped the scoring with a 25-yard TD pass from senior Drew Ferguson.
Hendersonville’s 42-point margin of victory was the largest by either team in the series since a 49-0 Gallatin win in 1979. It was the largest margin of victory for Hendersonville in the history of the series dating back to 1946.
“It’s very tough,” Williams said. “It’s not something you want to see, and we have to get better from it.”
