At 5 feet 5 inches, Maveric Thiery is not your typical running back.
After sustaining a broken collarbone his freshman year, Thiery was slated to sit behind star running back Kristian Pechac. However, he wouldn’t have to wait long for his name to be called, in fact, he wouldn’t have to wait at all. Pechac would break his ankle early in the season, giving Thiery an opportunity that he would run away with.
“[Pechac] going down was a shock,” said Thiery. “All kinds of thoughts started going through my head. I didn’t think I would be big enough to actually play serious minutes of varsity football.”
100 rushing yards on 21 carries in his first varsity game would let everyone know that his size wouldn’t be an issue, but instead an advantage.
“I’ve had guys from other teams tell me after the game that they have trouble finding me… I think when defenders go to tackle me they assume I run like I’m small, then they feel the pop and it kind of surprises them. Obviously, I can’t control how tall I am, but what I lack in size I can make up for mentally and in strength.”
Thiery and classmate Jake Johnson would make a surprise run in the tournament, earning South it’s fourth straight sectional title. He finished his sophomore campaign with 1,219 yards and 12 touchdowns.
His junior year would only impress even more, rushing for 1,618 yards and 17 touchdowns.
“I was pretty pleased with my junior year. I went into that season knowing I was the feature back and my main goal was to just stay healthy and improve.”
Come senior year, Thiery was slated for another monstrous season, but injuries would limit his workload for the first couple games of the season. However, it wouldn’t take him long to get back in his groove, rushing for three touchdowns against Terre Haute North, then adding another 111 yards against Bloomington North.
Fast forward to Friday. Thiery and the Panthers headed down to Newburgh to face Castle in the Sectional 15 Championship. Thiery needed 127 yards to break the Bloomington South rushing record held by Nick Dunbar.
He got the 127 yards needed for the record…and then some, finishing the night with 241 yards, two touchdowns, and a sectional title.
4,106 yards, 55 touchdowns, and counting. Thiery is three touchdowns shy of tying Dunbar’s rushing touchdown record. His next opportunity will come at home Friday against Floyd Central. Regardless of the outcome, Thiery will undoubtedly go down as arguably the greatest Panther running back of all time.
