Maryville Handles Southern Virginia 54-6, Readies for Brevard
BUENA VISTA, Va. – Smiles returned to the Maryville sideline Saturday after a big road victory – with the acknowledgment that the season starts for real next weekend.
Maryville handled Southern Virginia 54-6 on Saturday, racking up 570 yards of total offense. It is the most points scored by the Scots and the fewest allowed in the brief four-game history between these two programs. Maryville has won the four games by an average score of 46-10.
After the game, the Maryville team received good news that linebacker Javaris Gallaher – injured in the fourth quarter and taken off the field in an ambulance – was in good spirits and expecting a positive outcome. Scots Director of Athletic Training Jenny Massey is staying overnight in the hospital with Gallaher as a precaution.
Maryville scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and had five in the opening half. Three of those were TD passes from Bryson Rollins to Amare Redd (5 yards), Brock Skelton (14 yards) and Jermaine Abner (10 yards). Griffin Swinea scored the other TD on a 5-yard scamper, and then Rollins ran it in from 6 yards out with a half-minute remaining to make it 35-0 Scots at intermission.
Rollins did not see the field in the second half, finishing 19-of-26 for 277 yards and three touchdowns against zero interceptions. He was sacked twice.
Respecting the Game
"We played good clean football in the first half," Maryville head coach Ben Fox said. "I asked our guys to respect the game, respect their opponent and respect their teammates today and play hard-nosed football. We took care of business and played with energy and determination."
Maryville's longest pass play of the day was a 51-yarder from Rollins to Zae Richardson to the 10-yard line, setting up the TD toss to Abner. Fifteen different Maryville receivers caught passes, led by Brock Skelton with five for a career-high 94 yards and the one TD. The 25-yarder he caught to set up Redd's TD was a career-long.
Mac McCovery IV saw extensive playing time in the offensive backfield, carrying the ball 15 times for 75 yards to post career highs in both categories. His 10-yard TD in the fourth quarter closed the scoring.
Also tallying for the Scots was Josiah Evans on a 14-yard scoring reception from Joseph Cummings in the third quarter. Brennon Saylor was perfect on five PATs and made a 19-yard field, and Tyler Barrett returned a blocked PAT for two points.
Aaron Meadows broke through the middle of the line and made the block, with the ball ricocheting toward the numbers. Barrett scooped it up in stride on a perfect hop and raced 90 yards the other way for two points.
Jacob Berven led the Maryville tacklers with seven, including a pair of tackles-for-loss. Peyton Cooper had a 13-yard sack and Devon White added one for 9 yards. Grant Henderson contributed six tackles, as did Manny Palmer – including a late-game TFL.
Defense Does Its Job
Southern Virginia did not turn the ball over but gained only 135 total yards, an average of 2.6 per play. The Knights (0-3, 0-1 USA South) gained 45 rushing yards and 90 through the air.
Maryville's quarterbacks finished the game 26-of-35 for 384 yards and four touchdowns. Cummings was 5-of-7 for 61 yards, with Zach Hollman 2-of-2 for 46 yards. Ball carriers of note were Abner with five carries for 42 yards, DaRell Brown with 12 for 37 and Swinea with six for 25.
"It was a fun afternoon," Fox said. "Everybody who went on the trip got to play, and that is important because these guys work hard. It was good to see them realizing the benefits of that challenging work out on the practice field on display here today on the playing field."
Maryville stands 2-1 and now 1-0 in the USA South. The Scots are home next Saturday against Brevard, which defeated Belhaven 42-26 at home this week to go to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the USA South. The Scots are attempting to snap a five-game series losing streak to the Tornados, including 24-21 here two years ago and 37-35 in triple-overtime a year ago in North Carolina.
Kickoff from Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium and Honaker Field is 1 p.m. Admission is free.