MARIETTA, Ohio — A quick start propelled visiting #19 Ohio Northern University to a 41-10 victory in Marietta College's Homecoming Game Saturday (Oct. 17) at Don Drumm Stadium. The Polars Bears improved to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), while the Pioneers fell to 2-4 overall and 1-4 in the league. [Box Score] [Photo Gallery]

Ohio Northern, who scored on its first four possessions, out gained Marietta 388-297 in total offense. The Polar Bears finished with 142 yards rushing and 246 yards passing. The Pioneers, who controlled the ball for nearly 35 minutes, had 160 yards on the ground and 137 yards through the air.

Marietta senior Lamar Hunter (South Euclid, Brush) carried the ball 26 times for a game-high 152 yards, while his counterpart, Brent Donley, finished with 18 rushes for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Pioneer junior Kyle Shackle (Butler, Mount Vernon), who made his first career start at quarterback, completed 17-of-29 passes and threw for 137 yards. He was sacked 5 times and forced into 2 interceptions. Ohio Northern's Kyle Simmons finished 13-of-18, passing for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran 8 times for 56 yards.

Marietta junior Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta, Marietta) caught a game-high 7 passes for 47 yards, while sophomore Chad Walker (Spring Hill, Fla., Central) added 4 catches for 40 yards. Jay Priest led the Polar Bears with 4 grabs for 111 yards and a score, while Ryan Fleming had 3 receptions for 65 yards and another touchdown.

Ohio Northern's Gabe Washington finished with a game-high 11 total tackles. Marietta was paced by sophomore Dan Starr (Senecaville, Buckeye Trail) and junior Joe Williams (Akron, Archbishop Hoban) with 8 stops apiece.

Marietta took possession of the ball first and marched 61 yards to Ohio Northern's 4-yard line before a bobbled snap turned the ball over to the Polar Bears. Ohio Northern then marched 66 yards before Jake Heaphy nailed a 44-yard field goal with 5:23 left in the first period.

The Polar Bear increased their advantage to 10-0 when Donley muscled his way into the end zone from 5 yards out with 54 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

The Pioneers got on the board when sophomore Kyle Cardwell (Uniontown, Green) hit a 30-yard field goal with 9:18 left in the half, capping a 15-play, 63-yard drive.

Ohio Northern went up 17-3 with 4:06 left in the half when Simmons connected with Fleming on a 36-yard touchdown.

The Polar Bears extended their lead on the first possession of the second half when Donley plowed in from 1 yard out. Heaphy's PAT was good and Ohio Northern led 24-3 with 11:34 left in the third period.

Vince Calloway's interception set up the Polar Bear's next score. Simmons capped the short drive with a 1-yard strike to Evan Elliot and Ohio Northern lead 31-3 with 11:34 left in the third.

Shackle hit junior tight end Zach Lashaway (Wauseon, Evergreen) on a 1-yard TD pass with 14:14 to play in the game to pull Marietta closer, 31-10.

Ohio Northern responded when Simmons hit Priest on a 55-yard touchdown pass to put the Polar Bears up 38-10 with 8:58 left in the contest. Heaphy then capped the scoring with a school-record 50-yard field goal with 3:18 left in the contest to make it 41-10 ONU.

The Pioneers now turn their attention to their rival the Fighting Muskies as Muskingum University will play host to Marietta on Saturday (Oct. 24) afternoon. The two teams will battle for the Shrine Trophy in New Concord with kickoff slated for 1:30 p.m. WMRT-FM 88.3 will cover the game locally and also broadcast online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/stream.asx.