Maryville falls to Ferrum 27-3 to open USA South action
Scots fall to Ferrum 27-3
Football - October 1, 2011
MC Sports Information
Three long sustained drives and a scoring burst from Ferrum College's Marcus Mayo allowed the visiting Panthers to pull away from Maryville College 27-3 in both squads USA South opening matchup on Saturday afternoon on MC's Honaker Field.
The day began with Maryville's Blake William's fumble of the opening kickoff giving the Panthers excellent field possession. MC's defense held tight and forced Ferrum to turn the ball over on downs.
Maryville's offense sputtered and the Panthers look to take control during their second possession. Am 18 yard rush and a 30 yard reception to Dontavious Gilbert put the visitors on the doorstep. The six play, 63 yard scoring drive was capped by a Dominique Lesine four yard scamper to put Ferrum on the board. Scott Puschell's kick made the score 7-0.
Ferrum finished off the first quarter with a strong drive beginning at the 3:55 mark. A 40-yard run by Lesine set up an end zone shot for the Panthers and Gilbert tallied the score for 10 yards out finishing off a five play, 57 yard scoring drive. Puschell's kick put Ferrum up 14-0 at the end of the first period.
Maryville's offense kept giving Ferrum solid field possession after a pair of punts and the Panthers were poised to take advantage once again.
Ferrum took over with the ball on the 41 at the 12:09 mark. A 12 yard run by Steven Harris combined with a 31 yard pass from Marcus Mayo to Dominique Lesine put Ferrum on the Scots 13 yard line. Harris promptly took the dash to the end zone with a nine yard scoring jaunt. The PAT failed and Ferrum held the 20-0 advantage going into the half.
At the half Maryville's offense had managed 63 total yards as Ferrum tallied 228 yards.
Ferrum was creaping in on MC's goal line once again in their second possession of the third quarter. As the Panthers were looking to score, MC's Kane Crowell picked off a Marcus Mayo pass on the 4-yard line and returned the miscue to the 43 yard line. MC's offense went backwards in their next possession and the Panthers looked to take advantage.
With a quick strike, Mayo connected with Tyler Brubaker for a 22 yard completion and then turned the corner on the next snap for a 43 yard touchdown down the left sideline. Puschell's kick gave Ferrum the 27-0 advantage to close the third quarter.
At the 11:13 mark Maryville inserted freshman quarterback Melvin Burston. The rookie from Bradenton, Florida engineered MC's only scoring drive of the afternoon. Pass completions to Wesley Idlette and Ryan Roach put the Scots on Ferrum's nine yard line. Senior placekicker Andrew Noboa was called upon to split the uprights from 24 yard out and MC finished out the scoring with the 12 play, 46 yard drive.
Ferrum (2-2, 1-0 USA South) tallied 327 yards rushing as a unit. Steven Harris dashed for 104 yards and a score on 17 carries. Marcus Mayo added 94 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts. Gilbert and Lesine combined for 123 yards and a pair of scores.
Mayo was 7-for-16 via the air for 122 yards. His favorite targets were Gilbert (51 Yards) and Brubaker ( 40 Yards).
Lynwood Pickett paced Ferrum's defense with nine tackles that included 3.5 sacks and a pair of tackles for a loss of 15 yards.
Maryville (0-4, 0-1 USA South) finished the game with 21 yards of rushing. The Panthers also contained MC's passing attack to 80 total yards.
The Scots' Dakota Crews paced the defense with 11 total stops while Crowell added eight tackles to his interception.
The Scots will return to action next Saturday when they host Methodist University at 1:30 in MC's Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium.
