MARIETTA, Ohio — A consistent rushing attack combined with some timely passing and defensive stops helped the Marietta College football team rally past visiting Wilmington College and post a 24-20 victory Saturday (Sept. 19) night in its Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) opener at Don Drumm Stadium. With the win, the Pioneers improved to 2-0, 1-0 in the OAC. The Quakers fell to 0-2, 0-1 in league play [Box Score]

For the second straight game, senior Lamar Hunter (South Euclid, Brush) carried the offense on his shoulders. Hunter, who was once again named the Galaxy Pizza Player of the Game, ran for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns on a career-high 31 carries. Last year, he carried the ball 26 times and compiled a career-best 172 yards against Wilmington.

Marietta's offense relied heavily on it running game through the first three quarters, running for 143 of the 154 yards that it accumulated on the ground. Meanwhile, the Pioneers passed for just 47 yards through three frames. Things changed dramatically in the fourth quarter, as sophomore quarterback Andrew Keller (Cincinnati, Glen Este) completed 5-of-6 passes for a combined 111 yards through the air.

Overall, Keller finished 11-of-16 and threw for 167 yards. He tossed 1 touchdown and 1 interception in the game.

Sophomore wide out Chad Walker (Spring Hill, Fla., Central), who caught three balls for 99 yards, pulled in two of Keller's biggest pass of the night. The first was a 25-yard catch midway through the fourth quarter that gave Marietta the ball first and goal from the 1-yard line. Hunter followed the reception with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 20-20. Senior placekicker Corey Lemke (Loundonville, Loundonville) drilled the extra point to give the Pioneers a 21-20 advantage with 8:19 left to play in the game.

On the Quakers' next drive, the Pioneers defense held on fourth down to retain possession with 2:51 remaining on the clock. On Marietta's second play of the ensuing drive, Keller hooked up with Walker for a 62-yard strike, which gave the Pioneers a first down and goal on the 9-yard line. Lemke capped the drive with an 18-yard field goal to extend Marietta's lead to 24-20 with 2:09 to play.

Wilmington drove down to Marietta's 28-yard line before a false start moved the ball back to the 32-yard line. Three straight incomplete passes, including the final one in the end zone on fourth down, which was knocked away by freshman safety Rahkeem Caver (Hamilton, Hamilton), sealed the victory for Marietta.

Wilmington, who finished 0-of-5 on fourth down in the loss, claimed the early lead with a 9-play, 60-yard touchdown drive on its opening possession of the game. Marc Otte finished off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown reception from Billy Blackburn. The Quakers, however, missed the extra point attempt, giving them a 6-0 lead.

The Pioneers' offense finally got going on their second possession of the evening. Hunter handled the ball for all 9 plays, as Marietta drove 72 yards. Hunter capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run, and Lemke hit the extra point to give the Pioneers a 7-6 lead with 13:52 left in the half.

The Quakers quickly answered with a 7-play, 72-yard drive to regain the advantage, 13-7, with 9:31 remaining in the frame. Blackburn accounted for the score when he connected on his second touchdown of the game, a 9-yard pass to Darren Howard.

Marietta went back on top 14-13 after its third possession of the second half. Keller finished off an 8-play, 74-yard drive by throwing a 17-yard touchdown strike to sophomore wide receiver Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta, Marietta).

Again, Wilmington responded. This time it was a 32-yard touchdown pass from Blackburn to Jeremy Stuckey, which gave the Quakers a 20-14 advantage with 11:06 to play in the game. Keller and Walker took over from there, propelling Marietta to the key OAC victory.

Wilmington out gained Marietta 376-321 in total offense and dominated the time of possession 34:29 to 25:31. The Quakers rushed for 214 yards, while Blackburn finished 16-of-31 for 162 yards with three scores. Otte led the ground attack with 17 carries for 63 yards, while Tyrell Richardson added 5 carries for 58 yards and Blackburn contributed 6 rushes for 47 yards.

Marietta's defense was paced by senior strong safety and captain George Davis (Warren, Newton Falls), who collected a career-high 16 total hits, including 14 solo stops. Sophomore linebacker James Borwell (Katy, Texas, Morton Ranch) added 11 total tackles in the game.

Chris Medley led Wilmington's tacklers with 8 stops, while T.J. Burbridge Jr. had 7 hits and two other Quakers added 6.

The Pioneers will have their first road test of the season in week four as they travel to Berea, Ohio, on Saturday (Sept. 26) evening for a 6:30 p.m. match-up with host Baldwin-Wallace College. The Yellow Jackets (0-2, 0-1 OAC) will be looking to bounce back after a 43-29 loss at rival John Carroll University. Marietta fans will be able to listen to the action locally on WMRT-FM 88.3 and WMOA-AM 1490 as well as online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu.