Maryville Clinches USA South Title with 47-7 Romp at Greensboro
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Showdown against Brevard? Not gonna happen.
Maryville clinched its first USA South Conference championship since 2018 with a week to spare, thumping Greensboro 47-7 on Saturday. While that was taking place, North Carolina Wesleyan knocked off Brevard 30-24 and LaGrange dropped a 36-9 decision at Belhaven.
That boosts Maryville to 7-1 overall and 6-0 in the conference. No other team has fewer than two losses. The Scots were going to play Brevard in the season finale after the Sept. 28 game was postponed by Hurricane Helene, but only if that contest meant anything toward the conference championship. With this weekend's results, Maryville is playing its regularly scheduled game next Saturday against North Carolina Wesleyan for Senior Day.
Kickoff is noon, with Senior Day festivities beginning soon after 11:30.
Breakthrough in Season Four
"We are excited to represent the USA South in the upcoming NCAA Playoffs," Maryville head coach Ben Fox said. "Our defense and special teams played well, and on offense there were a bunch of catch-and-runs."
Fox said he did not know which of his first four teams would break through for a championship, but he knew things were heading in the right direction.
"We just wanted each team to become the best it could be, to reach its full potential," Fox said. "I'm happy for this team that we won some of those games that we haven't won in the past, which got us in position to win a championship.
"Over the last four years, there have been a lot of people who have believed in what we were doing. Now it's our job to keep it going."
82-Yard TD to Carter
Saturday at Greensboro, Bryson Rollins was 15-of-24 passing for 317 yards and three touchdowns against zero interceptions. He connected with Steph Carter Jr. on a season-long 82-yard touchdown pass as part of a 21-point third quarter.
Other scoring passes went to Amare Redd for 8 yards and Nick Dagel for 40 yards.
Rollins for the season has thrown for 2,130 yards and a 62.1 percent completion rate. His pass efficiency rating of 174.54 is a personal season best. He has four games this season with three touchdown passes and has thrown a TD in all eight games and 14 in a row dating to last season.
Maryville rushed for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Griffin Swinea carried 13 times for 62 yards, Jermaine Abner six for 58 and Bryson Claiborne eight for 39. Abner and Claiborne scored on mid-range TD runs.
Harris Scoop-and-Score TD
Jonathan Harris led the defensive effort with a 39-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Tyler Bost made the hit and Harris scooped and scored to put the Scots in front 16-0 at halftime. Devon White was the MC tackle leader with eight, all in the first half.
Maryville outgained Greensboro 504 yards to 236. The Scots gained 340 yards through the air and 164 on the ground.
The Scots are 6-0 in the league with one game remaining and have beaten their conference opponents by an average score of 45.5 to 9.8.
"Our guys work really hard," Fox said. "These last two years, the teams have practiced hard. We have asked a lot of them and I'm happy they are seeing a return on their investment.
"College football championships are difficult to come by. You do all these things and put so much into it and there's no guarantee that you will win a title. I'm happy for the players, happy for our coaches, happy for the school."