MARYVILLE, Tenn. – The Brevard College football team (4-4, 4-1 USA South) held on late for a 24-21 victory over Maryville College (4-5, 4-2 USAS) on Saturday in Maryville, Tennessee at Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium.
Brevard and Maryville went to halftime tied 7-7 before Brevard scored 17 of the next 24 points and held on to its lead late for the victory.
Senior quarterback Dalton Cole went 9-for-16 passing with 133 yards and two touchdowns throwing, while the Tornado ground game once again showed its prowess. Brevard rushed for over 200 yards, totaling 236 yards on the ground paced by junior transfer running back Chancellor Lee-Parker, who gained 139 yards on 14 carries with a 42-yard touchdown scamper. BC's Devonte Murray rushed for 44 yards on just three carries as well.
Senior tight end Jaden O'Leary led the passing game with six receptions for 83 yards and a 47-yard touchdown grab. Zackary Orr also hauled in a 43-yard touchdown connection, while Jonathan Woods added a reception for 24 yards.
Senior placekicker Stamati Damalos hit a 42-yard field goal while going 3-for-3 on extra-point attempts. Joe Powell pinned one punt inside the 20-yard-line, while Cooper Hogan and DJ Taylor handled the return duties on special teams.
Defensively, Brevard was led by Toby Naylor, who logged seven tackles (four solos, three assists), while Jerome Bass added six tackles, ½ tackle-for-loss, a forced fumble, and a four-yard rush on a fake punt.
Tyler Harrison and Reece Rubio logged five tackles apiece, with Ernest Smith II totaling four tackles and two and ½ sacks to lead all BC defenders. RJ Everett and Grequenceo Coger Jr. also logged sacks, with Everett logging one and ½ tackles-for-loss.
BC outgained the highly-potent Maryville offense, 394-289 in total offense, with a 236-121 total advantage on the ground.
The Tornados drove down the field on the game's first possession, but the Scots intercepted a pass on third and 20 from the BC 40-yard-line. Maryville went for it on fourth down on the ensuing possession, but the Scots were sacked to end the threat.
BC went three-and-out on the next drive before Maryville's Cody Estep punched the ball into the end zone, giving the hosts an early 7-0 lead.
Brevard drove down the field with a 10-play, 57-yard possession, but was unsuccessful on a 23-yard field goal attempt. BC's defense forced a punt on the next possession to set up Brevard's first scoring drive of the contest. Cole found Orr for a 43-yard touchdown connection that tied the contest up, 7-7, with 9:05 left in the first half of action.
Both sides traded punts on their next possessions before Maryville ran out of time on its final possession of the first half, as the Tornados and Scots were level at 7-7 through the first half of play.
BC's defense forced Maryville to punt on the first drive of the third quarter before Cole capped a seven-play, 73-yard drive off with a 47-yard connection to O'Leary, giving the Tornados a 14-7 lead.
The Scots were able to answer back with a 13-play, 81-yard possession of their own, tying things back up at 14-14 with 4:54 left to play in the third quarter.
BC drove down the field with an eight-play, 62-yard drive, but was unsuccessful on a fourth-down conversion in the red zone. Maryville was forced to punt on its next possession before Lee-Parker broke through with a 42-yard TD run that gave the Tornados a seven-point lead, 21-14.
Following another Maryville punt, the Tornados added to its lead as Damalos hit a 42-yard field goal to extend their lead to a 10-point margin, 24-14.
Maryville drove down the field on its next drive with a 10-play, 58-yard possession but was stopped on fourth and two at the BC eight-yard-line as Coger Jr. and Trey Williams came up with a crucial tackle with 4:52 left to play.
BC used up some clock but was forced to punt the ball at the Maryville 46-yard-line. The attempt was blocked by Maryville's Brock Skelton and returned to the BC 14-yard-line with 1:39 left to play. The Scots were able to capitalize, as Estep ran for his second TD of the day to make it a 24-21 affair with 1:07 left in the contest.
Maryville's Trey Hampton attempted an onside kick on the next drive, but the kick was unsuccessful and the Tornados ran down the clock with consecutive kneel downs as the Tornados earned a hard-fought road victory, 24-21.
Brevard returns home for its final home contest of 2022, as the Tornados take on Belhaven University on Senior Day on Saturday, November 5 at 1 p.m. at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
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-BC-