Trojans' Maynor near 3,000 passing yards

photo Soddy-Daisy's Hunter Maynor is 18 yards away from the 3,000-yard passing mark for the season before the Class 5A playoff first-round game at Oak Ridge.

"Hunter Maynor 3K" wasn't an expectation for the Soddy-Daisy quarterback entering the 2014 season, but he's very close to making that passing-yardage total a reality.

Maynor enters tonight's Class 5A playoff first-round game at Oak Ridge 18 yards away from the 3,000-yard mark for the season. His current total of 2,982 yards has tied the all-time city passing record, set last season by East Hamilton senior Hunter Moore, now at FCS university Central Arkansas. Maynor also has 29 touchdown passes.

He's spread the ball out. Blake Smith has 53 catches for an area-leading 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns, while Tre Carter and Levi Thornton each has 42 receptions. Running back Christian Bell has 34 catches.

"I have to give credit to my receivers. They're the ones that get me yards," Maynor said. "At the beginning of the season, I didn't think 3,000 yards was a possibility; I thought maybe I could get 2,500 yards and maybe 25 touchdowns."

Soddy-Daisy coach Justin Barnes said the growth from Maynor's first season as starting quarterback to this season has been tremendous.

"You can tell that he's more comfortable and knows where to go with the ball," said Barnes, a former quarterback at Red Bank. "He's done a phenomenal job getting the ball to our guys, and has been good taking what the defense has given him."

The 4-6 Trojans will enter tonight's game as heavy underdogs against the undefeated Wildcats, but that doesn't rattle Maynor or the rest of the team.

"We know that Oak Ridge is a good ballclub. You always hear about them this time of year, but it's the playoffs and anything can happen," Maynor said. "If we can keep it close, we can put ourselves in a position to pull it out in the end."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.

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