FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Maryville College defeated the Methodist football team, 24-23, in the season finale for both team on Saturday afternoon at Monarch Stadium.
 
The game featured three scores in the final 3:23 and MU had a chance to win the game after recovering on onside kick with less than five seconds remaining, but Max Reber's Hail Mary pass was batted away on the game's final play.
 
Trailing 17-14 in the fourth quarter, the Scots' Eddie Brock intercepted Reber at the Maryville 48 and returned it to the MU 36 yard line. Seven plays later, Trenton Shuler scored on an 11-yard run to push MC in front, 21-17, following Wesley Bloeme's PAT. On the Monarchs' ensuing drive, Reber was sacked by Jonathan Clark and fumbled, which was recovered by MC's Kent Minor at the Monarchs' 35 yard line.
 
The Scots advanced the ball to the MU 15 yard line where, on 4th-and-9, Bloeme converted a 32-yard field goal that gave the Scots a 24-17 lead with 1:19 to play.
 
With no timeouts, the Monarchs moved the ball to the Maryville 31 yard line, and on 3rd-and-10, Reber hooked up with Dedric Bowman for a touchdown that pulled Methodist within a point at 24-23. Following the play, MU was assess a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty which forced the PAT try to come from 15 yards further away. Ausherman's attempt to tie the game was pushed wide left and the Monarchs still trailed 24-23 with five seconds to play.
 
On the ensuing onside kick, the Scots touched the ball before it reached 10 yards and MU came up with the ball and were set up for one final play from their its own 35 yard line. Reber's Hail Mary pass was batted away inside the five yard line by MC's Calvin Short and the Scots hung on for the win.
 
The Monarchs had taken a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on Noah Shuler's three-yard scoring plunge with 4:29 on the clock. Maryville scored the only points of the second quarter, taking a 14-7 lead into the break. The Scots tied the game at 7-7 on Eddie Brock's two-yard run, and went in front when Evan Pittenger threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Jared Miller with 6:21 left in the quarter.
 
In the third period, MU surged ahead 17-14 as John Papillion scored on a four-yard run and Ausherman converted a 34-yard field goal with 5:38 left in the period. The field goal was the 30th of Ausherman's career and set a new career record for Methodist kickers.
 
For the game, Reber completed 22-of-46 passes for 172 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown. Anthony Radke led MU with six receptions for 51 yards. Papillion gained 56 yards on 11 carries, and Shuler carried the ball 13 times for 56 yards and each player scored once.
 
Bryan Bing led the Monarch defense with 10 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and a sack. D.J. Payne had seven tackles, and Ziere Diggs had a pair of tackles, two pass breakups and an interception.
 
Pittenger completed 16-of-33 passes for 111 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Bryan Horton had six receptions for 108 yards, and Trenton Shuler led MC's ground game with 55 yards on 16 carries.
 
Defensively, Gabe Johnson had nine tackles and Jonathan Clark had seven tackles, for loss, with a pair of sacks.
 
Maryville finishes the season with a 7-3 record and a 6-2 mark in conference play, while Methodist concludes 2014 at 6-4 overall and 5-3 in league play.