MARIETTA, Ohio — The University of Dubuque missed a 22-yard field goal attempt with 29 seconds left in the game as Marietta College escaped with a 14-13 season-opening victory Saturday (Sept. 3) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium.
"There were moments that weren't super pretty and those are things that we're going to focus in on and get corrected as we move forward," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "But even amongst the things that weren't perfect our guys played hard and believed. The guys kept fighting and that's special. This team has some great leaders, and they did what it takes to figure out how to go 1-0 today."
Defense dominated the day as neither team mounted much of an offensive attack in the first half. The Pioneers were forced to punt on all six possessions in the first two quarters, while Dubuque punted on all but one.
The Spartans did drive to the Marietta 4-yard line before stalling and having to settle for a field goal. Jaxon Billips' 21-yard attempt was blocked by Marietta's All-American defensive lineman Drake Neuberger.
Neuberger spent the better part of the afternoon in the Dubuque backfield. The senior set a Marietta College single game record with five sacks and finished with 13 total tackles.
"If you've never seen an All-American play, you saw an All-American performance today from Neuberger," Waddle said. "That was one of the best defensive performances from an individual player that I've been a part of. What is impressive are the plays that he didn't make the sack where he just runs stuff down. He's just relentless."
The teams headed into halftime tied at 0-0. Dubuque managed just 126 yards of total offense, while the Pioneers were held to only 55 yards in the first half.
Marietta received the second half kickoff and turned to workhorse running back Bryce Agnew to get the offense on track. After a pair of short rushes and an 8-yard pass completion, Agnew broke a 36-yard run down to the Spartan 22-yard line. Agnew's next run went inside the 10 but he fumbled the ball on the tackle and Dubuque recovered it.
The Spartans took advantage of the sudden change in momentum as running back Kallion Buckner broke free for a 91-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive. Billips added the extra point for a 7-0 Dubuque lead three minutes into the third quarter.
Marietta was forced to punt on the ensuing possession and punter Brady Wilson pinned the Spartans at their own 2-yard line. Dubuque answered with its best drive of the afternoon going 98 yards on 11 plays capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ben Gultig to Za'Cameron Brice. Billips' extra point attempt was blocked by Isaiah McCartney for a 13-0 UD lead with 3:24 left in the third quarter.
A nice return by Dawson Snyder on the kickoff set the Pioneers up at their own 35-yard line. A 6-yard completion from Connor Vierstra to Snyder and runs from Agnew and Vierstra moved the ball to the 47-yard line. Drew Baldwin made a beautiful catch on a Vierstra pass and broke free for a 53-yard touchdown. Lucas Shepherd added the point after cutting the Dubuque lead to 13-7.
After forcing Dubuque to punt, Viertsra lofted a 50-yard completion to Snyder down to the Spartan 12-yard line. Following a sack, Dubuque was flagged for pass interference giving the Pioneers a first and goal at the 3-yard line.
Agnew rushed for 1 yard and an offsides penalty on the Spartans moved the ball to the 1-yard line. Marietta called Agnew's number once again and he dove in for the touchdown. Shepherd gave Marietta the 14-13 lead with the extra point.
A fumble by Vierstra gave Dubuque new life. The Spartans took over at the Marietta 46-yard line with 2:33 left in the game. Buckner rushed for 8 yards and then a pair of pass completions oved the ball into field goal range at the 13-yard line. The drive stalled at the 4-yard line setting up Billips for a game winning 22-yard field goal attempt. After a low snap, the kick sailed wide right giving Marietta the 14-13 victory.
Agnew finished with 113 rushing yards and one touchdown on 24 carries. Vierstra completed 9-of-21 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown. Baldwin had four catches for 75 yards, including the one Pioneer touchdown reception.
Buckner had 124 yards rushing and one score on 14 carries. Gultig threw for 212 yards on 20-of-28 passing. He had one touchdown pass but was sacked seven times. Brice had eight catches for 129 yards and one TD.
The Pioneers will take next week off and then hit the road for their Ohio Athletic Conference opener at No. 3 ranked Mount Union on September 17th. Kickoff in Alliance is set for 1:30 p.m.
Marietta holds on for a thrilling 14-13 win over Dubuque
/seasons/2022/boxscores/20220903_dksl.xml
2022
Dubuque
13
Marietta
14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubuque (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Marietta (1-0) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
Sep 03, 2022