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The Farmers opened their season on October 2nd, 1909 against Maryville College, a school from Tennessee whom the Farmers had never before played. The Orange and Garnet opened their first season under head coach A. E. Mitchell a week prior with a game against the Mooney School, a boys school which had recently relocated from Murfreesboro to Harriman; this game replaced their originally-scheduled game against the Tennessee Deaf & Dumb School. Despite returning their captain A. C. Samsel for a second consecutive year at the helm of the team and "most" of the previous season's varsity players, the Blount Countians (a popular moniker derived from the name of the county in which Maryville resided) lost to the Harriman boys 0-6 (The Knoxville Sentinel, September 22nd, 1909, p. 10; The (Knoxville) Daily Journal and Tribune, September 26th, 1909, p. 7).

Maryville, of course, did not expect to win, and they freely admitted that. But the Orange and Garnet were not exactly getting the season they had hoped for. In the Spring of 1909, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) made its rules regarding extra-conference play more stringent; this forced the cancelation of the much anticipated Maryville-Tennessee game, which had been played every year since 1902 except once, along with most of the rest of their schedule (The Knoxville Sentinel, February 20th, 1909, p. 18). Riddled with debt (the Blount Countians' Athletic Association started the 1909 football season out $368) and unable to draw large crowds for home games, Maryville was forced to play a number of new, unknown teams for gate receipts money throughout North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky rather than their usual competition (Chilhowean, Vol. V (1910), p. 99).

Though no printed mention of such conflicts survives, the Farmers likely faced the same scheduling issue. Several tentatively-arranged games against SIAA members such as Sewanee and Vanderbilt all went unplayed; additionally, it will be noted that A&M did not play a single active SIAA member in football competition throughout the 1909 season. This was less of an issue for the Mechanics than Maryville as most of their current rivals were also not SIAA members, though their scheduling was, of course, impacted.

The Red and White had been in practice since mid-September, at first under the tutelage of assistant coach and 1908 star Frank Thompson. Thompson's leadership was necessitated after A&M received a last-minute telegram from their incumbent head coach, Mickey Whitehurst, to the effect that he was retiring from coaching and relinquishing the position. To replace him, the Aggies selected Eddie L. Greene, a former Penn player. Greene had spent the previous season coaching at North Carolina; in his first year as a head coach, Greene accumulated a 3-3-3 record.

The Farmers had a strong bunch of returning players, including stars Von Glahn, Stevens, Bray--all players who were expected to leave following the end of the 1908 season. Several former sub players were expected to have expanded roles in the coming team: those players included Floyd, Stafford, Dunn, and "Ducthy" Seifert, star of the VPI game last season. Additionally, new players Glenn (former captain of Asheville's strong Robert Bingham School), Sarratt, and Von Eberstein were strong contenders from among the roughly fifty men who tried out for the team (Red and White, Vol. XI No. 1 (September 1909), pp. 41-43).

Coach Greene was putting his men through a strict workout regime; referring to the campus's army drill sergeant, one paper noted that "Lieutenant Young's 'Saturday Afternoon Discipline' is nothing compared with the work that Coaches Greene and Thompson daily put towards their squads through." Despite Maryville's open resignation to their fate, Raleigh papers wrote about the game with excitement, claiming that the Orange and Garnet had "the best team they have ever had" and that they had a strong team (News and Observer, September 26th, 1909, p. 11).

The game was planned to come off promptly at 3:30 PM on the afternoon of October 2nd. The Blount Countians, sixteen strong, arrived the night before; upon arrival, they were described as "big, husky fellows" (News and Observer, October 2nd, 1909, p. 3; The Raleigh Evening Times, October 2nd, 1908, p. 3). The Farmers outweighed the Maryville squad by 12 pounds, with each team averaging 172 pounds and 160 pounds, respectively; A&M's men were also reported to be faster (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 4th, 1908, p. 7).

The game started 20 minutes late, with Maryville defending the southern goal with A&M kicking off. Robertson, of A&M, kicked off to Maryville's 20-yard line, where Maryville's return man fumbled the ball; the Orange and Garnet lost 5 yards before another Maryville man jumped on the ball. On the first drive of the game, Maryville made 35 yards on "a beautiful forward pass"; this was the Blount Countians' only first down of the day. On the very next play, Maryville tried a second forward pass, but this one failed; an A&M man landed on the ball, ending Maryville's first possession.

Upon getting the ball, the superiority of the Farmers was immediately obvious. Robertson gained up a 3 yard gain by Stafford with a 9 yard run of his own. Long one-upped his teammate by making a 15-yard run of his own. Robertson finished off the drive with a 10-yard run across Maryville's goal line. Stevens kicked the goal, making the score 6-0 in favor of the Mechanics after just 3-4 minutes of play (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 4th, 1908, p. 7). After the first touchdown, "the Tennessee lads seemed to play listless and in a kind of a 'don't care' manner," having realized that their defeat was inevitable.

Following the touchdown, Maryville kicked off to A&M's 25-yard line, where Floyd caught the kick and carried it 30 yards to the center of the field. On the very next play, Stevens matched Floyd's effort, carrying the another 30 yards, to Maryville's 25-yard line. Stafford came back down to earth with an 8 yard run, which was followed with a 5 yard pickup by "Bullet" Long. After another 5 yards by Stafford, Robertson earned his second consecutive touchdown with a 5-yard run across the goal line. A&M attempted a kick out for the goal kick, but Bray was unable to perform the fair catch, making the score 11-0 in favor of the Red and White after roughly 10 minutes of play (Greensboro Daily News, October 3rd, 1909, p. 6).

This time, Maryville elected to receive the kick off. Robertson booted the ball to the Orange and Garnet 15-yard line; Maryville's returner carried it to the 25 before he was downed by Stafford. The Blount Countians attempted a third consecutive forward pass, but failed again; this time, they were penalized 15 yards for the incomplete pass. During the play, Hartzell was hurt; he was relieved by Haynes. Starting from their own 5 yard line, Maryville went to punt. The center, Anderson, snapped the ball over the head of Jim Burnett, his punter, Burnett. Burnett attempted to carry the ball back across the goal line to avoid the sack, but failed, being tackled "from all quarters" by "no less than four of the A. and M. boys." Burnett lost consciousness and began convulsing on the field; he was taken out of the remainder of the game, but was medically cleared later at A&M's hospital. He was replaced by Jenkins. The score became 13-0.

Maryville punted from their own 25-yard line; unfortunately for the Orange and Garnet, the ball went out-of-bounds at their own 40-yard line. On his first run since being put in, Haynes gor 4 yards; on the next, Von Glahn got 13 yards. After a few undescribed scrimmages, Stafford crossed the line for A&M's third touchdown. Though N&O reported that Stevens missed the kick, as will be explained later he most likely did not, making the score 19-0.

The next play was described as "the most sensational and spectacular" play of the game. Maryville delivered a long kick to A&M's 5-yard line. "Shorty" Long received the kick, fumbling it at furst, but then ccollecting the ball and speeding 60 yards down field, dodging ten tacklers before finally being taken down by Maryville's quarterback. The next play was a "perfect forward pass" from Stevens to Seifert for the remaining 45 yards. Stevens made another successful goal kick of the day to put the Farmers up 25-0. The entire drive took just one minute (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 4th, 1908, p. 7).

Following this score, A&M kicked off. Stafford's kick was so strong that it went behind the goal line, resulting in a touchback. Maryville started the next drive at her own 25-yard line. The Blount Countians' first drive was snuffed yet again on another forward pass attempt; the Mechanics landed on the ball at the 20 yard line. On the next play A&M fumbled the ball, giving control right back to Maryville on their own 22-yard line.

For the first time in the game, the Orange and Garnet did not attempt to pass; their rushing attack did not fare much better. Maryville lost 5 yards on two attempted line bucks and then attempted to punt. The punt went out of bounds once again, giving the Mechanics the ball at the Maryville 35-yard line. On his very first rush, Stevens gained 25 yards on a run around right end. After a five yard run by Long, Robertson punched the ball through the line for his third touchdown of the game. Stevens successfully made the goal kick of the game, putting the Aggies up 31-0.

Maryville kicked off to A&M once again; Stevens caught the kick and returned it 20 yards. A&M's second forward pass of the game resulted in an incompletion and Maryville possession on the Maryville 45-yard line. The Blount Countians attempted two runs, this time once through the line and once around the right end, however once again Maryville failed to gain. On a desperate third down attempt, the Orange and Garnet attempted a forward pass, but this once again failed. A&M recovered the ball just as the first half, which lasted 17-1/2 minutes, was ending. The ball was at midfield.

There is much disagreement about the length of the halves of the game. N&O gave no estimation of the length of the halves, while The Evening Times and Red and White reported that the first half was 20 minutes long; The Evening Times failed to mention a second half time estimate, while Red and White wrote the second half was 15 minutes long. The Charlotte Daily Observer reported that the first half was 30 minutes long and the second half 8 minutes long; this estimate is almost certainly flawed, or at the very least a typo. The student paper of Maryville, Maryville College Monthly, had what was in my opinion the most logical estimate, writing that both halves were 17-1/2 minutes long (Red and White, Vol. XI No. 2 (October 1909), p. 96; Charlotte Daily Observer, October 3rd, 1909, p. 3; Maryville College Monthly, Vol. XII No. 1 (November 1909), p. 35).

A second discrepancy related to the halves is just what the score was at half-time. The report in The Evening Times reported the score as being 31-0 and added that Stevens missed only one goal kick. Though this directly opposes the detailed writeup in News and Observer, after the first touchdown in the second half the score increases by six points despite Stevens reportedly missing the kick, insinuating that a point was mistallied. Adding a third kink to the number crunching is the fact that Charlotte Daily Observer reported the score as 38 points, which would track if the description reported in News and Observer is actually correct. However, the number of sources which report the final score as 39-0 make it seem most likely that the Observer simply made a mistake in its reporting.

Between the halves, Greene substituted most of the team's backups in. Maryville kicked off to start the second half; Robertson received the kick off at the 10 yard line and carried the ball all the way to midfield, running 45 yards. The Mechanics fumbled the ball for just the second time that day, giving Maryville possession of the ball on the 40-yard line. On their first play of the second half, Maryville attempted to make a run through the line but failed.

On the following play, Maryville attempted to run around left end. Seifert made a "beautiful play" in breakng up the run, but unfortunately was hurt in the process. "Dutchy" had to be taken out for the remainder of the game; he was replaced by Hall. On the very next play, the excitement continued: Robertson lept into the air to intercept a "perfectly thrown" Maryville forward pass. Robertson's interception was "decidedly the prettiest defensive play of the game." Had Robertson missed the ball, reports estimated that Maryville would have gained "at least twenty or thirty yards, if not a touchdown" (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 4th, 1908, p. 7). After Stevens was held to just a 1 yard gain, the quarterback redoubled his efforts and made 10 yards around left end. On the very next play, Von Glahn broke through Maryville's line to make a 20-yard touchdown run, eluding at least five tackles in the process. Stevens missed the goal kick, making the score 36-0.

On the next kickoff, Hall either made an onside kick or muffed the kickoff; either way, the ball was recovered by the Red and White. On the following play, Stevens executed an end run for 30 yards. Following a series of line plunges, the Farmers eventually carried the ball across the Maryville goal line a seventh touchdown, but the Farmers were called back for being offsides, for which they were penalized 15 yards. Instead, Hall dropped back 10 yards to kick a field goal from the Maryville 25. His attempt was successful, netting the Farmers 3 points and making the score 39-0.

Maryville kicked off to A&M for the final time in the game. Though none of the final drive was described, it is known that the game ended with the ball in A&M hands near midfield. Though it's not known when, some time in the second half (probably during this series) Maryville managed to hold A&M on downs for the first time all game (News and Observer, October 3rd, 1909, p. 10).

According to most reports, the stars of the game for the Farmers seemed to include most of the active team. The universally-acknowledged star of the game was Robertson, for his three touchdowns and stellar interception, just the second successful interception of a forward pass in A&M history. Other favorites were Stevens, Von Glahn, Long, and Seifert. News and Observer also zeroed in on two locals, Stafford and Haynes, as well as Keasler, who replaced Stafford in the second half. Raleigh's Evening Times added Dunn and Bray to the list of honored players, as well as Hall for his field goal. Charlotte's Observer praised Glenn for his work on the line.

Though the teams were considered "too unevenly matched to make the game interesting" or to learn anything of the comparative strengths of the two teams, the result did shine favorably upon A&M. Maryville's Coach Mitchell proclaimed that his team was currently stronger than the team which last year held Vanderbilt to "a small score" (32-0) and future oponent Kentucky to just 10. Additionally, analysts noted that the team was much more advanced in terms of skills and endurance than usual at this point in the season (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 4th, 1908, p. 7). This was partially due to Greene's training regiment--the players would run around the field "a time or two" at the end of each practice--though it was also noted that the men also played better under pressure and tackled better than they traditionally did during their first game (News and Observer, October 2nd, 1909, p. 3).

Perhaps an obvious statement, but manager McLendon later confirmed that the team chose not to run up the score on Maryville. "Our boys could have run up a much larger score," McLendon said, "but there was nothing to gain by it." McLendon also added that the team chose to hold back due to risk of injury (News and Observer, October 14th, 1909, p. 3).

Maryville's football season did not get much easier as time went on. Two days later, the Blount Countians met Wake Forest on the Baptists' home field and lost the game 0-3. A week later, they traveled to Danville where they faced Central University (now Centre College) in a match they lost 0-40. Things finally started looking up for the Orange and Maroon the next week, when they took down the Tennessee Deaf & Dumb School 23-0. The next week, Maryville hastily replaced a canceled game against Grant University (now Tennessee Wesleyan) with a match against Maryville Polytechnic School which they won 26-0. A week later was the most-anticipated game on Maryville's schedule, against Berea; the Orange and Garnet defeated the Kentuckians 24-0. The Blount Countians closed their season with a Thanksgiving matchup against Chattanooga University (now UT Chattanooga) which they lost 6-20, though it should be noted that complaints of biased officiating were levied by Maryville. In total, Maryville closed her season with a 3-5 record which surprisingly was considered by her yearbook committee to be the second best record in school history, trailing only their successful (3-3-2) 1906 season, which saw the team tie Georgia Tech and Auburn in addition to pulling off a victory over Tennessee and holding both Alabama and Ole Miss to single-score contests.

Maryville College Monthly contained some glowing reviews of A&M, both on and off the field. Their captain, A. C. Samsel, claimed that of the strong Southern teams Maryville had played in the last four years (among them the 1905 and 1907 SIAA Champions--Vanderbilt and Alabama Polytechnic Institute, or Auburn, respectively--in addition to perennial powerhouses Sewanee, Georgia Tech, and Kentucky), A&M was "the best team he has ever seen go on the field."

In fact, the MCM dedicated nearly two pages to the description of their trip to Raleigh, writing that it was "altogether appropriate" to give "a few words of commendation" to the Farmers. The journal wrote of their treatment by A&M and the "German" dance thrown by the school fondly:

Surely there is not a college in the South where there is so much of what is known as college spirit; and surely Maryville never received more hospitable treatment than that given her by the boys of A. and M. Burnett, soon after he was injured, was taken to the college hospital, where he was well cared for by [Hospital Matron, 1909-1922] Mrs. Ella I. Harris. Mrs. Harris also dressed the wounds of a number of the other M. C. boys who were injured in this game.

A dance was given Saturday evening by the German Club in honor of the M. C. boys. The Maryville boys will remember this defeat with a degree of sadness, but they will longer remember the kindness received at the hands of Mrs. Harris and the boys of A. and M.