Maryville College Football Team Starts 3-1
This fall, the Maryville College football team is having a monumental start. The Scots are off to a 3-1 start, which breaks a seven-year trend of starting the football season with a loss since 2015, excluding the year 2020.
On September 2, football kicked off their first non-conference game at Sewanee, winning 28-8. The Scots offense had a total of 315 rushing yards, 203 passing yards, all while scoring a touchdown every quarter. The Scots defense held Sewanee’s offense to only 41 rushing yards.
On September 9, football played Centre for the first home game of the season, which was also their second non-conference game. Despite having to fight through three rain delays all within the first half of the game, the Scots pushed through and came out on top, winning 34-23.
The Maryville College offense had a total of 71 rushing yards, and 309 passing yards. Defense was able to hold Centre’s offense to an incredible 31 rushing yards.
On September 16, football played at Shenandoah for their third and final non-conference game, winning 27-20. This game became a nail-biter late in the fourth quarter, but the Scots were able to perform well under pressure.
The offense played a great game with a total of 174 rushing yards, and 235 passing yards. Defense held Shenandoah’s offense to an astonishing 21 rushing yards, the best of the season so far.
On September 23rd, the Scots played their first conference game at Brevard. This is a big game for the Scots, since the Tornadoes beat them 24-21 last season, with a last-second touchdown. However, the Scots went into triple overtime against the Tornadoes, which led to their first loss of conference play. The final score was 37-35.
Taylor Thomas (‘23), is a returning captain for the football team this year. Thomas believes this team has what it takes to keep winning, but they have to keep a focused mindset.
“This is a big accomplishment not only for me, but also for the whole team. It is a great feeling knowing that we have a winning record after all the hard work we have been putting in at practice,” Thomas said. “We just trust all our hard work will continue to pay off.”
Ben Fox, head football coach for Maryville College, believes that coming out on top in the beginning creates a lot of excitement for the program.
“When it comes to any sport, winning is really hard, especially when it comes to football,” Fox said. “We do a lot of preparation that goes into a small number of games. The emotional result of what happens in a game can be very dramatic, and being able to keep winning feels amazing.”
The next home game for the Maryville College football team will be on October 7 against Greensboro. The Scots are hoping to boost their overall record to 4-1, and 1-1 in conference play.
“We believe in our process. I am a big believer in using each day for what it is for. We need to make sure we do the things we need to do to be able to check off all the boxes when it comes to our preparation process for our upcoming games,” Fox said.
After that, football will have five more games to play with their conference, before finding out if they have made the playoffs.