MARYVILLE, TN - North Carolina Wesleyan's football team bounced back from last week's disappointing league loss to Christopher Newport with a 34-16 USA South road victory at Maryville College on Saturday, ruining the Scots' 2010 Homecoming. The win leaves the Blue & Gold with a 4-3 overall record and 3-1 mark in conference action.Wesleyan struck first with a 12-play, 48-yard drive that saw junior Kevin Quicker boot home a 26-yard field goal to put the Battling Bishops up 3-0 with 12:17 left in the first quarter.
The Scots struck back at the 8:36 mark. Led by a 26-yard reception from Dustin Williams to Wesley Idlette, Darrell Tate finished things up with a 1-yard touchdown run. Andrew Noboa’s kick put Maryville up 7-3, and Noboa later pushed that lead to 10-3 with a 37-yard field goal with 1:12 remaining in the first.
Kevin Quicker followed up on Noboa’s job, connecting on a 22-yard field goal to bring the Bishops back to within four, 10-6, with 14:07 on the clock during the second quarter.
After a fumbled punt by Demetrius Christian on a Bishop punt later in the period, Wesleyan took over the ball on the Maryville 2-yard line. On the next play, Teron Bush found the end zone, putting Wesleyan up 13-10 with 6:38 remaining in the half. From there, the Bishops wouldn’t look back as NCWC found six more just minutes later. A 10-play, 76-yard drive ended with Jordan Vann finding Tyreck McFadden for 14 yards and a 20-10 advantage.
The Scots were able to grab a score just before the end of the half when Noboa recorded his second field goal of the evening. The Scots trailed at halftime, 20-13.
Wesleyan again found a score off a Scot turnover to open the third quarter. Senior Antonio Harris stepped in front of Willams’ pass, returning it 72 yards to hang points on the board. Just 1:33 into the second half, the Bishops held a 27-13 advantage.
Williams led the Scots down the field on their next drive, setting up Naboa's third field goal of the evening for a 27-16 tally with 8:14 left in the third, but the Battling Bishops answered with the game's last score when Vann connected with Laqwan Bodie from 11 yards out just before the end of the quarter. Quicker’s PAT provided the 34-16 final score as neither offense would get on board over the final 15:00.
Vann finished 24-of-34 for 271 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and senior Teron Bush hauled in seven catches for 124 yards. Defensively, Harris finished with 11 tackles, the interception for a TD and sack, while James Carter added ten takedowns.
Wesleyan returns home next Saturday when the Bishops host USA South foe Methodist University. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the Northern Nash Football Complex.
