Big Crowd Watches MC Defense Limit LaGrange in 26-6 Victory
MARYVILLE – Maryville let its defense lead the way here Saturday in a 26-6 victory over LaGrange in front of an overflow Homecoming crowd.
The Scots scored just 13 points in each half against the winless Panthers, but it was more than enough thanks to another suffocating performance from the Maryville defensive unit. The Panthers finished with only 191 yards of total offense while matching their second-fewest points scored in a game this season.
"Today was everything that small college athletics should be," Scots head coach Ben Fox said. "We had an unbelievable crowd, and everyone was so supportive. It was the kind of day that football was meant to be played.
"I'm happy for the guys. Winning is hard, and we were able to win. Our defense played just spectacularly today, and we need to keep improving in other phases. We've got to continue to improve and eliminate mistakes because we have three really tough challenges ahead."
Bryson Rollins accounted for all four Maryville touchdowns, with three on the ground and one through the air. The sophomore QB was 19-of-32 for 237 yards and the TD without throwing an interception for the first time all season. He rushed 13 times for a net of 38 yards and his three TDs on the ground were a career game high.
Closing on Season Record
Rollins went over 2,000 yards for the season (2,040) and bumped his career passing total to 4,595, extending his school record. He needs 634 yards over the last three games to match the Maryville season mark of 2,674 set by Nick Myers in 2016. That requires an average of 211.3; to date, he's averaging 291.4.
Tyler Bost and Cameron Spivey were the Maryville tackle leaders with seven apiece, and Mike Bethea had a big game with six tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Spivey broke up two passes, including a touchdown-saver in the end zone early in the second half.
Saturday was the third time this year Maryville held an opponent under 200 yards (Sewanee 147, Shenandoah 146). The six points allowed were the fewest of the season.
"We put our defense in some bad positions," Fox said. "They gave us a couple of short fields and then held up when we gave them a short field. They played great today. They were motivated, they played hard and I was really happy for them."
In addition to Bethea's 11-yard sack, Jonathan Harris had one for minus-15 yards and Kemmanuel Liggett added an 11-yard QB takedown. Ryan Gibson intercepted two passes, one that led to a Maryville touchdown right before halftime and another that ended the game. Those were MC's second and third interceptions of the season.
Corey Russell caught four passes for the Scots for 74 yards, including the 17-yard TD right before half. Eight different Maryville receivers made catches.
Already Matched Last Year's Win Total
The Scots improved to 5-2 overall, matching last season's win total with three games remaining. Maryville evened its USA South record at 2-2.
Next up is a visit from first-place Belhaven. The Blazers are 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the USA South after winning 45-10 at home Saturday against Methodist. Last year in Jackson, the Scots surprised an 8-1 Belhaven team with a 25-22 victory to close the season.
Kickoff next Saturday is 1 p.m.
"I don't know if we've played as a team in all three phases our best game yet," Fox said. "We've got three more weeks to try and do that, and then we will be able to look back and assess where we are as a program and the growth we've made.
"We've got to go back to work, evaluate the things we are doing and put the guys in positions to be successful. We've got to keep loving them, coaching them hard and we've got to play for each other. If we play for each other, we will be all right."
