Elizabethton came up short on Friday night.
The Cyclones dropped a 21-7 decision to Anderson County in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs on the road Friday night.
With the loss, Elizabethton ends the 2023 season with a 9-2 mark, while Anderson County advances to take on Greeneville on the road in the third round next week.
It was a defensive battle early on.
Both teams were forced to punt on their opening drives, and each squad missed a field goal.
The game was scoreless after a quarter of play.
Anderson County got on the board first midway through the second quarter as Izaiah Hall hit Xavian James for a six-yard touchdown.
Elizabethton was unable to get anything going on the ensuing possession, and Anderson County took advantage of field position as Hall and Daylen Cole connected for a 17-yard touchdown with 28 seconds remaining in the half.
That gave Anderson County a 14-0 lead at the break.
Elizabethton kept battling in the second half.
The Cyclone defense kept Anderson County in check in the third quarter with three big stops including a fourth-down stop at the EHS 2 as well as an interception.
Elizabethton saw Rhett Slagle find Cam Baker and Jeriah Griffin to move into scoring position. Zeth Mullins capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds of the third to trim the Anderson County lead to 14-7 after three complete quarters.
The Mavericks, however, answered quickly in the fourth as Hall found Cole on a broken play for a 72-yard touchdown.
EHS continued to fight but was unable to get back on the board in the final quarter.
Slagle finished the game 19-of-38 passing for 242 yards, while Mullins had 10 carries for 42 yards.
Griffin had eight catches for 95 yards, while Eli Blevins nabbed five catches for 58 yards. Luke Whaley had three catches for 53 yards.
For Anderson County, Hall had 11-of-19 for 195 yards and three touchdowns. Cole had three catches and 101 yards.
Nick Moog finished the game with 26 carries for 89 yards.
