ALLIANCE, Ohio — No. 4 ranked Mount Union scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to come from behind and defeat No. 22 Marietta College by the score of 28-21 Saturday (Nov. 9) afternoon. The Purple Raiders clinch the Ohio Athletic Conference championship and improve to 9-0 overall and 8-0 in the OAC. The Pioneers slip to 8-1 on the season and 7-1 in the OAC.
"This was a really hard-fought football game by two good teams," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "I thought that Connor (Vierstra) came out and played a very good game. It was an awesome job by Dawson (Snyder) and Jay (Melchiori) making plays down the field."
Tyler Echeverry broke free for a 51-yard touchdown run with 4:54 left in the game to tie the score, 21-21. The Purple Raiders forced Marietta to punt on the ensuing possession and took over at their own 14-yard line and 1:49 remaining on the clock.
Playing with their back-up quarterback after starter Noah Beaudrie left the game with an injury as time ran out in the first half. TJ Deshields played the second half and completed 9-of-17 passes for 117 yards and one touchdown.
Deshields completed two passes to Tyrell Sanders: one for 20 yards and one for 16 yards moving the ball to midfield. An 11-yard scramble from Deshields and another pass to Sanders gave Mount Union a first down at the Pioneer 27-yard line.
Following an incomplete pass, DeShields connected with Sanders one more time. This one at the right pylon of the endzone for the game winning touchdown.
Marietta got one last chance putting the ball in play at their own 25-yard line with 32 seconds remaining. A short completion to Dawson Snyder and a 23-yard completion to Jay Melchiori moved the ball to the Mount Union 49-yard line. Two incomplete passes forced the Pioneers to try the hook-and-ladder play as time ran out.
"Defensively our front seven played really well. Harley (Hopkins) and Chance (Knight) both made big plays and Brady (Panucci) showed up in some key spots," Waddle said. "We just didn't make enough plays down the stretch. Our guys stayed the course all game long and we'll bounce back."
Mount Union grabbed the early lead when Echeverry scored on a 16-yard run midway through the first quarter. The Pioneers responded with a 12-play, 90-yard drive resulting in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Connor Vierstra to Quinn Brown tying the game, 7-7, with 1:46 left in the opening quarter.
Vierstra put the Pioneers on top when he dove in from 1-yard out early in the second quarter. Vierstra's run capped a 10-play, 87-yard drive for the Pioneers.
Beaudrie knotted the score with 3:28 left in the first half when he found Matt Anderson open on a 10-yard scoring strike finishing a 12-play, 74-yard drive. The teams went into halftime tied, 14-14.
Marietta regained the lead in the third quarter. Vierstra connected with Snyder on a 19-yard touchdown with 1:22 left in the period. Derek Cline added the point after for a 21-14 Pioneer lead.
Both defenses kept the opposing offenses in check until Mount Union managed the two late touchdowns in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Vierstra completed 26-of-38 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns. Snyder had 12 catches for 103 yards and one score. Melchiori had six receptions for 90 yards. Vante Hodges led the Pioneer ground attack with 61 yards on 10 carries.
Echeverry rushed for 116 yards on 12 carries and had a pair of touchdowns. Beaudrie completed 10-of-13 passes for 127 yards and one touchdown before exiting the game. Sanders caught eight passes for 126 yards and one touchdown.
Harley Hopkins led the Pioneers with 12 tackles, including 1.0 for a loss. Brady Panucci finished with 10 tackles, while Chance Knight had five tackles, including 1.0 sack. Tony Cook led the Purple Raiders with 10 tackles.
Marietta will close out the regular season at John Carroll University next Saturday (Nov. 16) at 2:00 p.m.
No. 22 Marietta pushes No. 4 Mount Union to the brink before falling 28-21
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241109_iqyk.xml
2024
Marietta
21
Mount Union
28
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marietta (8-1) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| No. 5 Mount Union (9-0) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
Nov 09, 2024