For the better part of three quarters, Lafayette found itself neck and neck with Maryville at Scott Marriott Field on Friday night. Then the Spoofhounds awoke.
The Fighting Irish were held scoreless in the second half, and coughed the ball up twice — both occasions turning into points for Maryville, who won 26-14.
“We played tough, we played hard,” Lafayette head coach Eric McDowell said. "I’m just very proud of the attitude and effort they had all season long. They stayed together and despite some of the elements that all teams are dealing with, just a great group of young men. They fought their butts off tonight.”
Senior quarterback Jaron Saunders threw two touchdowns, both arriving in the first half, and one interception. The key to stopping him came through the pressure that also stopped the run.
“We were able to use some athleticism in some spots where we were bringing in a couple pass rush guys in Kade Wilmes and Tyler Siemer and get them some edge pressure which we needed to get the quarterback to step up,” Maryville head coach Matt Webb said. “I thought we were able to stop the run for the most part all night, that was huge when you can make them one dimensional.”
Scoring runs by Maryville senior Connor Weiss and junior Connor Drake, plus Saunders touchdown passes to senior Derrick May and Carlos Cortez left the game tied 14-14 at halftime.
Following three straight punts, a turnover on downs and fumble on the first five combined drives of the second half, Maryville broke loose.
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