MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College's stifling defense held Ohio Northern nearly 300 yards under their average as the Pioneers cruised to a 45-10 victory Saturday (Oct. 5) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium. Marietta improves to 4-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Ohio Northern falls to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the OAC.
"We knew the play on the line of scrimmage was going to be huge today and our defensive line and linebackers showed up and did a great job of defending against a couple of really good running backs," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "Ohio Northern is a good football team. We struggled a little bit to run the ball to our standard. But we were able to mix it up and between the run and the pass keep the ball moving and get the points that we got."
The Polar Bears entered today's game with the top rushing offense in the OAC averaging 327.7 yards per game on the ground. ONU was also averaging 435.7 yards of total offense per game. Marietta, the OAC' top-ranked defense, limited the Polar Bears to just 29 yards rushing and 144 total yards for the game. This is the fourth straight game Marietta has held its opponent under 100 yards rushing.
Led by preseason All-American linebacker Harley Hopkins, the Pioneer defense forced four Polar Bear turnovers and scored a touchdown on a fumble return by Zaiden Huck in the third quarter. Hopkins posted a game-high 12 tackles, including 1.0 sack and 3.0 tackles for a loss. Brady McManaway added 10 tackles, including 1.0 sack, while Chance Knight finished with nine tackles, 1.0 sack, 3.5 tackles for a loss and a forced fumble.
A bad snap on a punt setup Marietta's first touchdown. The Polar Bear long snapper sent the ball over their punter's head and Lukas Ratliff jumped on the loose ball at the ONU 27-yard line. Taz Morris rushed for three yards, caught a pass for 17 yards and then ran the ball in from seven yards out for the first points of the game. Derek Cline added the extra point.
On the next possession, Jake Visnic intercepted an Amir Collings pass at midfield. Following an incomplete pass, Vante' Hodges broke loose for a 50-yard touchdown run. After the Cline extra point, Marietta led 14-0 with 5:13 left in the first quarter.
Cline added a 30-yard field goal early in the second quarter extending the Pioneer lead to 17-0 with 12:16 left in the first half.
Ohio Northern's defense got a takeaway that led to the Polar Bears' first points. Mikey Moon intercepted a Connor Vierstra pass and returned it to the Pioneer 40-yard line. ONU drove to the 4-yard line before stalling and had to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Jonmichael Elliott for a 17-3 halftime score.
Marietta struck first in the third quarter. Brady Panucci intercepted an Amir Collings pass giving MC the ball in ONU territory. Vierstra capped the drive with a 14-yard scoring strike to Morris. Cline connected on the extra point for a 24-3 lead with 12:35 on the clock.
Ohio Northern was forced to punt on its next possession and another snap over the punter's head led to Marietta points. Zaiden Huck scooped up the loose ball at the 12-yard line and ran it in for the score and a31-3 Pioneer lead.
Ohio Northern's defense accounted for the only Polar Bear touchdown. Jacob Hershberger intercepted a Vierstra pass and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown cutting the Marietta lead to 31-10 with 3:58 left in the third quarter.
Marietta added a pair of touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. Vierstra connected with Jay Melchiori on a 15-yard scoring strike early in the quarter. Backup quarterback Larson Brown hooked up with Hodges for a 78-yard touchdown pass to finish the scoring. It was the third 70-plus yard play for Hodges in the last two games.
Hodges rushed for 72 yards and one touchdown on eight carries and had one reception for 78 yards and a score. Vierstra completed 15-of-26 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Brown was 2-for-2 passing for 81 yards and a touchdown. Dawson Snyder caught 7 passes for 45 yards.
Collings completed 15-of-30 passes for 115 yards for ONU. Matt McKeown had four catches for 41 yards, while Kyle Celestin caught four passes for 27 yards. Louis Blaisole rushed for 42 yards on 17 carries and Seth Borondy had 12 carries for 31 yards.
Marietta plays at Heidelberg University next Saturday (Oct. 12). Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m.
Defense leads Marietta to 45-10 win over Ohio Northern
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241005_mgpu.xml
2024
Ohio Northern
10
Marietta
45
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Northern (3-1) | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Marietta (4-0) | 14 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
Oct 05, 2024