FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- The Methodist football team rallied from a 17-7 second-quarter deficit to defeat visiting Randolph-Macon, 31-24, on Saturday afternoon at Monarch Stadium.
The Monarchs (2-1) limited R-MC (1-2) to just 114 yards of total offense after halftime, forced a pair of second-half interceptions and held on fourth down on two occasions in posting their first-ever win over the Yellow Jackets in five tries.
Methodist got off to an ominous start as JP Redmond forced a fumble by MU's Emontie Dears after a 14-yard gain which was recovered by Marcus Mitchell at the Monarchs' 45 yard line. Seven plays later, Billy Sheehan completed a 22-yard pass to Eric Hoy for the game's first score. Seth Yurgel made good on the point after for a 7-0 lead at the 11:51 mark.
After punts by both teams, Methodist took possession at its own 16 yard line and used an 11-play, 84-yard drive, capped by an E'Mond Brown touchdown run of 32 yards to the game at 7-7 after Jordan Rieling's PAT with 5:40 left in the opening quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Randolph-Macon marched from its own 25 yard line to MU's 10, and was set up with first and goal. A six-yard gain on first down was followed by a one-yard loss, and an incompletion. The Yellow Jackets settled for three as Yurgel made good on a 24-yard field goal attempt for a 10-7 lead with 31 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Monarchs were forced to punt on their ensuing drive, and R-MC responded with a 9-play, 66-yard drive that resulted in nine-yard touchdown run for John Byrd and a 17-7 lead after Yurgel's PAT. Punts by both teams preceded the Monarchs next scoring drive.
A poor punt by the Yellow Jackets allowed the Monarchs to retake possession at midfield and two plays later, Dylan DeGroot hooked up with Anthony Radke on a 37-yard scoring pass that trimmed MU's deficit to three points (17-14).
Three plays later, Brandon Boyd intercepted Sheehan and returned it to the Yellow Jacket 12 yard line before he was tripped up. Despite the good field position, MU had to settle for three points as Brandon Torres converted a 29-yard field goal that tied the game at 17-17 heading to the half.
Methodist forced a three-and-out on the first drive of the second half, and took a 24-17 lead when Tajahs Jackson scored on a 15-yard run at the 11:14 mark of the third quarter.
After each team traded punts once again, Methodist was once again granted excellent field position as Mark Stanford sacked Sheehan for a 12-yard loss on third-and-eight back to the Yellow Jackets' own 12 yard line. Colin McFadden followed with just a 32-yard punt and MU took over at the R-MC 44. The Monarchs' lead swelled to 31-17 as DeGroot found Radke once again, this time from 16 yards out at the 4:15 mark.
In the fourth quarter, R-MC pulled within one score as Byrd scored on a 17-yard scamper with 9:10 left in the contest, but the MU defense, much maligned in week two, came up big down the stretch.
Bryan Bing came up with a pair big fourth-down stop on Dom Kaopua and Bubby Morgan on two separate drives that had done deep into MU territory with under seven minutes to play. He stopped Kaopua for no gain on a fourth-and-two play from the MU 12 yard line, and then stoned Morgan in the hole for a one-yard loss on a fourth-and-two play from the MU 19.
Randolph-Macon got one more chance, taking over at the MU 43 yard line with 18 seconds to play, but Morgan's second-down pass was intercepted by Jamal Brown in the end zone and the Monarchs took a knee to seal the game.
DeGroot finished 15-of-28 passing for 149 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Radke had five receptions for 77 yards and two touchdowns. E'Mond Brown led the ground attack with 66 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown. Jackson finished with 46 yards on 15 carries and one score.
Defensively, Michael Johnson led the team with 11 tackles (0.5 TFL), an interception and one pass breakup. Bing had nine tackles (1.0 TFL), and Jones chipped in seven tackles with three going for loss. Mark Stanford and Sean Kennedy each had a sack in the game.
Randolph-Macon was led by Byrd, who totaled 99 yards on 22 carries with a pair of touchdowns. Sheehan, one of three R-MC quarterbacks to play on the day, completed 12-of-20 passes for 126 yards with one interception and one touchdown.
Defensively, Marcus Mitchell had 12 tackles (3.5 TFL), a fumble recovery and one sack. JP Redmond added 11 tackles, a pair of sacks and a forced fumble. Xavier Strothers had one tackle for loss among his eight total stops.
Methodist will now enter its bye week before travelling to Maryville to open conference play on Oct. 3 at 1:30 pm.
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Methodist Rallies for 31-24 Win Over Randolph-Macon
/seasons/2015/boxscores/20150919_j73x.xml
2015
Randolph-Macon
24
Methodist
31
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randolph-Macon (1-2) | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Methodist (2-1) | 7 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 31 |
Sep 19, 2015