2004 Season in Review

Jan. 1, 2005
MARIETTA, Ohio - When Head Coach Todd Glaser and his staff took over the program in the spring of 2003, they promised to bring back the tradition surrounding Pioneer football at Marietta College. The team set a solid foundation during their first year and the fruits of their labor began to blossom during last season.

A dedicated core remained on campus, vastly improving their strength and speed in the off-season. A great sense of excitement surrounded the team as it began camp on a brand new artificial surface—FieldTurf—at Don Drumm Stadium.

The buzz intensified following a 13-6 week-one victory over visiting Dubuque (IA) in front of more than 1,800 fans. The atmosphere dramatically changed less than a week and a half later, as the remnants of Hurricane Ivan wreaked havoc on the Marietta community. The banks of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers could not hold the excess rainwater, and the entire downtown, including Don Drumm Stadium, was flooded completely. The Pioneers were slated to play host to Heidelberg for its Ohio Athletic Conference opener. The decision was made to move the game to Sunday in Tiffin. Remarkably, Marietta was able to divert its concentration from what was happening at home to defeat the Student Princes 31-8. Junior Steven Wagner stole the show, running for a career-high 258 yards in the victory.

Marietta returned home to find that the water had risen to just below the crossbars, before finally receding, at Don Drumm Stadium. The campus community quickly began the clean-up process as the Pioneers prepared for week three at John Carroll. The Blue Streaks shut down the Marietta run game and handed the Pioneers their first loss of the season, 20-3.

The Pioneers bounced back a week later by adding a new twist to their offense against host Otterbein. Senior Chris Sidick, who until that game had never played a down on offense, made the switch from linebacker to wide receiver and pulled in a team-high nine grabs for 119 yards. The school’s all-time kickoff return and kickoff return yard leader also ran back a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown to spark the 24-23 victory.

Week five saw the Navy Blue & White return to Don Drumm Stadium for the first time since the flood. After entering halftime tied 7-7, the Capital Crusaders scored 36 unanswered points to drop Marietta to 3-2 overall, 2-2 in Conference play.

After the Pioneers fell to .500 following a 57-0 loss to top-ranked Mount Union, they were able to string together three straight wins to secure a winning season for the first time since 1998. Marietta began the streak with a narrow 12-7 victory over rival Muskingum and followed it up with convincing 48-7 and 26-0 wins over Wilmington and Baldwin-Wallace, respectively. The Pioneers closed the season with a heartbreaking 28-21 road loss at Ohio Northern to finish the season 6-4 overall and tied for fifth in the OAC at 5-4.

Wagner, who had six 100-yard games, compiled 1,091 yards on the ground with seven TDs in 2004. He became the 17th Pioneer to finish with over 1,000 yards in a season. Wagner's 1,091 yards ranks 12th all-time for a Pioneer and gives him 2,335 career rushing yards with one season to play. Wagner was the first Pioneer to earn All-OAC first team honors since Kenneth Sasuin 2000.

In addition, Sidick, seniors Brett Munn and Thadd Sharrett, as well as junior Joe Brennan, picked up second team honors, while sophomore Lance Parrish and freshman Clay Ream received honorable mentions.

Sidick spent time on both sides of the ball in 2004. Sidick caught 25 passes for 256 yards (10.2 yards per catch) and one TD in his seven games on offense. He also carried the ball 24 times for 197 yards and three TDs. On defense, Sidick collected 22 tackles, three for a loss, and had two sacks and one interception. He also returned kicks for Marietta and became the NCAA Division III career leader in kick returns (106) and kickoff return yards (2,235).

Brennan, the team's center, anchored the offensive line, which included three freshmen in 2004. The offense rushed for 1,527 yards, which ranked fourth in the OAC. The line also allowed just 1.7 sacks per game, fourth-best in the league.

Munn earned All-OAC recognition for the third time in four seasons. The 2002 second team and 2003 honorable mention honoree finished 2004 with 59 tackles, 39 solo. He also had four interceptions, broke up six passes, recovered two fumbles (one for a TD), forced a fumble and blocked four kicks. His four interceptions ranked fourth in the OAC and gave him eight for his career.

Sharrett spent time in the defensive backfield and at linebacker during the 2004 season. He led the team with 91 stops, 45 solo and 13 for a loss. The senior added two sacks, an interception, five pass deflections, four QB hurries and one forced fumble in 10 games this season. It was the first All-Conference award of his career.

Parrish held down the right guard position on the offensive line in 2004.

Ream was a huge addition to the Marietta defensive line. He collected 61 tackles, 25 solo and six for a loss, in 2004. Ream also had one sack, broke up three passes, forced one fumble and blocked two kicks for the Pioneers.

Senior wide receiver Mike Valiante finished his career with 1,360 receiving yards, ranking him third all-time at Marietta. The single-season reception leader (54 catches, set in 2003) finished his career in second place with 148 catches, three shy of Antonio Hutton's Pioneer record of 151.

Senior kicker Bobby Lemastersclosed out his career 16-of-25 in field goal attempts. Lemasters' 16 field goals places him second all-time at Marietta, while his 25 attempts ranked third.