The Anson Bearcats varsity football team easily established itself as the class of the Rocky River Conference in 2019, knocking off each of the other opponents by an average margin of 38-9.
There was little surprise in three of those matchups, with Anson whipping Montgomery Central in the conference opener Oct. 11 by a 56-7 score; knocking off Mount Pleasant the following Friday by a 34-21 verdict; and soundly defeating Forest Hills in the regular-season finale, 28-7.
But the highlight of the conference schedule came on Nov. 1, when the Bearcats hosted undefeated West Stanly for the top spot on the line.
Anson’s defense held the Colts in check throughout the game, while the offense took a 21-0 advantage into halftime, then added another 13 points in he second half to seal the win.
Anson’s 4-0 mark in the Rocky River, coupled with its 3-3 record during the non-conference schedule, gave the Bearcats an overall record of 7-3. But an incident in the team’s Aug. 30 tilt against Class 4-A Richmond Senior would doom Anson’s hopes for a playoff berth.
Still, stellar individual statistics were piled up by many of the Bearcats. Those included:
— Senior quarterback Wesley Lear finished the season with 113 completions in 201 attempts for 1,792 yards and 20 touchdowns. He threw five interceptions, but had a season QBR of 108.9 overall. Lear also ran for 246 yards on 59 carries and scored three touchdowns.
— Senior running back Dequan Sturdivant rushed for 1,281 of the team’s overall total of 1,681 yards and scored 20 touchdowns. He topped 100 yards in seven games.
— Senior receiver Tyrek Hardison caught 33 of Lear’s passed for 669 yards and 10 touchdowns.
— Junior receiver R.J. Jackson hauiled in 43 of Lear’s passes for 686 yards and seven touchdowns.
— Senior Rasheed Burns led the Bearcats defense with 88 tackles, including 54 solo and 18 for loss (3.5 were sacks).
— Junior Darren Harrington had 48 tackles, including 33 solo and 17 for loss (10 were sacks).
— Senior Marlon Liles made 47 tackles, with 26 solo and eight for loss (five were sacks).
— Junior Rakeem Stanley had 49 tackles, including 35 solo and 4.5 for loss.
— Kyonta Burns made 43 tackles, including 32 solo and 10.5 for loss.
— Junior Cencere Garris made 48 tackles, including 30 solo and 14.5 for loss.
— Senior Caleb Scott had 42 tackles, with 25 solo and 6.5 for loss.
— Junior Donmte Marsh had two of Anson’s eight interceptions.
— Junior kicker Justin Ledbetter was 38-for-42 on extra points.
Overall, Anson finished with 328 points and gave up 158 points.
The Bearcats will lose 22 seniors to graduation in June.