Box Score Second-Half Deluge Too Much for Maryville
MARYVILLE – Maryville and Methodist were putting on a USA South Conference show for those in attendance Saturday at Honaker Field.
Then the skies let loose.
A rain and lightning deluge midway in the second quarter dampened the spirits of the homestanding Scots, and Methodist rode away with a 38-21 victory. It was the conference opener for both teams.
Play was interrupted just as Maryville was attempting a PAT after Cam Malone had carried 1 yard into the end zone with 6:48 left before halftime. The Scots led 20-17.
One hour and 38 minutes later, Connor Rutledge's kick was true and the Scots were up four.
After that, it was all Monarchs. They improved to 1-1 while Maryville dropped to 0-3.
"Obviously, the weather played a part in affecting our game plan," Maryville head coach Ben Fox said. "But we play an outdoor game, and we have to execute. We have not done a good job coming out of halftime or any sort of delay.
"All three games this year, we've either been ahead or had a lot of momentum going into the break. And then we have come out very flat and not executed. That is something we have to resolve."
The Monarchs to start the second half bottled Maryville up on back-to-back possession deep in its own territory. It finally paid off when Tyquan Eddy carried in from 2 yards out with 6:12 left in the quarter.
Brandon Bullins found Xzavier McNeil for TD passes of 44 and 38 yards to cap the scoring. Bullins finished 22-of-31 for 247 yards and four TDs.
"They have a good offense," Fox said. "They played for a conference championship in the spring for a reason, and they had all 22 starters back."
The Scots, meanwhile, managed just 79 yards of offense over the last 36:48 on the clock, or after the return from the rain delay.
In the first quarter, Maryville built a 14-10 lead on touchdown passes from Nathan Smith to Jacob Cortez for 11 yards and Mykel Santos for 6 yards. Cortez (47 yards) and Sean Carter Jr. (81 yards) were the leading receivers with four catches apiece.
Bo Hering led the Maryville defense with eight tackles, including a 7-yard sack. Nate Gregory added seven tackles – 1½ for lost yardage – and Tyler Bost six.
