MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College scored on offense, defense and special teams as the Pioneers defeated Muskingum University, 29-7, Friday (April 9) evening at Don Drumm Stadium.
With the victory, Marietta retains possession of the Shrine Trophy for the fourth straight year. The Pioneers improve to 2-2 overall and 2-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Marietta finishes third in the East Division of the OAC standings and will host Wilmington College next Friday (April 16) at 7 p.m.
Muskingum falls to 0-2 on the season and 0-2 in the OAC. The Muskies finished fourth in the East and will travel to Otterbein next week.
"I'm really proud of the guys effort to come out and get the win," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "We controlled the line of scrimmage and that is the key to football. We were able to run the football with some efficiency and defensively we were able to pressure their quarterback and make him uncomfortable in the pocket."
Following a scoreless first quarter, Marietta sophomore running back Bryce Agnew ran the ball in from 10 yards out on the first play of the second quarter. The run capped a 13-play drive, 65-yard drive. Logan Alward added the point after for a 7-0 Pioneer lead.
The Muskies failed to convert on fourth and one on each of its next two possessions. The first one coming at the Marietta 5-yard line and the second one on the Pioneer 39-yard line.
After holding the Muskie the second time, Agnew took the ball up the middle and broke free for a 61-yard touchdown run. Alward's kick made it 14-0 with four minutes left in the first half.
Marietta's special teams extended the Pioneer lead midway through the third quarter. Facing a fourth down on its own 31-yard line, Muskingum lined up to punt. The kick was blocked by Chris Ryan and the ball went through the end zone for a safety and a 16-0 Pioneer lead.
On the ensuing possession, Agnew scored his third touchdown of the night. This time from six yards out. Agnew carried the ball six times for 45 yards on the 54-yard drive. The Pioneers went for the two-point conversion but were stopped short.
Agnew finished with 191 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 26 carries.
"Bryce is the heartbeat of our offense right now. We have put together great running back play in my time at Marietta and Bryce isn't taking a back seat to anybody," Waddle said. "He reminds you of the type of players we've had here before who have been all-conference and All-American. Bryce has some growth in front of him to get to that point, but he's a great player."
Trailing by 22 points late in the third quarter, the Muskies were forced to throw the ball. Darius Hatch stepped in front of a Jordan Garrett pass and returned it 60 yards for the pick-six and a 29-0 Marietta lead after Alward's point after.
Muskingum finally got on the board in the fourth quarter. Garrett engineered a 12-play, 59-yard drive for the Muskies' only points of the game. Garrett connected with Cameron Near on a 9-yard touchdown pass for the score. Gavin Costello kicked the extra point.
"Garrett did a great job getting loose on us a little bit and making some things happen with his legs," Waddle said. "He is a really good player and made some things happen."
Garrett completed 18-of-37 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown. He was picked off twice. Near caught five passes for 43 yards and the score. Near was also Muskingum's leading rusher with 27 yards on 11 carries.
Pioneer quarterback Ethan Brown completed 7-of-18 passes for 42 yards. He was intercepted once.
"I think we had some things going for us in the passing game but we had some missed opportunities with some drops and threw it to the wrong guy in the progression a couple times," waddle said. "But that part of our game is continuing to progress and we will get better next week."
Senior defensive tackle Kyle Gallagher led the Pioneer defense with 10 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for a loss and 1.0 quarterback sack. Defensive end Drake Neuberger, the OAC sack leader, added one sack and now has 7.0 on the season.