Scots Eliminated at #9 DePauw

Photos by Abby Diggs and Carly Williamson
 
GREENCASTLE, Ind. – History will have to wait.
 
Maryville's dream of a 10-win season and second straight victory in the NCAA Division III Football Championship was foiled here Saturday in a 45-20 defeat to ninth-ranked DePauw. The host Tigers showed their wares by striking for touchdowns in all four quarters and playing up to their lofty scoring average.
 
Late-season injuries to tight end Jaden Jones, running back Griffin Swinea and safety Jake Brock finally proved too much for the Scots to overcome, especially against a team as formidable on both sides of the ball.
 
"Hats off to DePauw," Scots head coach Ben Fox said. "That is a fabulous football team and the best team we have played this year by a pretty wide margin. They were big and they were fast and they were physical. They were well-coached, and they made a lot of really good plays.
 
"The only quarterback I've seen get out of more tackles like that and run around like he did and throw it like he did is ours. When you play on Thanksgiving and beyond, everybody is good."


 
Tigers Came in Averaging 52.8 Points
DePauw hit Maryville with 45 points and 459 yards of total offense, including 320 through the air. All three of those are season-highs against a defense that came in ranked first nationally in pass efficiency defense, third in total defense, 16th in rushing defense and 11th in scoring defense.
 
The previous high for points allowed by the Scots defense came in the season's only 2024 regular season loss, 17-14 at Centre back on Sept. 14. The previous passing yardage high was 213 at Greensboro, and the previous total yardage high was 302 at Belhaven. DePauw came in averaging 52.8 points.
 
"This was the first game this year when we did not play complementary football, and by that I mean following up a good drive on offense with a good defensive stand, but they had a lot to do with that," Fox said. "I wish we had made a commitment to getting outside the pocket and throwing it a little earlier in the first half, but they've got a good team and broke some plays that we hadn't seen happen before. That's the way it goes."
 
With game-time temperatures in the mid- to upper-20s, it is remarkable how well the passing games were on both sides.
 
Maryville's Bryson Rollins finished 26-of-43 passing for 369 yards and two touchdowns against just one interception and one sack. DePauw's Nathan McCahill was 21-of-32 passing for 320 yards and two touchdowns against one interception and one sack.


 
Rollins Season-High Yardage Total
For Rollins, Saturday's total was a season-high and the third-best passing yardage total in his illustrious three-year collegiate career. It was the seventh-best passing figure in program history. Through three seasons, the Elizabethton native stands at 8,327 yards passing and 67 touchdowns. His 2,971 passing yards this year were a season-high, as was his pass efficiency rating of 162.78.
 
"Their D-line is really big, so it was all about getting out of the pocket and making plays down the field," Rollins said. "It's been an exceptional group, and I'm so proud of these guys. We worked hard for so long and, yes, it's a disappointing way to end it but this game does not define us at all."
 
DePauw put the Scots in a hole by scoring a killer touchdown just 12 seconds before halftime. It was a third-and-9 play when Tigers quarterback Nathan McCahill hit Robby Ballentine for 29 yards down the right sideline and a 24-6 lead at intermission.
 
In the second half, Carson Johnson ran right up the gut 69 yards for a touchdown and McCahill found Ballentine again for a 72-yard TD. McCahill and Ballentine connected nine times for 192 yards and the two scores.
 
Maryville tried to keep things close in the second half but had two drives halted on downs deep in DePauw territory.
 
The Maryville TDs were Bryson Claiborne on a 2-yard run, Rollins to Steph Carter Jr. for 6 yards and Rollins to Teddy Orton for 21 yards. Carter was the top Maryville receiver with six for 87 yards, while Erozinis Edmondson added six for 51. Jermaine Abner rushed 10 times for 40 net yards.


 
Henderson Eight Tackles, Two PBUs
Defensively, Grant Hendeson was the Maryville tackle leader with eight solo stops and two pass breakups. Devon White, Tyler Bost and Tyler Barrett added six tackles apiece. Bost had a 6-yard sack and Jacob Berven intercepted a pass and broke up two others.
 
"I'm proud of this team and everything we have accomplished," Bost said. "This is the best team that Maryville College has ever had. It is a disappointing way to end it because we are better than what we showed out there today, but I cannot be prouder of this group of seniors and all the brothers I have made this season.
 
"We knew every time we went out there over the last half of the season that we were playing for a championship. It was win or go home. We came up short today, but I couldn't be prouder.
 
Maryville finished the season 9-2, posting nine wins for just the second time in program history and the first time since 1946. Saturday's game was the latest the Scots had played football in a calendar year since that 1946 season, which ended Jan. 1, 1047, in the very first Citrus Bowl (then called the Tangerine Bowl).
 
Included this season was the program's first NCAA postseason victory.
 
"Obviously, we are disappointed with the result, but I love this team," Fox said. "I love them a lot and I know they love each other. But teams have a one-year life span. The next year is never the same.
 
"Going into the year, I felt like this had the chance to be a special team and a special year. I hope the guys remember the things they learned here, that when things are tough and they are struggling, that there was a time when they were really special. I want them to look back at 2024 when they were really special."