MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College closed out the 2023 season with a 21-20 victory over rival Muskingum University Saturday (Nov. 11) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium. The win was Marietta's seventh straight over the Muskies and keeps the Shrine Trophy in the river city.
Marietta finishes with an 8-2 overall record and 7-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Pioneers reached the eight-win plateau for just the fourth time in program history and first since going 8-1-1 in 1995. In addition to 1995, Marietta went 9-1 in 1906 and 8-1 in 1969.
"It was a hard-fought game by both teams. Muskingum played really tough as well but we were able to make a couple more plays than they did," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "Big games come down to a few plays and today we were fortunate enough to come away with the win."
Muskingum grabbed the lead early in the second quarter. After the Pioneers missed a 45-yard field goal attempt, the Muskies put the ball in play at their own 28-yard line. Marietta appeared to hold Muskingum when a 4th and 2 pass fell incomplete. However, the Pioneers were flagged for a personal foul giving Muskingum a first down.
Following a 10-yard pass to Donald Francis, Doug Crawford connected with Zuri Edmondson on a 39-yard scoring strike. Hunter Albers added the extra point for a 7-0 Muskie lead with 10:12 left in the second quarter.
After trading punts, Marietta took possession of the ball in Muskingum territory at the 38-yard line. Bryce Agnew ran for 12 yards. Connor Vierstra completed a 13-yard pass to Derek Witsberger and a 12-yard pass to John Sierputowski moving the ball to the one. After Agnew was stopped for a loss, Vierstra found Sierputowski open in the endzone for a touchdown. Derek Cline tied the game with the extra point.
"Connor had a really gutsy performance. He got injured last week and didn't practice much this week," Waddle said. "But he is a tough young man, both mentally and physically, and he showed how tough he is with the performance he put together today."
Agnew gave Marietta its first lead of the day when he capped a 7-play, 82-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run with 1:20 left in the third quarter. The Pioneer drive was aided by a pair of Muskie 15-yard penalties. Agnew carried the ball five times on the drive for 53 yards.
Crawford and Edmondson hooked up again in the fourth quarter as Muskingum tied the game, 14-14. On the drive, Crawford hit Gannon Unger on back-to-back passes covering 25 yards. A late hit penalty against Marietta tacked on 15 more yards. Crawford scrambled for 11 yards to the Pioneer 11-yard line. On the next play he found Edmondson for the score.
Marietta responded with its best drive of the afternoon covering 71 yards in 12 plays. Once again, a pass interference call against Muskingum kept the Pioneer drive alive. Vierstra hooked up with Sierutowski for a 5-yard touchdown. Cline's point after gave Marietta a 21-14 lead with 8:48 left in the game.
Muskingum answered with an 11-play drive. Crawford completed 7 passes for 58 yards. Crawford capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown. The Muskies decided to go for two points and the win, But the two-point attempt failed when the Muskies were tackled on the 1-yard line.
Agnew finished with 176 yards rushing and one touchdown on 34 carries. Vierstra completed 17-of-25 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Sierputowski had six catches for 72 yards and two scores.
Crawford completed 21-of-26 passes for 219 yards and three touchdowns. Crawford was sacked seven times in the game as Marietta held the Muskies to just 37 yards on the ground.
Marietta retains Shrine Trophy with 21-20 win over Muskingum
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20231111_quen.xml
2023
Muskingum
20
Marietta
21
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muskingum (4-6) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
| Marietta (8-2) | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Nov 11, 2023