MARYVILLE, Tenn. -- Emontie Dears rushed for 173 yards and Brandon Torres kicked three field goals, including a go-ahead, 31-yarder in the fourth quarter, but Maryville squeaked by Methodist, 29-23, on Saturday afternoon at Honaker Field.
 
Following Torres' 31-yard field goal that gave MU (2-2, 0-1 USA South) a 23-21 lead with 13:47 to play, the game the Monarchs and Scots (4-0, 1-0 USA South) combined for six punts until Maryville's game-winning drive.

The Scots took possession near midfield after a Monarch drive stalled deep in their own territory. A 15-yard gain on second down allowed Maryville to cross midfield, and two plays later, a 14-yard pass from Evan Pittenger to Brady Brown gave MC 1st-and-10 at MU's 19-yard line. On 3rd-and-8 from the 17, Pittenger completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Mario Williams, then found Williams on a two-point conversion for a 29-23 lead with 1:29 on the clock.
 
With one more chance, MU picked up one first down, but for straight incompletions from its own 46-yard line turned the ball back over to MC which then used a pair of kneel downs to ice the game.
 
Methodist had fallen behind 21-0 by the 9:21 mark of the second quarter. Deshjion Whitlock scored on a two-yard run in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. Logan Winders hauled in a 24-yard scoring strike from Nick Myers early in the second for a 14-0 lead, and MC's lead grew to 21-0 when Pittenger found Williams from 34 yards out.
 
The Monarchs cut their deficit to 21-3 when Torres capped an 11-play, 45-yard drive with a 36-yard field goal with just over five minutes left in the first half. In the third quarter, Dylan DeGroot threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Radke to make it 21-10 after the Monarchs recovered a fumbled punt return. On the ensuing drive, a low snap on a punt was recovered by MU's Tevis Dasher, who returned it three yards for a touchdown and a 21-17 contest.
 
Methodist then quickly forced a three-and-out, which resulted in Torres ending a short, 30-yard drive with a 45-yard field goal to make it a 21-20 contest with 3:00 left in the third period.
 
A short punt, coupled with a kick-catch interference penalty gave the ball back to MU on Maryville's 31-yard line with 1:33 left in the third. Three carries for Dears resulted in a first down at the 19-yard line, and on fourth down from the 14, Torres put MU on top 23-21 with his 31-yard effort.
 
Dears' rushing total came on 25 carries and marked the highest single-game total for a Monarch back since Reggie Scales gained 184 yards during the 2009 season. DeGroot finished 19-of-41 passing for 167 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown. Radke had six receptions for 67 yards and a score.
 
Defensively, Bryan Bing had nine tackles, including 1.0 for loss and 0.5 sacks. Brandon Boyd had eight stops, and Zayd Stivender added five tackles with 1.5 sacks. Stalvey had 4 tackles, including 1.0 sacks.
 
Maryville was led by Chaz Rokins and Whitlock who gained 58 and 53 yards on ground, respectively. Pittenger was 12-of-21 passing for 150 yards with two touchdowns, and Williams had 76 yards receiving on five grabs with a pair of scores.
 
Gabe Johnson led the defense with 11 tackles and a forced fumble. Jonathan Clark and Kent Minor had nine tackles.
 
Methodist is on the road next week at Averett for a 6:00 pm game.