FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Tyree Stidem hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Xavier Adams with 47 seconds to play to lift the Methodist football team to a 24-20 win over The Apprentice School on Saturday afternoon at Monarch Stadium.
 
Following the scoring play, MU (1-0) was able to force a fumble on the Builders' (0-1) next drive and after TAS forced an MU punt to get the ball back with three seconds later, Tevis Dasher forced another fumble on the game's final play to seal the win in Methodist Head Coach Keven Williams' debut. Brandon Johnson opened MU's scoring with a 64-yard punt return late in the first quarter.
 
Adams added a five-yard scoring run for the Monarchs in the second quarter for a 14-13 lead, and Landon Cheviron's 18-yard field goal following a shanked punt that gave MU possession at the Builders' three yard line pushed MU's lead to 17-13 at the 7:05 mark of the third quarter.
 
Apprentice took a 20-17 lead with 13 seconds left in the third quarter when Ethan Bryce caught a 36-yard touchdown pass.
 
OF NOTE:
- Adams, making his first career start, finished 13 of 26 passing for 162 yards with two interceptions and the game-winning touchdown pass. He also led all players with 99 yards rushing on 13 carries and one more touchdown.
- E'Montie Dears added 87 yards on the ground on 19 carries as part of a 196-yard effort on the ground for the Monarchs.
- Special teams played a large role in the contest. In addition to Johnson's 64-yard punt return, he had a 41-yard kick return. Matt Brown averaged 34.8 yards per punt and pinned two inside the 20 yard line. Cheviron, seeing his first career action, averaged 50.4 yards per kickoff but was 1 for 3 on field goal attempts. For the Builders, William Martin had a punt of -3 yards that gave MU prime field position, and a poor choice to bring a kick out of the end zone resulted in a return of just 10 yards.
- Defensively, the Monarchs were led by the linebacking duo of Mark Stanford and Dasher. Stanford had nine tackles, seven solo, including three tackles for a loss and a sack. Dasher finished with six stops, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. In all, MU forced four turnovers on the day.
- Brandon Jones led the Builders with 49 yards rushing on 16 carries and Brenden O'Neill and Terrence Sudberry combined to complete 12 of 27 passes for 233 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
- Bryce had 81 yards receiving on four grabs and scored twice, and was one of three Apprentice receivers to record a reception of at least 36 yards.
 
The Monarchs hit the road next week when they play at Guilford beginning at 7:00 pm.