Emory, Va. — Squandered scoring opportunities and costly turnovers turned a potentially impressive road victory into a frustrating loss for Maryville College.
The Scots (1-1) dominated in virtually every statistical category except the one that matters most, falling 27-21 to a veteran-laden opponent on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in resplendent Fred Selfe Stadium on the Emory & Henry (2-0) campus.
MC's downfall came from three long drives deep into Wasp territory yielding no points, and a costly fourth-quarter interception returned 28 yards for what ended up being the points needed to outpace the visiting Scots.
Total yardage ended in Maryville's favor by a 440-349 margin. MC had 27 first downs to 19 by the Wasps and won the time-of-possession battle with a 5 minute gap.
Travis Fielder led MC's strong running attack with an impressive performance, finishing with 120 yards on 21 attempts and one score. The Florida senior also grabbed 3 passes for another 33 yards, including one TD reception. Four other backs helped to amass 223 overall rushing yards on 50 attempts.
At least three Wasps were knocked woozy by Fielder's determined efforts to claim extra yardage after contact.
When asked to comment on his hard-rushing day, Fielder told the Daily Times, "I just wish we would have won, that would make me feel a whole lot better."
The two teams were knotted 7-7 at the half and 14-14 early in the fourth quarter, with MC dominating on the ground and E&H in the air.
With Maryville controlling the line of scrimmage on both sides, a breakthrough road victory seemed possible until E&H quarterback Kyle Boden, a Knoxville Karns product who finished 25 of 37 for 286 yards, heated up and hit his third touchdown pass of the game, and Ryan Byrd grabbed his pick-six just two plays into the next MC possession, with the failed extra point giving E&H a 27-14 lead.
Still the Scots refused to fade. After the Wasps went on a nearly 7-minute drive that eventually stalled, Maryville finally found a vertical passing game with a long pass from Evan Pittenger to Ed Johnson setting up a nine-yard TD rush by Maryville product Trenton Shuler.
The Scots' onside-kick attempt failed and the Wasps killed the final seconds of play to preserve their slim victory.
The game's early moments had given no indication of what a close contest it would become, as Emory & Henry had marched crisply downfield on its first possession to claim a quick 7-0 lead, but the Scots defense stiffened, allowing only two first downs the rest of the half.
MC finally scored late in the second quarter on an impressive ground-oriented 13-play 83 yard drive, but the Scots had by that time already failed to score on another long drive that reached the one-yard line but netted only a wide-left field goal attempt, and missed on another 45-yard field goal attempt as time expired.
The Scots started the second half in similar fashion, forcing a quick 3-and-out then marching to the E&H 24 only to have an exchange between Pittenger and Trenton Shuler go awry, with the Wasps recovering and using the momentum to pass their way downfield for the 14-7 lead entering the final stanza.
Again, the Scots would not buckle, and their 80-yard drive on the next possession ended with a beautiful effort on a broken play, as Pittenger scrambled left, broke a tackle and reversed fields, then found Fielder near the right sidelines, who then rammed in for a 22-yard touchdown.
But that 14-14 score didn't last long with Boden's arm and the sure hands of receivers including senior Cleo Cooper and junior Lucas Kirby. The E&H passing game scored the go-ahead touchdown then the MC passing mistake added the clincher.
"We were up and down the field, but that doesn't win ball games," said Maryville head coach Mike Rader. "When you get to the one and don't get points, you have to evaluate what you are doing, and I take some blame on that one. But for us to take the next step with this program, we've just got to make the plays in crunch time."
The Scots travel again next week to take on Sewanee with a 2 pm kick-off.
