BEREA, Ohio — The Marietta College football team suffered its first loss of the season, falling 34-13 to host Baldwin-Wallace College Saturday (Sept. 26) night at George Finnie Stadium. The Pioneers dropped to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), while the Yellow Jackets improved to 1-2, 1-1 in league play. [Box Score]

Baldwin-Wallace ignited the scoring on its second possession of the evening when Kyrell Crook capped off the Yellow Jacket drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.

Marietta quickly answered with a 65-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Andrew Keller (Cincinnati, Glen Este) to sophomore wide receiver Jahmaal Jones (Valrico, Fla., Bloomingdale) on the Pioneers' third play from scrimmage of the ensuing possession. The extra point, however, was blocked, and Baldwin-Wallace maintained a 7-6 advantage.

The Yellow Jackets then took control by scoring touchdowns on their next three drives. A 1-yard run by Tim Miker, a 24-yard run by John McGraw and a 13-yard pass from Anthony Gardner to Danny Reineck helped Baldwin-Wallace take a 27-6 lead into intermission.

Marietta came out of the locker room and pieced together a 12-play, 79-yard drive to pull within two scores. Keller found freshman tight end Nathaniel Wills (Orlando, Fla., William Boone) open in the end zone with a 5-yard touchdown strike to make the score 27-13.

Baldwin-Wallace, however, answered with a 3-play, 65-yard drive to go back on top 34-13. Gardner capped the final scoring drive of the night with a 48-yard touchdown pass to John Myers.

Baldwin-Wallace, who held on to the ball for 31:35, out gained Marietta 512-347 in total offense, including 319-136 on the ground. The Pioneers, who had possession for 28:25, held a 211-193 advantage in passing yards.

Keller finished 16-of-30 and threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Junior Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta, Marietta) led all receivers with 7 catches for 68 yards, while Jones finished with 6 receptions for 114 yards and a score. Senior Lamar Hunter (South Euclid, Brush), the OAC's leading rusher, finished with 15 carries for 84 yards. Freshman Alexander Fountain (Live Oak, Fla., Suwannee Senior) added 7 rushes for 30 yards.

Freshman Rahkeem Caver (Hamilton, Hamilton) and sophomore James Borwell (Katy, Texas, Morton Ranch) led Marietta with 8 total tackles. Ryan Kish paced Baldwin-Wallace with a game-high 9 stops.

McGraw finished with 21 carries for 151 yards and one score. Miker added 15 carries for 111 yards and another touchdown. Gardner ended the night by completing 13-of-19 passes and throwing for 193 yards and two scores. Five Yellow Jackets had a team-high 2 receptions.

Marietta is back in action on Saturday (Oct. 3) afternoon when the Pioneers play host to Capital University at 1:30 p.m. Saturday is "Take a Kid to the Game" day at Don Drumm Stadium. All children 14 and under will be admitted free when accompanied by a full-paying adult.