Charlie Jones (#24) and Linell Tarver (#36) helped anchor the Huntingdon defense in Saturday's 28-16 win over Maryville. (Photo by Carrie Bump)
Charlie Jones (#24) and Linell Tarver (#36) helped anchor the Huntingdon defense in Saturday's 28-16 win over Maryville. (Photo by Carrie Bump)

Huntingdon knocks off Maryville to remain unbeaten in USA South

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon football team took control early and beat Maryville College 28-16 on Saturday.

Huntingdon jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and built a 28-10 lead in the third quarter. Maryville pulled within 12 points in the fourth quarter before the Hawks closed out the game.

The win was the Hawks' ninth straight against Maryville and the 10th overall win in the series. Huntingdon sits atop the USA South Athletic Conference standings with a 4-0 conference record.

 

Records: Huntingdon (6-1, 4-0 USA South); Maryville (3-3, 1-2 USA South)

 

The Turning Point: The Hawks took the lead early with two first-quarter touchdowns and maintained the lead by answering each of Maryville's scoring possessions.

Quarterback Chip Taylor had a hand in three of the Hawks' four touchdowns, scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run and throwing a pair of touchdown passes to Otis Porter.

A week after making a 69-yard run, the longest run in Huntingdon history by a quarterback, Taylor broke the mark with a 70-yard run to set up the first touchdown on Saturday. Late in the first quarter, Taylor connected with Porter for a 39-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

After Maryville made it 14-7 in the second quarter, senior running back Vic Jerald capped a 69-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Leading 21-10 in the third quarter, Taylor hit Porter for an 18-yard touchdown and an 18-point lead.

Following the Scots' final touchdown, junior defensive back Jarrett White picked off a pass to end Maryville's final possession with 6:26 to play in the game. Huntingdon put together a 12-play drive to close out the game.

 

Notable Performance: The Huntingdon defense harassed and frustrated Maryville from start to finish. The defense allowed just three plays of more than 30 yards for the day, with the longest play covering 42 yards. The Scots managed five yards or less on six of their 12 possessions Saturday, including four of the first five.

As a unit, the Hawks finished with six tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception and five passes broken up.

 

Stat Leaders

Offense

Passing: Chip Taylor: 15/24 for 168 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiving: Otis Porter: 4 receptions for 72 yards, 2 TDs

Rushing: Chip Taylor: 10 rushes for 84 yards, 1 TD

Kicking:  Chase Young: 4/4 PAT; 2 touchbacks on 5 kickoffs

Defense

Tackles: Trey Hayes (10), Charlie Jones (9), Brandon Williams (8), Linell Tarver (7), Ian Theriault (7), Austin Washington (6)

Tackles For Loss: Trey Hayes (1), Brandon Williams (1), Linell Tarver (1), Ian Theriault (1), Parker Allen (1), Garrett Stacks (1)

Sacks: Trey Hayes (1), Linell Tarver (1.5), Ian Theriault (1), Trevor Henson (.5)

Interceptions: Jarrett White (1)

                                                                                                                                                           

Quick Facts: Maryville is one of Huntingdon's oldest rivalries, with the series dating to 2004. Huntingdon has a 10-2 record in the series and last lost to Maryville 27-24 in overtime in 2007 … Saturday marked the third straight game in which Huntingdon held its opponent to 16 points or less

 

Head Coach Mike Turk on Saturday's win: "Maryville is a good football team and it was a hard-fought win. I'm proud of the guys for continuing to play hard, believing in what we are doing and believing in each other. We did a lot of things right today and we made a bunch of mistakes that we need to correct, but we're happy to get out with a win. And we are very happy to be in the position we're in (at 4-0 in the conference)."

Turk on the Hawks' progress since Week 1: "We have gotten better each week. I'm just tickled to death that we're in the position we're in. We haven't fully accomplished anything yet. We still have work to do, we still have three games left and we need to win all three of them."

 

Coming Up: Huntingdon has an open week ahead and will return to action on Oct. 28 at Greensboro. Kickoff is set for noon (Central).