Scots Handle Business vs. Greensboro 35-7; Big Clash at Huntingdon Next
MARYVILLE – Maryville returned to the win column Saturday with a satisfactory performance against Greensboro. The Scots evened their USA South record at 1-1 after scoring the first 35 points in a 35-7 victory against the Pride.
Maryville is 4-1 for the first time since 2016, but the Scots have loads to clean up heading into next week's rivalry matchup at Huntingdon. And while it's tough to frown about a 28-point win in front of a great crowd on a beautiful fall afternoon, Maryville lost the turnover battle 3-0 and committed season highs with 14 penalties for 130 yards.
"Defensively, we played really well," Scots head coach Ben Fox said. "We played hard, we played sound and our defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. We had a couple broken plays on the back end, but we did a good job. We just must increase our focus and execution offensively.
"We played well in two of the three phases; that's why we were able to win. We did not play badly on the offensive side. We just have to cut the turnovers out and cut the penalties out."
Minus-42 Rushing Yards
The Scots were stellar defensively, sacking Greensboro five times and holding the Pride to minus-42 rushing yards on 19 attempts. Of the five GC ball-carriers, only Christian Burgess with four attempts for 4 yards came out on the positive end. The other four finished with minus net rushing yards.
Quarterback Bryson Rollins was 27-of-39 passing for 297 yards and three touchdowns against two interceptions. The 27 completions tied his career high.
He capped Maryville's opening drive with a 19-yard scamper on third-and-goal. The sophomore rushed for 40 yards on 10 attempts, giving him 337 yards of total offense and accounting for four of the five TDs.
Rollins over 4,000 Passing Yards
For the season, Rollins leads the USA South in passing efficiency at 145.62, completion percentage at 66.3 and passing yards per game at 289.2. He's up to 4,001 passing yards for his 15-game career and now trails only Pat Moyer (4,252) by 251 yards for the all-time record. Moyer has held the top spot since 1985.
Rollins connected with Nick Dagle on a 5-yard pass in the second quarter for a 14-0 halftime lead. In the third quarter, it was Rollins hooking up with Haydn Hollin for an 18-yard TD strike and a 21-0 cushion. The fourth quarter saw Chris Cooper find pay dirt with a 3-yard plunge before Rollins threw it up and Steph Carter Jr. made an exceptional catch in the end zone for an 11-yard score.
Greensboro spoiled the shutout on a 16-yard pass from Alec Williams-Carr to KJ Greer with 2½ minutes remaining.
Maryville posted a 464 to 203 yardage advantage, running 76 plays to 51 for the Pride. But those penalties and turnovers kept the game closer than it could have been until the fourth quarter.
"We have too good of players to have these slow starts and to have these kinds of wins," Fox said. "We should be a lot more efficient in what we are doing. But we played hard, which I appreciate. We've just got to get to the point where we are playing hard and playing well.
"Against good teams, those drives that ended in turnovers deep in their territory must be touchdowns. As we continue to play conference games, you lose when you don't score touchdowns."
White, Russell Continue to Shine
Devon White was once again the Maryville tackle leader, finishing with eight total stops and a pass breakup. The junior linebacker had a 6-yard sack and another 1½ tackles for lost yardage. Jonathan Harris and Jacob Berven both had two sacks for the Scots.
Offensively, Corey Russell kept his play on point with five catches for 76 yards, including a game-high 44 yards after catch. His 42-yard catch and run to start the third set up the Hollin TD. Trystin Wright caught four for 28, Dagle four for 26 and tight end Amare Redd three for 64.
Braden Dunson led a balanced running game with nine carries for 54 yards. Cooper had nine for 53 to go with the Rollins rushing total.
Next up for Maryville is a visit to Huntingdon. The Hawks lost 29-3 Saturday at first-place Belhaven, falling to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the USA South. Huntingdon leads the all-time series 15-3 and has won 14 of the last 15 meetings, including 42-28 last year in Maryville.
"We get to play in one of the best rivalries in the South," said Fox, who was an assistant coach for the Hawks from 2012-16. "It will be a lot of fun. This is a fun game to play in, it's a fun game to coach in, and I want our players to experience how fun it is to win."