No. 14 Baldwin-Wallace tops visiting Marietta 24-6
Loss snaps three-game win streak against Yellow Jackets

Sept. 15, 2007
BEREA, Ohio — The Marietta College football team’s attempt to knock off Baldwin-Wallace College was denied by a strong performance from the No. 14 Yellow Jackets, resulting in a 24-6 victory for Baldwin-Wallace. The victory improved the Yellow Jackets’ record to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). The Pioneers fell to 0-2, 0-1 in the OAC.

Baldwin-Wallace dominated the statistics, totaling 387 yards of offense—116 on the ground and 271 through the air. Marietta finished with 209 total yards with 82 coming via the run and 127 by way of the pass. The Yellow Jackets, who were penalized 19 times for 198 yards, won the time of possession 31:56 to 28:04 and the battle for first downs 19 to 17.

Baldwin-Wallace took a 7-0 lead on its first possession, when Nick Ranallo punched it in from seven yards out to complete a seven-play, 59-yard drive.

The Yellow Jackets scored again just before the half to extend their lead to 14-0. Quarterback Mickey Mental capped an eight-play, 89-yard drive that covered just 1:01 with a three-yard scoring strike to Matt Lepley.

Baldwin-Wallace’s defense added to the team’s lead, when Scott Goodwin intercepted a Ryan Merrill (Parkersburg, W.Va./South) pass and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown, giving the Yellow Jackets a 21-0 lead three minutes into the third frame.

An Adam Wilburn 29-yard field goal with 13:36 remaining stretched the lead to 24-0.

Marietta finally got on the board on its next possession. Merrill hooked up with Ryan Dawson (Parkersburg, W.Va.) for a 17-yard touchdown to put the stamp on a five-play, 85-yard drive. The two-point conversion attempt failed to keep the score 24-6 in favor of Baldwin-Wallace. That is how it ended.

Merrill finished the evening 12-of-29 and threw for 104 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Starter Dexter Hughes (Woodsfield/Monroe Central) went 4-for-4 and threw for 23 yards on the Pioneers’ opening possession but did not return after suffering an injury.

Dawson was Merrill’s favorite target Saturday. He pulled in five catches for 40 yards, including the score. Meanwhile, sophomore George Davis (Warren/Newton Falls) led the ground game with 18 carries for 36 yards.

Mental completed 17-of-26 passing attempts for 234 yards and one score. Vinny Latessa led the Yellow Jacket receivers with six catches for 98 yards, while Mike Kowal had five grabs for 86 yards. Ranallo carried the ball 28 times for 68 yards and one touchdown.

Junior Grant Cowell (Perrysville/Loudonville) had a team-high 13 stops for Marietta. Sophomore Rich Castagna (Pittsburgh, Pa./Peters Township) and senior Brian Hahn (Upper Sandusky) added 11 and 10 tackles, respectively.

Luke Chronister had a game-high 14 tackles in the win.

The Pioneers are back in action Saturday (Sept. 22) evening when they play host to Otterbein College at 6 p.m. It will be Alumni Day and the third annual River City Bowl at Don Drumm Stadium. The game will also be carried live on WTAP-TV.