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LOUDON -- It may not have been a Maryville hangover, but Loudon certainly provided some headaches for Alcoa in a sluggish 21-0 District 4-AA win for the Tornadoes.

"It wasn't any hangover from Maryville; they were just more physical than us up front," said Alcoa skipper Gary Rankin.

The Tornadoes struggled to deploy a passing attack to compliment its already well-regarded ground attack, with Austin Tallant finishing the night 1-of-7 for 9 yards and an interception at Chig Ratledge Stadium.

Loudon (2-1, 0-1 District 4-AA) was able to use the size of Jeffrey Nichols (6-foot-4, 200 pounds) and Chad Purdy (6-5, 259) to disrupt but not halt the Tornado attack in the trenches. Jaron Toney amassed 139 yards on 13 carries and added two more scores to put him at an even dozen for the season. Taharin Tyson accounted for 68 yards up the gut.

But it was Vanderbilt Hambrick that put Loudon away with a 28-yard scamper late in the third quarter. The sophomore made a move as rich as his name, stutter-stepping once, twice and thrice to slip five would-be tacklers to cap Alcoa's sole Alcoa-style drive of the night.

After Toney opened with 9 hard yards, Tyson pounded through for 32 with only the Loudon safety left to make the stop. Tallant scrambled out of a crowded backfield following a huge block from Tyson to return to the line of scrimmage and set up Hambrick's score.

"Our guys ran hard and ran well," said Rankin. "They did a lot of that on their own because we weren't giving them much help in there.

"Give Loudon a lot of credit. They really gave us some fits in there."

The Tornadoes (3-0, 1-0) earned their first pizza party of the season for throwing the shutout.

"We played solid, but with no real passion," said AHS defensive guru Brian Nix after Alcoa held Loudon scoreless for the third straight meeting. "I don't want to see these guys falling back with a tackle for 2 yards. I want them pushing the guy back into the backfield when they make a stop."

It was Loudon's defense that played inspired the first half, limiting Alcoa to a 7-0 lead and a growing sense of discomfort in the visiting stands. The Tornadoes were frustrated on a pair of first quarter drives and had a 32-yard field goal attempt blocked on its third trip. Wallace broke through from the right side to swipe Roberto Castro's attempt and only a holding flag prevented the Loudon score.

Toney broke the scoreless tie for Alcoa, cruising in through the right side sweep to cap off a 45-yard drive started by Steven Isom's 35-yard punt return.

Alcoa faces more stiff competition next week traveling to Fulton for a Thursday night, televised contest, while Loudon has a week off before travelling to Christian Academy of Knoxville.