Connor Vierstra and the Marietta offense held the lead going into the fourth quarter at Mount Union last Saturday before the Purple Raiders pulled it out. Marietta athletics photo by Rebecca Wheeler

By Joe Sager
D3sports.com

Next Saturday kicks off the NCAA Division III playoffs.

For Marietta, though, they start this week.

The Pioneers’ schedule played out that their two most crucial Ohio Athletic Conference games came during the final two weeks of the regular season. After losing this past Saturday at Mount Union, this week is basically a win-or-go-home scenario.

Mount Union’s 28-21 win locked up the OAC title and automatic playoff bid for the No. 5 Purple Raiders (9-0). The defeat stung the No. 22 Pioneers (8-1), especially, since they saw a 21-14 lead evaporate in the final 4:54.

“I felt that loss. It sucked,” Marietta senior defensive lineman Chance Knight said. “But, I know we still have this week and, possibly, things after this week. So, I am just looking ahead. I am not getting hung up on that because there’s still more to come.”

Mount Union scored the go-ahead touchdown with 32 seconds remaining when backup quarterback T.J. DeShields, filling in for the injured Noah Beaudrie, found Tyrell Sanders for a highlight-reel 27-yard TD.

“Their guys made a couple really good plays, in particular, a really great throw and catch at the end of the game. You don’t see guys make that throw and catch very often,” Marietta coach Andy Waddle said. “Now, there are things we could have done to be better in our defense of the play, but you have to give credit to Mount Union.

“I don’t think it was we let up or we changed our approach. The flow of the game didn’t work out for us,” he continued. “The game of football isn’t about what happens in the final five minutes of a game. We made some plays to give us positive situations to be there late in the game. Also, we had things that didn’t go our way and things we’d like to get corrected. I am sure Mount Union can say the same thing.”

While the loss cost the Pioneers an unbeaten season, it didn’t end the campaign. That’s been the message this week as they prepare for a pivotal battle with John Carroll (7-2) in what is essentially a play-in game for an at-large playoff berth.

“A big thing for us is just being 1-0 each week. We couldn’t do that last week even though I thought our team played a great game. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but we have to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” said Marietta quarterback Connor Vierstra, who passed for 266 yards and two scores against Mount Union. “It’s always a challenge coming back, especially from a loss like that. But, our team is full of seniors and fifth-year players, so I am not worried about it. I think our guys have been doing a good job so far. That loss lit a fire under our butts, so it might be a good thing for us.”

Marietta extracted the positives from that game and identified areas of improvement as it prepares for the Blue Streaks, who have won their past seven in a row by an average of 46.1-11.0.

“We have a veteran group. They know that John Carroll is a good football team,” Waddle said. “We don’t have to play a perfect game; we don’t want our guys uptight about trying to do that. We just need to focus on doing the things we need to do in order to give ourselves the best chance at creating opportunities. They understand it’s going to be a really hard-fought game between two good teams, most likely a playoff berth on the line.”

The Pioneers hope their maturity remains a strength in hitting the reset button this week. The squad starts 16 seniors.

“Just the experience alone on our team is a big reason we are where we are at. After a loss like that and with the experience we have, the amount of mistakes we made will not show up again. Yeah, we made some mistakes, but you won’t see those mistakes the rest of the season,” Vierstra said. “Coming into that game, we knew who we were and what our identity was. We knew that game would really test us. We really realized what we can do now; we know we can compete with anyone who wants to compete with us on any given Saturday.

“This game is just as big as last week’s game, if not bigger now. I talked to the fifth-year players and a lot of the seniors on the team. My message was that I don’t want this game to be my last game. A lot of guys opened their eyes pretty big about that, starting to realize that. We’re doing everything we can, preparation-wise, this week to make sure it’s not our last game.”

“We know it’s going to be a big test,” Knight added. “We know our competition is going to be hitting their stride just like us. Both teams have played nine games and we’re both better because of it. May the best team win.”