MARYVILLE, Tenn. – The Emory & Henry College Football Team (2-0) had to battle the weather in addition to facing the Maryville College Scots (0-2) Saturday afternoon, but the Wasps came away with a 21-8 victory at Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium. It was the first time since the 2000 season that the Scots and Wasps met on the gridiron in a rivalry that dates back to E&H's first varsity football season in 1915.
Senior placekicker Matt Turchin (Salisbury, N.C.) rewrote the history books again for the Wasps, converting all three of his PATs on the day. Turchin has now hit 54 straight point-after attempts, breaking the school record of 51, set by Jack Ginn over the 1984 and 1985 seasons.
On its first offensive possession, Emory & Henry went 77 yards on 14 plays in a drive that drained over six minutes from the clock. Junior quarterback Kyle Boden (Knoxville, Tenn.) went 12-for-12 through the air on the drive for the Wasps and added a nine-yard rush as well. Boden found senior wide receiver DaVon Ross (Glen Wilton, Va.) for the score from five yards out. Turchin converted the extra point to put his name in the E&H record book another time.
The Wasps struck again in the second quarter to make the score 14-0. After a face mask penalty gave E&H the ball at the Maryville 26, the Wasps needed only six plays to punch it in for the score. Boden found sophomore running back Kasey Jones (Jacksonville, Fla.) with a 13-yard pass to set up first and goal, and ran the quarterback keeper for a one-yard touchdown.
Emory & Henry added another touchdown in the third quarter as junior linebacker Evan Williamson (Commerce, Ga.) scooped up a fumble caused by junior linebacker Paul Forney (Newton, N.C.) and ran it four yard into the end zone.
Maryville got on the board late in the third quarter when a punt snap sailed out the back of the end zone for an E&H safety. The Scots added a touchdown in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 21-8. After Kane Crowell intercepted a Kyle Boden pass at the Maryville 35 yardline and returned it 64 yards to the Emory & Henry one, Evan Pittenger found Tim Foster three plays later with a three-yard touchdown pass. The Scots failed to convert a two-point pass play which would have cut the lead to 21-10.
Both teams traded possessions over the final 11 minutes of the game but the score remained 21-8 in favor of the visiting Wasps.
Emory & Henry was led offensively by sophomore running back Joe Vaughn (Gate City, Va.) with 103 yards rushing and another four yards receiving. Jones had a total of 64 yards on the day while sophomore wide receiver Sam Edmonds (Roanoke, Va.) caught four passes for 24 yards. The weather limited the Wasps passing attack, as Boden was just 18-for-31 for 97 yards and one touchdown.
As a team, E&H had just 258 yards of total offense on the day; its fewest since it had 214 against Catholic in 2009. The Wasps beat the Cardinals on that October afternoon by a 13-10 score.
For Maryville, Pittenger was 12-for-28 through the air for 74 yards and Blake Williams caught six passes for 47 yards. Paul Costanzo led the Scots' ground game with 45 yards on 14 carries.
Defensively for Emory & Henry, Forney had 12 tackles including 1.5 for loss, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry. Senior linebacker Ross Ellis (Abingdon, Va.) had seven tackles, one tackle for loss, three pass breakups and three quarterback hurries. Williamson added six tackles to his fumble recovery and touchdown while senior linebacker Devan Sproles (Norton, Va.) had six stops as well. Senior defensive back Anthony Jones (Bristol, Va.) intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards as well.
The Scots saw three players reach double figures in tackles in Jamie Owen (17), Dylan Wolfenbarger (15) and Joshua Krebs (11). Crowell was joined by Jacob Berwind in intercepting passes with Berwind returning his 32 yards.
Emory & Henry will face Methodist University next Saturday in the first game of the 2012 season at Fred Selfe Stadium. Kickoff between the Wasps and Monarchs is set for 1:00 p.m.
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photo credit: Rick Elliott