Football gets a great start to an exciting season
When the Maryville College Fighting Scots football team traveled to Mount Berry, Ga. on Sept. 3, they thought they would be leaving with a season opening victory.
The Scots battled the Berry College Vikings for a grueling four quarters trying to achieve the aforementioned victory.
The Scots lost 34 to 33. The game was riddled with fumbles and interceptions. There were also two missed extra point attempts and a missed field goal attempt from Maryville.
The game did include some very exciting moments. The defense picked up a fumble recovery and two interceptions. One of the interceptions was run back 70 yards for a Scots touchdown.
Senior Brad Varner said that the loss to Berry “pushed us harder in practice and in games.”
“We made mistakes that beat ourselves and ultimately gave them the game,” said Varner.
The second game of the season, which took place on Sep. 8, was much different than the first. The Scots got the victory over Hanover 38 to 0. There was a three-hour delay due to thunderstorms in the area.
The first home game of the season was on Sep. 17 against Emory and Henry. The Scots quickly gained the leg up against the Wasps scoring 20 points in the first quarter. This set the pace for the rest of the game. MC beat the Wasps 43 to 36.
Freshman Cedric Brown had 12 tackles against the Wasps. One of which resulted in a forced fumble. Brown was bestowed the honor of Defensive Rookie of the Week from the USA South for his effort against the Wasps.
Last season, the Scots went eight and two. If they can accomplish that again, there is a chance of winning the conference title.
Out of the 10-game season, seven are against other USA South Conference teams. Conference play kicks off on Saturday, October 1 at Methodist.
The three remaining games in Maryville this season are conference games.
Some important days to note are Senior Day on Nov. 5, which will be when the 16 seniors are honored for their time and commitment to the Scots football program.
Homecoming weekend, the weekend of Oct. 22, will be a great time to be on campus. There is nothing like the atmosphere of campus with all of the Maryville College Alumni back. A few alumni, such as former basketball star Mackenzie Puckett, will be honored for different accomplishments at some of the games
On Oct. 8, Puckett will be honored by the USA South conference for receiving the 2015-2016 Don Scalf Award.
During the Homecoming game, there will be 2 groups honored. One group being the 2016 Wall of Fame class and the other group being the 1976 Scots football team.
This season will be very exciting for the members of the football team, as well as the entire MC family, including Alumni, current students and family members of students, athletes and alumni.