MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College scored early and often as the Pioneers dominated Wilmington College, 63-21, on Homecoming Saturday (Oct. 13) afternoon in front of a near-capacity crowd at Don Drumm Stadium.
"The atmosphere today was awesome," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "I think a lot of people are seeing the good things that are happening at Marietta College and why we are so excited about the future of Marietta College football."
Senior quarterback Darrien Fields led the Pioneers to victory on the field and was crowned Homecoming king. Women's Basketball senior Jo Herd-Middlebrooks was crowned queen.
The Pioneers run their winning streak to six games and is 6-0 for the first time since 1920. Marietta is tied with No. 1 ranked Mount Union for first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference with a 5-0 league record. Wilmington slips to 1-5 overall and 0-5 in the OAC.
"I thought we were very efficient offensively," Waddle said. "We did a great job of getting ourselves into the right play and it shows in our averaging over seven yards per rush and our quarterbacks completing 23 of 25 passes. I'm really happy with the way we performed offensively."
Marietta received the opening kickoff and needed just six plays to reach the end zone. Tanner Clark capped the 64-yard drive with a 15-yard run for the first of his two touchdowns in the game. Jimmy Embrescia added the extra point.
The Pioneer defense was equally impressive in its first series on the field. Wilmington put the ball in play at its own 25-yard line and lost seven yards on the first two plays and was forced to punt. The Quaker punt covered just two yards giving the ball to the Pioneers on the Wilmington 20-yard line.
Fields hit Maguire Morris for 12 yards and then found Robert Nelson in the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown. Following the Embrescia point after, Marietta led 14-0 with 9:27 left in the first quarter.
Wilmington refused to lay down and responded with an impressive 19-play scoring drive that covered 97 yards and took 11:30 off the clock. Kyle Barrett hit Luke Richardson on a 3-yard scoring strike and Tyler Butcher added the extra point making it a seven-point game, 14-7, with 12:57 remaining in the first half.
Marietta dowsed any hopes of a Quaker upset with 21 straight points to end the second quarter. Fields connected with Bobby Cashaw on a 2-yard touchdown, Clark scored on a 4-yard run and then Fields hooked up with Nelson for a 37-yard hail Mary on an untimed down to end the half.
Barrett and Richardson burned the Pioneer defense on a 71-yard touchdown pass to start the third quarter. But Marietta answered with a pair of touchdown passes from Fields to Morris. One for 18 yards and one for 19 yards pushing the lead to 49-14 heading into the final period.
"Defensively, I thought we did some good things," Waddle said. "Obviously, we're disappointed in the big touchdown in the third quarter. We have to be better than that. There are some things we need to work on."
Freshman Justin Bell added a 10-yard rushing touchdown and Backup quarterback Kyle McSweeney hit Billy Frauens on a 15-yard scoring strike in the fourth quarter.
Fields threw the ball with surgical precision all day completing 19-of-21 passes for 208 yards and five touchdowns. McSweeney completed all four of his pass attempts for 62 yards and one touchdown.
Nelson had six receptions for 79 yards and two scores, while Morris caught six passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns.
Clark finished with 125 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Bell carried the ball six times for 45 yards and a score, while Howie Reid gained 33 yards on only four carries.
Linebacker Caleb Boy led the Pioneer defense with 12 tackles. Garrett Davis added seven tackles, while Javi Zaragoza had an interception to go along with four tackles.
Barrett completed 21-of-30 passes for the Quakers and finished with 253 yards and three touchdowns. Richardson had four catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns. DJ Chambers rushed for 57 yards on 16 carries.
Marietta will take a shot at history next week. The Pioneers travel to University Heights for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff at John Carroll University. Marietta has never started a season 7-0 in the 124-year history of the program. MC has also never beaten John Carroll. The Pioneers are 0-29-1 against the Blue Streaks.
"We have an awesome opportunity ahead of us," Waddle said. "It is a great opportunity to play a legitimate top-10 team in the country. But we need to stay focused. John Carroll is a very talented team."
Marietta is on the verge of history after dominating win over Wilmington
/seasons/2018/boxscores/20181013_oq8f.xml
2018
Wilmington
21
Marietta
63
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington (1-5) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Marietta (6-0) | 14 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 63 |
Oct 13, 2018