Maryville Claims First NCAA Football Victory 20-16 at Berry
Postgame Press Conference
Photos by Abby Diggs and Steven Eckhoff
ROME, Ga. – Where to start????
Maryville breached tons of new territory here Saturday in a 20-16 football victory against Southern Athletic Association tri-champ Berry. Let's recap. The Scots:
- Won for the first time in the NCAA football playoffs. After first-round losses in 2013 and 2018, including a 31-0 defeat to Berry in the latter appearance, Maryville is now 1-2 all-time in the NCAAs.
- Won nine games for the second time in program history. The only other time was 1946, which ended in the very first Tangerine Bowl (now Citrus Bowl) on January 1, 1947.
- Won for the USA South in the NCAA playoffs for the first time since Huntingdon edged Berry 27-24 in 2019. The league champion had lost in the first round the last three appearances.
- Snapped a seven-game losing streak to Berry. The Scots hadn't won against the Vikings since 2015.
- Held SAA Offensive Player of the Year Brandon Cade to a season-low 58 rushing yards on 27 attempts. Cade came in averaging nearly 114 yards.
Scots tailback Bryson Claiborne rushed 21 times for 97 yards – both career highs – and two fourth-quarter touchdowns to help Maryville rally from a 16-7 deficit.
This after the Scots began the quarter by halting Cade on a fourth-and-2 play from the Maryville 33-yard line. MC responded by marching 69 yards in seven plays. Quarterback Bryson Rollins was 4-of-4 on the drive, hitting Erozinis Edmondson for 11 and 17 yards, and then Nick Dagel for 17 and 13 yards to put the ball first-and-goal at the Berry 5.
Claiborne finished it off with a powerful run into the end zone, and Maryville trailed 16-14 with 8:59 remaining.
On Berry's ensuing drive, Maryville linebacker Devon White picked off his first career pass. White's 18-yard return set the Scots up at the Berry 24, and Claiborne and Rollins went back to work.
Facing third-and-12, Rollins connected with Steph Carter Jr. over the middle for 20 yards to the Berry 6-yard line. Two plays later, Claiborne broke through from 7 yards out and the Scots led 20-16 with 5:33 remaining.
Lacey! Lacey!
Maryville's defense gave up a first down, but then defensive end Jordan Lacey made two of the best tackles of his career. On second-and-17 after a Vikings penalty, Lacey stonewalled Cade for a 3-yard loss. Then he sacked Vikings quarterback Christian Lewis for 12 big yards and Berry, facing fourth-and-32, had no choice but to punt the ball away.
The Scots took over at their own 41 with 2:14 remaining.
On third down, after Berry had called its final two timeouts, Rollins connected with Carter on a 53-yard strike to the Berry 6 and that was that!
Three kneel-downs and the Scots were Indiana bound!
Maryville outgained Berry 374-210 in total yards. The Scots lost one fumble but intercepted Lewis three times. In addition to White, Jadon Smith picked off his second pass of the season and Grant Henderson his fourth. The only turnover of the game that turned into points was the White pick before Maryville's winning TD.
Downfield Passing Worked
Rollins finished 15-of-33 passing for 269 yards – nearly 18 yards per completion – and one touchdown of 22 yards to Brock Skelton in the first quarter. He didn't throw an interception and was sacked just once.
Maryville's defense sacked Lewis four times: solos by Jacob Berven, Jonathan Harris, and Lacey and a shared sack by Chardon Wood and Alex Mase. Tyler Bost was the tackle leader with a season-high 13, followed by Henderson, Berven and White with eight apiece. White had a career-high three pass breakups.
Lewis finished the game 9-of-19 passing for 141 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions and four sacks. Khamari Smith caught five of those passes for 106 yards and compiled 174 all-purpose yards for the Vikings. Two big punt returns from Smith set Berry up for 10 points and the 16-7 lead early in the fourth.
Carter with four catches for 93 yards led the Maryville receiving corps. Dagel added three for 72 and Edmondson three for 33.
At the very least, Maryville enters the SAA next season on somewhat equal footing with the best the league has to offer. A last-second loss at Centre, countered by wins over Sewanee and now Berry in the playoffs, bodes well for the Scots moving forward.
The Scots play next Saturday at DePauw in Greencastle, Indiana. The Tigers are 10-0, including a 33-0 victory at Berry in September. Maryville and DePauw have played just once, a 26-0 Tigers triumph in Greencastle back in 1981.
Kickoff is noon.
