Scots capture Homecoming win over Methodist University Monarchs
On Saturday, Oct. 19, The Scots football team came away with their first victory of the season, 21-13 against the Methodist University Monarchs, in front of a packed homecoming crowd of 4,800 people.
The Maryville defense stuffed the run and rattled the quarterback all afternoon. The defense held Methodist to only 207 passing yards and 6 rushing yards. Maryville also recorded 1 interception, 6 sacks, and 10 tackles for loss.
Braden Cloyd returned the lone interception 21 yards, and Simeon Watson broke up four passes. Trenton Cumby brought the quarterback down three times, and Austin Smith did so twice. Jacorey Jackson and Ronald Eckles combined for a sack also. Jamal Ware led all Scots in tackles with 13.
Last week against Huntingdon, the defense uncharacteristically gave up 45 points and surrendered nearly 500 yards of offense. As a result, they had to go back to the basics in preparation for Methodist.
“The game plan going in was to communicate across the board and be consistent because that is something that we have struggled with for the past few weeks,” defensive back Drew Collins said.
Photo taken by Savannah Stewart
The defense forced Methodist to become one dimensional early on. This was the ultimate key in stopping the Monarch offense.
“Dominant. Dominant. The defense was phenomenal,” said Shaun Hayes, head coach. “The difference in this football game is 100% the defensive line. The pass rush from our interior linemen was great. The quarterback felt uncomfortable, and it gave the secondary some time and confidence.”
Offensively, Jacob Bunch was a force to be reckoned with. The sophomore running back tallied 179 yards and two touchdowns off of 27 rushing attempts.
“I am very proud of Jacob Bunch,” Hayes said. “He’s starting to come into his own. When he is fresh, he is a wrecking ball, and he’s starting to see that.”
Tevin Thrower recorded his first career touchdown—a nine yard scamper— in the first quarter. Pierre Watkins hauled in two passes for 85 yards. Quarterback Trevor Thomas went 3-for-11 for 71 yards, and Caden Harbin completed 5-of-9 passes for 61 yards.
“We knew from the beginning that running the ball was going to be hard, so we decided to spread the ball around in order to open the run game up,” Bunch said.
Maryville simply won the game the “Maryville Way,” running the football and completely dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
“Finally getting a win feels super nice, and I’m sure everyone on the team got a lift from finally winning,” said Bunch. “It’s like a weight has finally been lifted off of our backs”.