Home opener Thursday night brings Maryville Scots to Tucker Stadium
September 6, 2011

Home opener Thursday night brings Maryville Scots to Tucker Stadium

It has been 63 years since Tennessee Tech and Maryville last met on the football field. Thursday night the two schools will tangle under the lights of Tucker Stadium in the Golden Eagles' first home game of the season.

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Download or view TTU Game Notes vs. Maryville (PDF)

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. --  It has been 63 years since Tennessee Tech and Maryville last met on the football field. The two schools played three times during the decade of the 40s, with the Golden Eagles winning all three, first under coach Putty Overall in 1940, then twice under coach Hooper Eblen in 1947 and 1948.

Three generations later, the Scots will make the journey west on I-40 to visit Tech. While Maryville has played a dozen teams that are currently FCS or FBS, the Scots are stepping up a classification for the first time since the divisional split in 1979. Maryville's last game against any current Division I opponent was at Central Florida in 1979.

Both teams are looking to rebound from losses a week ago. Tech dropped a 34-7 game at the University of Iowa, while Maryville suffered a 35-7 home loss to Huntingdon College.

The game with Maryville will mark the start of Tech's 45th season in Tucker Stadium. Four of the 20 largest home-opening crowds have come in the past four years under head coach Watson Brown, including the all-time largest home opener of 12,821 against Cumberland in 2007 for his first game with the Golden Eagles.

Tech showed balance on offense, rushing for 140 yards and passing for 156 on the way to 296 yards of total offense. Senior Dontey Gay was the team's workhorse, earning his third career 100-yard game when he carried 24 times for 108 yards and a touchdown. He finished with a career-best 172 all-purpose yards.

On defense, Tech forced three Iowa fumbles. Will Johnson and Jake McIntosh led the effort with seven tackles each.

Maryville had 214 yards of offense, netting just 11 on the ground. Quarterback Tim Conner threw for 201 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked six times. Ryan Roach had seven catches for 131 yards.

Huntingdon managed 523 yards of offense, with 214 on the ground and 319 through the air.
   
Tech welcomes Military and Public Safety personnel to the game, and will observe a moment of silence in recognition of the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001.

Individual game tickets and 2011 Golden Eagle season tickets are on sale at the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center, or by calling (931) 372-3940. Tickets may also be purchased online at TTUsports.com.

Records in 2011: Tennessee Tech is 0-1 overall / 0-0 Ohio Valley Conference
            Maryville is 0-1 overall /0-0 USA South Athletic Conference
Special Events: Military and Public Safety Appreciation Night;
            Communiversity Night;  First Tennesse Bank Poster Night
Series Record: Tech leads in the all-time series, 3-0.
Tech Radio:
     Golden Eagle Sports Network (Roger Ealey, Buddy Pearson, Brandon Goodwin)
              also Teamline Direct  (Dial 216-502-3200 / enter team code 0654) - $5 per game
      Internet: www.Magic985.com for audio stream
Television: WCTE-TV
Live Stats: www.TTUsports.com
Web sites:
    Tennessee Tech - www.TTUsports.com
    Maryville - www.maryvillecollege.edu/athletics