MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College got big plays on both sides of the ball as the Pioneers defeated Geneva College, 35-24, Saturday (Sept. 1) evening in front of 4,100-plus fans at Don Drumm Stadium. It was the season-opener for both schools.
"It was pretty awesome to be a part of the opening the field. I could see the tailgaters from my office before the game and it was just a different atmosphere," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "There weren't many seats open in the stands, the student section was alive and our guys fed off of that. And then the fireworks at the end. It was a great night."
The Navy Blue and White scored five touchdowns in the game with four of them coming from over 20 yards out. After getting on the board with a one-yard dive from Tanner Clark in the first quarter, MC would score on a 22-yard run, 53-yard fumble recovery, 30-yard run and a 62-yard pass.
The touchdown on defense was huge. They had a little bit of momentum and that kind of jumpstarted us," Waddle said. "I think Jake Tracewell got a really big hit on him and held him up and then Caleb stripped the ball and took it all the way back."
Clark, playing in his first game as the Pioneers' featured running back after the graduation of All-American Roger Walker, averaged 6.7 yards per carry running for 128 yards on 19 touches. Clark found pay dirt three times on runs of one, 22 and 30 yards.
Marietta jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Clark dove in from a yard out to cap a nine-play, 65-yard drive. Geneva answered with 10 straight points for their only lead of the night, 10-7, with 8:37 left in the first half.
Clark put the Pioneers back in front for good with his second score of the night. This time on a 22-yard scamper. Jimmy Embrescia added the second of his five extra points for a 14-10 MC lead.
On the second play of Geneva's next possession, linebacker Caleb Boy stripped the ball from Trewon Marshall and took it to the house scoring on a 53-yard fumble return. Marietta took a 21-10 lead into halftime.
After forcing the Golden Tornadoes to punt on the first possession of the second half, Marietta needed just four plays to extend its lead to 28-10. Clark scored from 30 yards out for his third touchdown of the game.
Geneva, behind the running of Marshall, refused to go away quietly. Marshall scored his second touchdown of the night with 1:31 left in the third quarter to make it 28-16. The point after failed when the snap was bobbled. Marshall, a preseason All-American, finished with 194 yards on 26 carries in the triple option attack.
"They are a challenge on both sides of the ball," Waddle said. "What they do defensively is a challenge because it's a little different than what we are going to see any other week. And what they do offensively is definitely a lot different than we'll see the rest of the year. They have a tremendous running back and a big physical offensive line."
The Pioneers answered right back. Senior quarterback Darrien Fields hit Andrew Barker on a 62-yard scoring strike pushing the Marietta lead to 19 points, 35-16, heading into the fourth quarter.
Fields completed 15-of-21 passes for 200 yards and the one score. Barker was his primary target catching four passes for 91 yards.
The Golden Tornadoes managed one more touchdown in the final period when Levi Cook scored on a one-yard run five minutes into the fourth quarter.
Senior linebacker Garrett Davis led the Pioneer defense totaling a game-high 12 tackles. Boy and defensive lineman Casey Huhn each made nine stops in the game.
Marietta opens Ohio Athletic Conference play next Saturday (Sept. 8) when Capital University visits Don Drumm Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. The Crusaders fell at Mount St. Joseph, 59-21, in their opener.
Fans can follow all of the Pioneer teams all year long at pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College got big plays on both sides of the ball as the Pioneers defeated Geneva College, 35-24, Saturday (Sept. 1) evening in front of 4,100-plus fans at Don Drumm Stadium. It was the season-opener for both schools.
"It was pretty awesome to be a part of the opening the field. I could see the tailgaters from my office before the game and it was just a different atmosphere," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "There weren't many seats open in the stands, the student section was alive and our guys fed off of that. And then the fireworks at the end. It was a great night."
The Navy Blue and White scored five touchdowns in the game with four of them coming from over 20 yards out. After getting on the board with a one-yard dive from Tanner Clark in the first quarter, MC would score on a 22-yard run, 53-yard fumble recovery, 30-yard run and a 62-yard pass.
The touchdown on defense was huge. They had a little bit of momentum and that kind of jumpstarted us," Waddle said. "I think Jake Tracewell got a really big hit on him and held him up and then Caleb stripped the ball and took it all the way back."
Clark, playing in his first game as the Pioneers' featured running back after the graduation of All-American Roger Walker, averaged 6.7 yards per carry running for 128 yards on 19 touches. Clark found pay dirt three times on runs of one, 22 and 30 yards.
Marietta jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Clark dove in from a yard out to cap a nine-play, 65-yard drive. Geneva answered with 10 straight points for their only lead of the night, 10-7, with 8:37 left in the first half.
Clark put the Pioneers back in front for good with his second score of the night. This time on a 22-yard scamper. Jimmy Embrescia added the second of his five extra points for a 14-10 MC lead.
On the second play of Geneva's next possession, linebacker Caleb Boy stripped the ball from Trewon Marshall and took it to the house scoring on a 53-yard fumble return. Marietta took a 21-10 lead into halftime.
After forcing the Golden Tornadoes to punt on the first possession of the second half, Marietta needed just four plays to extend its lead to 28-10. Clark scored from 30 yards out for his third touchdown of the game.
Geneva, behind the running of Marshall, refused to go away quietly. Marshall scored his second touchdown of the night with 1:31 left in the third quarter to make it 28-16. The point after failed when the snap was bobbled. Marshall, a preseason All-American, finished with 194 yards on 26 carries in the triple option attack.
"They are a challenge on both sides of the ball," Waddle said. "What they do defensively is a challenge because it's a little different than what we are going to see any other week. And what they do offensively is definitely a lot different than we'll see the rest of the year. They have a tremendous running back and a big physical offensive line."
The Pioneers answered right back. Senior quarterback Darrien Fields hit Andrew Barker on a 62-yard scoring strike pushing the Marietta lead to 19 points, 35-16, heading into the fourth quarter.
Fields completed 15-of-21 passes for 200 yards and the one score. Barker was his primary target catching four passes for 91 yards.
The Golden Tornadoes managed one more touchdown in the final period when Levi Cook scored on a one-yard run five minutes into the fourth quarter.
Senior linebacker Garrett Davis led the Pioneer defense totaling a game-high 12 tackles. Boy and defensive lineman Casey Huhn each made nine stops in the game.
Marietta opens Ohio Athletic Conference play next Saturday (Sept. 8) when Capital University visits Don Drumm Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. The Crusaders fell at Mount St. Joseph, 59-21, in their opener.