WILMINGTON, Ohio — Freshman tailback #Josh Martin (Live Oak, Fla./Suwannee)# rushed for 167 yards, junior quarterback #Andrew Keller (Cincinnati/Glen Este)# threw three touchdowns passes and rushed for a fourth and senior wide receiver #Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta/Marietta)# caught 10 passes for a career-best 145 yards to lead Marietta College past host Wilmington College 31-28 in Ohio Athletic Conference football action Saturday (Oct. 16) afternoon. [Box Score]

The victory improved the Pioneers' record to 2-4 overall and 1-4 in the OAC. They have now won seven of the 11 meetings since the Quakers (0-6, 0-5 OAC) joined the league in 2000.

Wilmington led 7-2 after the first quarter, but Marietta took a 16-7 lead into halftime. The Quakers used a 21-point third quarter surge to lead 28-22 at the beginning of the fourth, only for the Pioneers to score nine unanswered points and rally for the win.

Martin, who had not seen action on offense before coming off the bench early in the first quarter, solidified the run game by registering 167 yards on 32 carries. It was the highest rushing total for a Pioneer since Lamar Hunter (South Euclid/Brush) ran for 172 yards against Wilmington in 2008.

Keller, who missed large portions of the last two games with injuries, bounced back to complete 21-of-37 passes and throw for 261 yards. Highlighting his performance was a 17-yard touchdown strike to sophomore #Kirby Harris (Greenville, S.C./South Side)# and a 27-yard touchdown pass to sophomore #Sean Munfield (Marietta/Marietta)# in the second quarter as well as a 56-yard touchdown aerial to Kriechbaum in the third frame. Keller also rushed nine time for 39 yards and had a one-yard touchdown run to give Marietta the lead for good with six minutes to play in the game.

Kriechbaum posted his second double-digit reception and 100-yard receiving game of the season after catching 10 passes for career-high 145 yards. Harris added four receptions for 24 yards, junior #Jahmaal Jones (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale)# had three receptions for 30 yards and Munfield caught two passes for 36 yards in the win.

Senior #Delè Adedapo# made his first career field goal, a 23-yard attempt, to keep Pioneer kickers perfect in six field goal chances.

Marietta's offense racked up 26 first downs and finished with 226 yards rushing and 261 yards passing for a season-high total of 487 yards.

The Pioneer defense held the Quakers to just 15 yards rushing and 246 total yards. Marietta finished with 10 tackles for loss, including four sacks, to go along with two fumble recoveries and an interception.

Junior linebacker #Dan Starr (Senecaville/Buckeye Trail)# finished with six tackles, including two sacks, while sophomores #Gaston Hayes (Cleveland/Rhodes)# and #Steve Perrin (Greenville, S.C./Berea)# also added six stops and a sack. One of Hayes'  two and one-half tackles for loss resulted in a first quarter safety to get Marietta on the board. Freshman #Jordan Ellison (Douglasville, Ga./South Paulding)# picked off his second career pass and returned it for 28 yards to seal the victory with under two minutes to play in the game.

Marietta will look to carry its momentum into its next contest, a showdown at OAC rival Heidelberg University scheduled for Saturday (Oct. 23) afternoon at 1:30 p.m. on Meyer Field.