COLUMBUS, Ohio — Marietta College erupted for 23 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 37-7 victory at Capital University Saturday (Sept. 25) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference football. The Pioneers improve to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the OAC, while Capital slips to 1-2 on the season and 0-2 in conference games.
"We started out really hot on our first two series of the game and got it in the endzone twice," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "We had a little bit of a breakdown on defense and gave up the big play on the double pass that allowed Capital to get on the board."
The Pioneers wasted little time grabbing the lead. After forcing Capital to punt on the opening possession of the game, Marietta went with its tempo offense and drove quickly down the field for a touchdown.
Connor Vierstra started the drive with an 18-yard completion to Dawson Snyder and then three straight rushes from Bruce Agnew resulted in 40 yards. Vierstra capped the drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Austin Veatch. Matthew Haus added the extra point for a 7-0 Pioneer lead.
"Connor did a really nice job today. He completed over 70 percent of his passes and our receivers did a good job of catching the ball," Waddle said. "That has been a real focus of ours and we took a big step in our passing game today."
Marietta's defense forced a three-and-out on Capital's next possession giving the MC offense the ball in Capital territory at the 42-yard line. Vierstra completed all four passes on the drive, including a 6-yard scoring strike to Clay Mastin. Following the Haus PAT, the Pioneers led 14-0 with 3:34 left in the first quarter.
Capital got on the board early in the second quarter ending a streak of eight scoreless quarters for the Marietta defense. Trevor Harrison-Rawn connected with Mike Smith on a 10-yard touchdown pass cutting the deficit in half, 14-7, with 14:50 left in the half.
Capital had a golden opportunity to tie the game late in the second quarter. Marietta was called for pass interference in the endzone giving CU the ball at the 2-yard line. Two incomplete passes and a loss of one on a run left Capital with fourth down at the 3-yard line. The Crusaders elected to kick the 20-yard field goal, but Dominick Glenn blocked the kick to keep the score 14-7.
Both defenses took control as neither team scored in the rest of the first half and all the third quarter.
Marietta added two points when Capital was called for intentional grounding in its own endzone extending the Pioneer lead to 16-7 with 9:22 left in the game. Drake Neuberger and Vic Giovengo wrapped up Capital quarterback Jake Woycke who tried to throw the ball away to avoid the sack but was called for the penalty.
"We really played with a sense of urgency on defense today. The safety was the turning point in the game," Waddle said. "That separated us a little bit from them and then we got a nice return to setup a quick score and Bryce put the game away with his long run."
Following the safety, the Pioneers drove the ball to the Capital 1-yard and had the ball first and goal. The Crusaders stuffed Agnew on three straight plays forcing Marietta to make a decision on fourth down. Waddle elected to go for it and Vierstra faked the hand off to Agnew and ran it in himself for the touchdown.
Vierstra's touchdown was the first of three for the Pioneers in the final six minutes of the game. Agnew broke a 45-yard touchdown run and Vierstra added a 7-yard scamper with 1:51 left on the clock for the final 37-7 margin.
Vierstra completed 26-of-36 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns. He was picked off once. Agnew finished with 30 carries for 191 yards and one score. He also caught six passes for 45 yards. Veatch had six receptions for 63 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, Neuberger led the Pioneers with 12 total tackles. He recorded 4.0 tackles for a loss, including 3.0 sacks, and forced a fumble. Marietta's defense limited Capital to 10 first downs on 54 yards rushing and 155 yards passing.
Woycke was 6-of-11 for 68 yards passing with one interception. Harrison-Rawn completed 5-of-15 attempts for 40 yards and one touchdown. Drew Engle led the Crusader ground game with 38 yards on 12 carries.
Marietta plays at Ohio Northern next Saturday (Oct. 2). Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. in Ada.