Marvin Ridge senior linebacker Evan Culicerto stopped Ashbrook's 2-point conversion with 30 seconds left on Sept. 10, preserving a 35-33 Mavericks win that kept the program unbeaten at 4-0.

The Mavericks have since pushed that record to 5-0. Marvin Ridge routed Piedmont 51-7 on Friday, Sept. 18, in the team's homecoming game and Southern Carolina Conference (SCC) opener at The Stables, according to VarsityNC.com scores published by the Wilson Times.

But the Ashbrook game, played on a Thursday night under the Stars, Stripes & Stadium Lights theme, tested first-year head coach David Johnson's squad in ways the first three wins had not.

Marvin Ridge built a 28-point first half behind quarterback Levi Kerr, who threw five touchdown passes. Receivers Tio Delissio and Cal Voss each caught two scoring passes as the Mavericks' offense rolled early.

Ashbrook clawed back.

Green Wave receiver Brayden Smith finished with 271 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Senior quarterback A.J. McClain scored a late rushing touchdown to pull Ashbrook within 35-33, the Enquirer Journal reported.

McClain lost his helmet on the touchdown run, forcing backup Bobby Edwards onto the field for the conversion try. Johnson said his staff dialed up a pressure call because Edwards had not played all game. Culicerto read the play, chased Edwards out of the pocket and brought him down.

"I knocked him down once outside the pocket. I overran it a little bit, but I recovered and I grabbed him and I had him for the tackle," Culicerto told the Enquirer Journal.

Culicerto finished with a game-high 19 tackles. Junior Elijah King, who leads the Mavericks in total defensive tackles on the season, said the whole team was proud of Culicerto after the stop.

Ashbrook outgained Marvin Ridge 523 total yards to 425 but fell to 2-2.

The win capped a dominant nonconference stretch for Johnson, the sixth head coach in Marvin Ridge football history. The Mavericks opened with wins over Cox Mill and Ballantyne Ridge, averaging 475 yards per game in those two contests, then beat Ardrey Kell 42-21 on Sept. 4 before the Ashbrook thriller.

The 51-7 homecoming rout of Piedmont suggests the Mavericks carried that momentum into SCC play. UCPS Superintendent Andrew G. Houlihan posted on X that Marvin Ridge led 21-7 after the first quarter in the all-Union County matchup before pulling away.