WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Marietta College notched its first Ohio Athletic Conference win of the season with a 27-10 victory over Otterbein Saturday (Sept. 24) afternoon in Memorial Stadium. The Pioneers improve to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the OAC. The Cardinals fall to 1-3 on the season and 0-3 in conference games.
"We did a really good job offensively moving the chains and controlling the clock. Bryce (Agnew) was a workhorse and Connor (Vierstra) was really efficient in the passing game. Defensively we didn't play a ton of snaps but in the second half when they needed to throw the ball, we were able to pressure the quarterback and limit their passing game. I'm proud of our effort and excited to be able to go 1-0 on the week."
The Pioneers used a balanced offensive attack to maintain possession of the ball for most of the game. Senior running back Bryce Agnew carried the ball 31 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns. He also had four catches for 33 yards.
Junior quarterback Connor Vierstra was nearly perfect completing 16-of-19 passes for 216 yards and two scores. Evan Gandee had seven receptions for 72 yards, while Dre Baldwin had four catches for 99 yards and one touchdown.
AJ Lovin set the Pioneers up in great field position to start the game after returning the opening kickoff 40 yards to the Marietta 48-yard line. Marietta converted a pair of third down conversions on the opening drive including a 13-yard run by Vierstra and a 12-yard pass from Vierstra to Derek Witsberger for the touchdown.
After forcing Otterbein to punt on their first possession of the game, the Pioneers went on a methodical 12-play scoring drive that lasted over seven minutes. Vierstra connected with Baldwin for a 11-yard touchdown pass. Lucas Shepherd added the extra point for a 14-0 Marietta lead eight seconds into the second quarter.
Marietta dominated the time of possession in the first quarter holding the ball for over 11 of the 15 minutes in the period.
The Cardinals responded with their best drive of the afternoon to cut the deficit in half. Ahjay Cody returned the kickoff to the Otterbein 45-yard line. The Cardinals took nine plays to find the endzone as Eason Hardouin capped the drive with a 9-yard scoring strike to Damien Whaley. Caleb Meade hit the extra point making it 14-7 at halftime.
Otterbein received the second half kickoff and quickly moved the ball to the Marietta 13-yard line. The Cardinals were aided by a late hit by the Pioneers that knocked Hardouin out of the game. But three plays lost eight yards and Otterbein was forced to settle for a field goal. Meade nailed the 38-yard kick to get Otterbein within four points, 14-10, with 9:41 left in the third quarter.
Marietta answered with an 11-play drive that stalled at the Cardinal 19-yard line. Shepherd attempted a 36-yard field goal that was blocked by Taylon Howard. Otterbein couldn't keep the momentum as the Cardinals were forced to punt the ball back to Marietta.
The Pioneers took over at their own 30-yard line and needed just three plays to reach the endzone. Viertsra hit Baldwin for 48 yards on the first play of the drive and then Agnew rushed for 19 yards to the 3-yard line as the third quarter came to an end. Agnew finished the drive with a 3-yard run on the next play. The Pioneers missed the point after for a 20-10 lead with 14:55 left on the clock.
Otterbein's offensive woes continued as the Cardinals gained just six yards on five plays and were forced to punt again.
Any hopes of an Otterbein comeback were dashed when Marietta went on an 18-play scoring drive that ate over 10 minutes off the clock. Agnew scored on a 24-yard run to cap the drive and extend the lead to 27-10.
Jaelon Quiero-Gordon put the nail in Otterbein's coffin with an interception on the Cardinals' next possession.
Marietta returns home to host Baldwin Wallace next Saturday (Oct. 1) at 5:00 p.m.