MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College scored 37 straight points as the Pioneers totally dominated No. 24 Heidelberg University en route to a 44-21 Homecoming victory Saturday (Oct. 21) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium.
The win was Marietta's first over a ranked opponent since the Pioneers defeated No. 7 Otterbein, 25-22, in 2009. The win also came in the friendly confines of Don Drumm Stadium.
"This is an awesome win for the program, the College, and our young men. I'm very proud of the way we played today," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "We felt like we needed to win third down and the battle of big plays and we did both today."
Senior running back Roger Walker showed why he was an All-American a year ago. Walker ran the ball 25 times for 189 yards and four touchdowns. The Pioneers racked up a season-high 337 yards on the ground and went over 500 total yards for the first time this year finishing with 563 total yards.
"As always it starts with running the football," Waddle said. "The offensive line and Roger Walker did a tremendous job of that. And I couldn't be prouder of the swarming pursuit by our defense."
The Pioneer defense limited Heidelberg to just 72 yards rushing and held the league's leading passer 50 yards below his average.
Heidelberg won the toss and elected to receive. The Student Princes looked like a nationally ranked team driving right down the field and scoring on the opening drive. Heidelberg covered 62 yards on seven plays scoring on a 6-yard halfback pass from Cameron Vocke to quarterback Tyler Stoyle.
Marietta set the tone for the rest of the day responding with a 10-play scoring drive of its own. Aided by a couple Student Prince penalties and a 34-yard pass completion from Darrien Fields to Ryan Van Meter, the Pioneers moved the ball to the Heidelberg 12-yard line.
Following an incomplete pass, Fields rushed for six yards and then Walker took it in from six yards out. Jimmy Embrescia added the point after to even the score, 7-7.
Fields and Van Meter hooked up again early in the second quarter. On third and 12 at their own 31-yard line, Fields hit Van Meter for what appeared to be a modest gain until the speedy receiver broke loose for a 69-yard touchdown and a 14-7 Pioneer lead.
Fields completed 16-of-29 passes for 226 yards and two tocuhdowns. Van Meter finished with five catches for 141 yards and one score.
After forcing Heidelberg to punt on the ensuing possession, the Pioneers took over at their own 21-yard line. A 15-yard run from Fields, a short run from Walker and a personal foul on Heidelberg moved the ball into Student Prince territory at the 45-yard line.
Walker then broke off a 42-yard run down to the three. Heidelberg's defense held for three plays, but Walker dove in from a yard out on fourth and goal pushing the lead to 21-7.
Embrescia added a 28-yard field goal as time ran out in the first half giving Marietta a 24-7 lead at the break.
Any hopes of a Heidelberg comeback in the second half were eliminated when Fields hit Andrew Barker on a 22-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. The point after attempt failed, but Marietta had a commanding 30-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Walker extended the Marietta lead with a 44-yard scoring scamper with 10:26 left in the game.
Heidelberg's high-powered offense finally got back on track. Stoyle hit Vocke on a 20-yard touchdown pass to cap a seven-play, 72-yard drive.
Trailing 37-14, Heidelberg was forced to try an onside kick. Marietta's Tyler Ruhl recovered the ball and the Pioneers took over in Berg territory at the 44-yard line. Field scrambled for 28 yards and three straight Walker runs resulted in another Pioneer touchdown.
The Student Princes scored the final points of the game when Vocke ran it in from six yards out making it 44-21 with 2:02 left in the game.
Stoyle finished 26-of-42 for 298 yards and one touchdown. Vocke had 11 carries for 48 yards and one touchdown. He also caught six passes for 91 yards and a score, in addition to the touchdown he threw to Stoyle.
Garrett Davis led the Pioneer defense with eight tackles. James Knox added seven stops. Trevor Summers posted 11 tackles for the Student Princes, while Terrance Cole finished with 10 tackles.
Marietta hits the road next week for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff at Ohio Northern University.
Marietta dominates #24 Heidelberg
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20171021_he66.xml
2017
Heidelberg
21
Marietta
44
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heidelberg (5-2) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Marietta (4-3) | 7 | 17 | 6 | 14 | 44 |
Oct 21, 2017