Marietta falls on the road to Capital 41-10
Pioneers fail to take advantage of five forced turnovers

Oct. 8, 2005
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Capital Crusaders proved Saturday (Oct. 8) that in order to win in the Ohio Athletic Conference, teams must be able to hold their opponents in check for all four quarters. Marietta was able to slow down Capital's high-powered offense attack for three quarters, but allowed 24 fourth-quarter points, which resulted in a 41-10 victory in favor of the Crusaders.

The Crusaders are now 3-2 (2-2 OAC) on the year, while the Pioneers fall to 2-3 (1-3 OAC).

Marietta's offense struggled all afternoon and finished with just 151 yards of total offense. The Pioneers' defense, which forced four Capital fumbles (recovering three) and intercepted one Rocky Pentelllo pass, was finally worn down in the fourth quarter, allowing the Crusaders to score on each of their first four possessions of the period and break open a 17-3 game.

Penalties forced Marietta to punt from deep inside their own territory on its first possession. The Pioneers' defense, however, held Capital, which started the drive on Marietta's 34-yard line, to a field goal attempt. Matt Spitz drilled a 40-yard kick to give Capital an early 3-0 lead.

The Crusaders extended their lead to 10-0 when they put together an eight-play, 67-yard drive on their second possession of the afternoon. The drive was capped by a six-yard pass from Pentello to Matt Cesaratto with 6:01 to play in the first quarter.

An Anthony Banks (Colonial Heights, VA/Thomas Dale) interception set up Marietta's first scoring drive. Banks picked off Pentello on Capital's 22-yard line, but the Pioneers' offense was held to a three-and-out. Nick Manson (Canal Fulton/Akron Manchester) followed with a 38-yard field goal to pull Marietta within a touchdown.

The score remained the same until the final minute of the half, when a roughing the quarterback penalty kept a Capital drive alive. Pentello made the Pioneers pay on the next play by tossing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Kive Kraft to put the Crusaders ahead 17-3 entering the half.

Following a scoreless third quarter, Pentello and Kraft hooked up twice for touchdowns, one for 22 yards and the other for 2 yards, to help extend Capital's lead to 31-3.

Colin O'Reilly added a four-yard touchdown run with 10:51 to play in the game and Spitz hit a 27-yard field goal five minutes later to complete the scoring for Capital.

Marietta finally found the end zone with 1:47 to go when Steven Wagner (Harwick, PA/Fox Chapel) scored on a two-yard run. Capital was able to run out the clock from there and gave the Homecoming fans a reason to celebrate, winning 41-10.

Wagner, who entered as the OAC's leading rusher, was held to just 30 yards on 18 carries, while his counterpart O'Reilly ran 16 times for 100 yards.

Pentello finished 27-of-39 for 338 yards and four touchdowns. Jason Vrable (South Park, PA) went 23-of-34 for 133 yards and was intercepted twice in the loss.

Marietta's Nic North (Madison, WI/East) led all receivers with nine receptions for 55 yards, while Jason Curry (Akron/Springfield) added seven catches for 47 yards.

Kraft was one of 11 targets hit by Pentello on the afternoon and finished with five reception for 55 yards and three TDs.

Junior J. J. Wheeler (Zanesville/Maysville) was Marietta's leading tackler, finishing with 15 stops, including 13 solo. He also forced and recovered one fumble. Senior Darren Marks (Parkersburg, WV) was also busy on defense and finished with 10 tackles, including a sack. Sophomore Brian Hahn (Upper Sandusky) added to his team lead with nine tackles and has now collected 41 on the season.

Capital's defense was paced by Joel Sickmeier with 10 tackles, while three of his teammates finished with seven stops in the win.

Marietta, losers of three in a row, must now turn its attention to Mount Union. The Purple Raiders make a trip to Don Drumm Stadium Saturday (Oct. 15) for a 6 p.m. kickoff.