MARIETTA, Ohio — Connor Vierstra threw four touchdown passes to four different receivers as Marietta College soundly defeated Baldwin Wallace University, 47-7, Saturday (Oct. 26) afternoon on Homecoming at Don Drumm Stadium.
The Pioneers improve to 7-0 on the season and 6-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The seven wins to start the season is the first time in program history that the Pioneers are 7-0. Baldwin Wallace falls to 4-3 overall and 3-3 in the OAC.
"I'm proud of our guys from start to finish. Our seniors have done an amazing job of leading the whole team this year," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "Our guys care about each other and I think it shows with the way that we play. You see the ball go to a lot of different people, three different running backs scored a touchdown today, along with Connor throwing four touchdowns to four different receivers."
Vierstra completed 24-of-36 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns. He claimed his fourth Marietta College career record of the season passing Jason Vrable for pass attempts with 932. Previously, Vierstra set the career records for touchdown passes, passing yards, and pass completions. His record numbers now stand at 73 touchdowns, 7,584 passing yards, and 596 pass completions.
After punting on its first two possessions of the game, Marietta found the endzone on its third offensive possession. Vierstra capped the 59-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown to Vante' Hodges.
Taz Morris followed with a pair of touchdowns; a 1-yard run and a 6-yard pass reception for a 20-0 Pioneer lead with five minutes left in the first half.
Brady Panucci intercepted a BW pass on the 2-yard line and returned it to the 35-yard line before a penalty gave Marietta the ball at the 20-yard line and just 1:48 left in the half.
Morris ran for 7 yards on the first play, followed by a pair of pass completions for 20 yards. The Pioneers got yards in big chunks with completions to Zion Jackson-Wilborn, Jay Melchiori, and Dawson Snyder moving the ball to the BW 15-yard line. He completed the drive with a 15-yard scoring strike to Quinn Brown and Marietta took a 27-0 lead into halftime.
Marietta extended its lead to 47-0 with touchdowns from Jackson-Wilborn on a 3-yard run, Snyder on a 7-yard pass, and Larson Brown on a 6-yard run.
Snyder finished with 10 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown. Melchiori had six catches for 107 yards. Morris rushed for 54 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries.
Baldwin Wallace finally got on the scoreboard with a 13-play, 87-yard drive that resulted in a 7-yard touchdown run by Xavier Balson with 10 seconds left in the game.
Charlie Bubonics completed 15-of- 23 passes for 93 yards. He was picked off twice and sacked three times. Tim Conwell had five catches for 67 yards. Khalize Beamon finished with nine carries for 58 yards.
"I think that the defense was outstanding again today," Waddle said. "Chance (Knight) is just a disrupter on the inside. Jake (Visnic) played a really good game today. Sal Laure, Tanner Bills, and Brady Panucci all coming away with picks was huge for the final outcome."
Marietta's defense held the Yellow Jackets to 94 yards rushing. The seventh straight game the Pioneers have held its opponent under 100 yards on the ground. Harley Hopkins led the MC defense with eight tackles. Chance Knight and Jake Visnic each had 1.5 sacks.
Marietta hosts Wilmington College next Saturday (Nov. 2) for Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.