MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College's young football squad battled 10-time NCAA Division III champion and second-ranked University of Mount Union for 60 minutes Saturday (Oct. 9) afternoon, but the Purple Raiders escaped Don Drumm Stadium with a 28-14 Ohio Athletic Conference victory. [Box Score]

Mount Union (5-0, 4-0 OAC) stretched its regular season win streak to 48 games but it did not come easy, as Marietta (1-4, 0-4 OAC) forced four turnovers, including three in the red zone. It was the closest the Pioneers had come to a victory over the team that has captured 18-straight OAC championships since the 41-37 heart-breaker in 1995 when Marietta finished 8-1-1.

The Purple Raiders out gained the Pioneers 495-226 overall, including 164-19 on the ground and 331-207 through the air.

Junior running back #Mat Fling (Norton/Norton)# came off the bench to lead Marietta's rushing attack with 11 carries for 39 yards, while sophomore starter #Tevin Dones (Antioch, Calif./Antioch)# had 12 carries for 25 yards.

Junior starter #Andrew Keller (Cincinnati/Glen Este)# completed 9-of-12 passes and threw for 86 yards while also adding a seven-yard touchdown run in the first quarter before leaving the game with an injury in the second period. Junior #Kyle Shackle (Butler/Mount Vernon)# went 5-of-7 and threw for 44 yards but was also knocked out of the game before the end of the half. Sophomore #Tom Fulton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills)# made his varsity debut to start the third frame and connected on 6-of-14 passes for 77 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown strike to senior #Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta/Marietta)# in the fourth quarter.

Kriechbaum and junior #Chad Walker (Spring Hill, Fla./Central)# both caught a team-best six passes. Kriechbaum's went for 64 yards and a score, while Walker's totaled 62 yards.

Sophomore #Kadeem Corbin (Cheltenham, Md./Fredrick Douglas)# finished with a career-high 13 total hits, while freshman #Robert Brown (Middleburg, Fla./Nathan B. Forrest)# added a season-best 11 stops and junior #Jake Depp (Geneva/Geneva)# had seven tackles.

Mount Union took 7-0 lead on its first possession of the game when quarterback Neal Seaman hit tight end Kyle Miller on a 26-yard touchdown pass. The Pioneers answered with the Keller touchdown run on their next possession to tie the score at 7-7.

The Purple Raiders added a pair of second quarter touchdown runs from Jeremy Murray, the first from six yards and the second from five yards, to take a 21-7 advantage into the half.  

After a scoreless third quarter, Murray found the end zone from seven yards out with 8:11 left on the clock. Fulton's touchdown pass to Kriechbaum pulled Marietta back within two scores, 28-14, but that is where it ended.

Murray ran for a career-high 170 yards on 31 carries, while Seaman completed 22-of-30 passes and threw for 331 yards. Jasper Collins led Mount Union's receivers with nine catches for 147 yards. The Purple Raider defense was paced by Lambert Budzinski with 12 tackles, including three sacks.

Marietta will look to bounce back Saturday (Oct. 16) afternoon when the Pioneers visit Wilmington College at 2 p.m.