Return touchdowns aid Maryville's Homecoming rout of Benton

From the very beginning, Class 3 No. 2 Maryville made it abundantly clear it was ready to do some serious damage to Benton Friday night.

And man, did they ever.

Hard-charging sophomore Brody McMahon returned the opening kick-off 85 yards for a touchdown, igniting a season-best 49-point first half scoring spree that eventually gave way to a 56-7 win over Benton on Homecoming at the Hound Pound.

Maryville scored the game's first 56 points, including 49 in the first 17-plus minutes of action, before letting go of a second straight shutout late in the fourth quarter.

The final score was identical to Maryville's week four demolition of LeBlond.

"That's the way we want to execute," said Maryville head coach Matt Webb. "We came out and we were able to put the ball in the end zone and do a good job on defense. It's the combination of the process and the credit goes to the assistant coaches and the players. We got a great group of kids to coach. They're a lot of fun. We're very thankful and blessed right now."

The Hounds (6-0, 4-0) won for the sixth straight week by at least 40 points and have now outscored the opposition 307-28. This was also Maryville's sixth straight win over Benton and sixth straight on Homecoming.

Benton (1-5, 0-4) lost for the fourth straight time by at least 27 points to another of the MEC's elite squads.

Cardinal head coach Matt Tabor said Maryville was the best team they had seen to this point after facing Class 5 Ozark, Smithville, Lafayette and Savannah.

"What I told our kids at halftime was that's what a strong, fast, physical football team looks like, a premier team," said Tabor. "That's where we're trying to head. It's a good experience for our kids. What I was not happy with tonight, I thought our effort was terrible. I thought we were defeated when we got off the bus and that was disappointing. Look, they're good, and by the way, they're a class act because it could've been worse."

Maryville scored each of the first seven times it touched the ball and rolled up 357 yards of offense in the first half.

Three of their five first half scoring drives and four of six overall started in Benton territory.

McMahon and senior running back Derek Stiens combined for seven of Maryville's eight touchdowns on the night.

Stiens had four touchdowns runs of 1, 5, 33 and 59 yards, giving him 10 scores over his last three games.

He finished with 167 yards on 14 carries.

"Basically, the offensive line just clears everything out for us," said Stiens. "Everybody gets their blocks and it goes downhill from there."

McMahon totaled three touchdowns in the game, with two coming on returns.

After running back the opening kickoff for a score, McMahon took a punt back 65 yards in the second quarter.

It was his second punt return touchdown of the year and first since the LeBlond game.

"We truly work on special teams a lot," said McMahon. "I know every coach says that, but we put a lot of emphasis into it and the players have honed in to keeping that a third of the game. We're very fortunate. Brody McMahon was able to do the returns, but there's a lot of guys that made very good blocks on those returns."

McMahon, who totaled 90 yards rushing and receiving, also scored from 23 yards out on a jet sweep play in the first quarter.

Senior Peyton Mizera had two long runs on reverse plays to finish with 67 yards on five carries.

The Hounds ran for 312 yards in the game on 35 carries, an average of 8.9 yards per attempt.

"We're blessed to have some backs that can really get it," said Webb. "When you get those three with their skill sets to the second level, they can make a lot of people miss and bust those long runs."

Maryville senior quarterback Jonathan Baker completed 7-11 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns.

They were his 14th and 15th touchdown passes of the year, surpassing his total from all of last year with at least four games remaining in the season.

Baker was right on the money with his second touchdown pass to receiver Kyle Leslie from 25 yards out.

"Jonathan is a great quarterback," said Webb. "I'd take him any day of the week. He's just a fine young man. He's a good leader."

Maryville's defense held an opponent to seven points or less for the sixth straight game and the first-string unit pitched a shutout for the fifth time in six games.

Benton finished with 130 total yards, over half of which came when Maryville's reserves entered the game in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals ended Maryville's shutout bid with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Richard Bowen to Alex Summerwow with 2:18 left in the fourth quarter.

Playing with an injured finger Benton running back Dontae White broke a 51-yard run in the fourth quarter to bolster his final total to 98 yards on 14 carries. Bowen, who rotated snaps with Wildcat quarterback Summerow, was flushed from the pocket often and finished 5-10 passing for 39 yards.

The Cardinals had just 14 yards passing before the final three minutes.

Maryville defensive end Tyler Tripp led the Hounds with five tackles and three for loss. Defensive lineman Caleb Mather made 4.5 tackles, one for loss.

Safety Trent Nally thwarted Benton's best scoring chance in the first three quarters with an interception at the goal line.

"Defensive football doesn't change," said Webb. "It's about being a little bit aggressive from a mentality standpoint. It's a physical game and you got to bring the physical punch to them. Then it's about fundamentals, getting off blocks, and running to the football with an ill frame of mind and tackling extremely well. I thought we did that tonight."

McMahon set things in motion with his scintillating 85 yard return that gave Maryville a 7-0 lead 14 seconds into the game. He juked one Benton defender and split two others on the play before accelerating down the right sideline.

The Hounds regained possession at their own 46, and after working their way out of a second and 15, took a 14-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Stiens with 7:09 left in the first quarter.

White moved Benton in Hound territory for the first time with a 25-yard run, but the Cardinals stalled and punted back to the Hounds.

Maryville converted two third and 11's on its next drive with a 21-yard reverse run by Mizera and an 18-yard completion to tight end Ridge Yount.

McMahon finished a nine-play, 90-yard march with a touchdown that counted as Baker's first touchdown pass.

Maryville avoided any more long yardage situations the rest of the half by picking up at least four yards on each of its next 11 plays.

The first three of those produced a quick 33-yard scoring drive that ended with a punishing 5-yard touchdown run by Stiens.

This put Maryville up 28-0 with 11:44 left in the second quarter.

Benton was forced to punt again after another three-and-out.

Back to receive, McMahon dodged the initial wave of Cardinal defenders and raced 65 yards for a touchdown to put Maryville ahead 35-0 with 9:20 in the second.

Maryville got the ball back at the Benton 45 and scored in five plays on a pinpoint 25-yard delivery from Baker to Leslie to make it 42-0.

Benton's Emilio Whytus ran back the ensuing kick-off to the Hound 28 yard line.

Wanting to capitalize right away, Benton tried a deep ball that was picked off by Nally at the goal line and returned to the 19. After back-to-back runs totaling 22 yards, Stiens took a pitch to the right and accelerated 59 yards for a touchdown with 4:47 left in the second.

The Hounds had a chance to tack on another score before the half, but let the clock run out after advancing to the Benton 2-yard line.

Maryville was stopped for the first time on its opening drive of the third quarter, and committed just its second turnover of the year on a fumbled punt by McMahon.

Benton punted on both of its third quarter drives, and McMahon returned the second one to the Cardinal 34.

Two plays later, Stiens busted up the middle, and with Yount pushing him the final 10 yards, scored from 33 yards out to make it 56-0 with 1:00 left in the third.

Maryville's starters took a seat at the end of the third quarter, playing less than a full game for the sixth and likely final time of the regular season.

After beating up on the MEC's four weakest teams, Maryville has three games left against opponents that are a combined 15-3.

The revealing stretch begins with Smtihville Friday on Senior Night at the Hound Pound.