Mistakes prevent Marietta from completing magical comeback at Otterbein; Pioneers fall 27-24
McDaniel sets single-game school record for receiving yards and ties record for receptions

Sept. 23, 2006
WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Marietta College football’s bid to start the 2006 season 3-0 was denied by host Otterbein College Saturday (Sept. 23) night. The opportunistic Cardinals took advantage of Pioneer mistakes and held off another late comeback effort from the MC offense to take the game 27-24. It was the third straight year that Marietta opened with two straight victories, before dropping its third game. The Pioneer have not been 3-0 since 1972.

With the win, Otterbein improved to 2-1, 1-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Marietta, meanwhile, fell to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in League play. Wet field conditions plagued both teams all evening. It was turnovers and penalties at key times, however, that foiled Marietta’s chance of victory.

Marietta dominated the game offensively, out gaining Otterbein 397-to-289, but the Cardinals controlled the ball and thus the clock, especially at the end of the game.

The loss overshadowed an outstanding game by junior wide receiver Chad McDaniel (Wooster/Triway) and another solid outing by senior quarterback Jason Vrable (South Park, Pa.).

Vrable completed 27-of-48 passes for 381 yards and a pair of touchdowns — a 20-yard strike to senior Nic North (Madison, Wis./East) and a six-yard bullet to McDaniel. He was intercepted once and sacked twice. McDaniel pulled in 14 of Vrable’s passes for 210 yards; both were career highs and school records. North, who now shares the single-game school record for receptions with McDaniel, finished with five grabs for 67 yards, while three other Pioneers pulled in a pair of receptions.

Otterbein’s Paul Stelzer connected on 14-of-27 passes for 164 yards and four touchdowns (10, 21, 9, and 6 yards). Josh Bope caught seven passes for 97 yards and a score, while Scott DeLong pulled in three passes for 33 yards and two touchdowns.

The run game, however, was virtually non existent for the Pioneers, who finished with 20 rushes for a net of 16 yards. The Cardinals were more successful on the ground, netting 125 yards on 35 carries. Dan Gendron and Chris Thomas ran for 61 and 58 yards, respectively.

Senior Lonnie Meyers (Cumberland, Md.) led Marietta’s defense with a game-high nine tackles. Junior Brian Hahn (Upper Sandusky) added eight stops, including three for a loss and one sack.

Kieran Johnson had a team-high six tackles, while Tony Furr added five and a 30-yard interception return late in the fourth quarter to seal the win for Otterbein. Both also recovered a fumble.

Otterbein scored a touchdown in each of its first two possessions, before Marietta got on the board with a field goal to open the second quarter, capping a five-minute, 14-play, 75-yard drive. The Cardinals extended their lead to 21-3 with 43 seconds remaining in the half after putting together a 13-play, 65-yard drive that last 5:06.

Otterbein, who totaled 199 of its 289 yards in the first half, entered the locker room with a 21-3 lead. The score remained the same until 2:27 left in the third frame, when another extensive Marietta drive (nine plays, 71 yards) ended with sophomore Garrett Banks (Barberton) punching it in from one yard out for a touchdown. The Pioneers’ attempt at a two-point conversion failed to make the score 21-9.

Marietta’s defense, which has excelled in the second half of the team’s two prior comeback victories, forced Otterbein into a three-and-out, giving the ball back to the Pioneers’ explosive offense.

The left arm of Vrable went back to work, as it orchestrated a four-play, 45-yard touchdown drive that took just 1:18 off the clock. A 20-yard pass to North capped the drive, and the extra point brought the score to 21-16 in favor of Otterbein.

Again, the Pioneer defense held the Cardinals to just four plays and a punt on their next possession. Marietta looked as if it was primed to move down the field for the go-ahead touchdown, but Otterbein forced senior Jason Curry (Akron/Springfield) to fumble as he tried to turn a 20-yard reception into a touchdown.

The Cardinals failed to score on the ensuing possession, only for the Pioneers’ next drive to be stalled when Vrable’s pass was tipped by Curry and landed into Furr’s hand for the interception. Otterbein made the turnover costly, when it scored a touchdown on the next drive to extend its lead to 27-16. The extra point was blocked.

Marietta still would not quit and drove right down the field for a touchdown and two-point conversion with 3:00 left on the clock. This drive took five plays and covered 65 yards in 41 seconds.

From there, the Pioneers unsuccessfully attempted an onside kick and the Cardinals were able to run out the clock to secure the 27-24 victory.

Marietta will look to bounce back when it returns to Columbus to take on Capital Saturday (Sept. 30) at 1:30 p.m. The Crusaders entered week four, ranked fifth in the nation and defeated Heidelberg 65-7.

All of the action can be heard locally on WMRT-FM 88.3 and online, through Stretch Internet, at pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.

A reminder that Marietta will host a First and Ten luncheon on Monday (Sept. 25) at 12 p.m. in the Trustee's Conference Room of Ban Johnson Arena. Admission is $7 and all are welcome.