The Maize South Mavericks sent a message to the rest of the AVCTL-I Friday night.

Quarterback Colin Shields and tailback Hunter Niemann combined for six touchdowns, Maize South’s defense held Salina South to under 100 yards of offense, and the Mavericks debuted in the AVCTL-I with a dominating 62-6 victory at Salina Stadium. Maize South improved to 2-0 while Salina South dropped to 0-2.

Salina South had an ideal start, forcing a three-and-out. On the punt, junior running back Brandt Cox had the ball touch his fingertips, recovered by Maize South. Seven plays later, the Mavericks found the end zone on a nine-yard run by Byron Fitchpatrick.

The next two Maize South scores were 40-plus yards. Niemann broke free on a 43-yard TD run and Shields followed with a 41-yard pass to Skyler Snow, ballooning the Maverick lead to 21-0.

The Cougars answered with a big play themselves. Sophomore quarterback Weston Fries chucked the football down the near sideline. Senior receiver Colin Schreiber came down with the ball for a 35-yard score with three seconds left in the first.

From there, it was all Maize South. Shields started the second with a 67-yard bomb to Jake Johnson. Niemann accompanied with TD runs of 57 and eight yards. Fitchpatrick wrapped up the half with a nine-yard run, putting Maize South on top 48-6 at intermission.

Shields threw for 205 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. Niemann ran for 154 yards and three scores. Maize South racked up 525 yards of total offense, 320 coming on the ground.

Salina South was limited to 97 yards of offense. Friess had 87 yards, a touchdown, and two picks. Schreiber recorded 48 receiving yards with a touchdown. Owen Bulleigh was the Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game with numerous tackles and an interception. Gio McCall had the H&R Block of the Game.

The Cougars stay in town for week three as they face the Campus Colts (1-1). The Freddy’s and Mokas Pregame Show begins at 6:45 on Y93.7.