WILMINGTON, Ohio – Max Gabbard hit a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds left in the game to give Wilmington College a 13-12 win over Marietta College Saturday (Oct. 20) afternoon. The win snaps a 32-game losing streak for the Quakers dating back to the 2009 season. [
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Wilmington (1-6, 1-5 OAC) scored points in the final seconds in three of the four quarters. Trailing 6-0, quarterback Brandon Arehart connected with Antonio Turner on a five-yard scoring strike with 11 second remaining in the second quarter.
In addition to the game winning field goal in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Gabbard nailed a 32-yard field goal with no time left on the clock in the third period.
Marietta (0-7, 0-6 OAC) jumped on top 3-0 on its first possession of the game. Sophomore #
Charles Dixon (Columbus/Groveport Madison)# returned a punt to the Quaker 24-yard line. The Pioneers moved the ball to the four before settling for a 21-yard #
Conor Durina (Poland/Cardinal Mooney)# field goal.
Durina made it 6-0 when he was good from 23-yards out with 1:37 left in the first half.
Marietta's ensuing kickoff went out of bounds giving Wilmington the ball at their own 35-yard line. Arehart and Turner hooked up for 16 yards and Alex Koyfis broke off a 43-yard run down to the Pioneer five. Following a rush for no gain, Arehart hit Turner for the touchdown and a 7-6 halftime lead.
Arehart completed 14-of-24 passes in the game for 112 yards. He had one touchdown and was picked off once. Turner ended the day with four catches for 61 yards and a score.
After trading punts to start the second half, Marietta took over at the Wilmington 34-yard line. 10 plays later quarterback #
Tom Fulton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills)# hit #
Tannon Roberts (West Palm Beach, Fla./Berean Christian)# on a 12-yard touchdown pass. Durina's extra point attempt failed giving the Pioneers a 12-7 lead.
Fulton completed 23-of-48 passes for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Senior #
Sean Munfield (Marietta/Marietta)# caught seven passes for 106 yards, while Roberts had five catches for 68 yards and a score.
Wilmington answered right back with a 12-play drive of their own. Aided by three Marietta penalties, including two 15-yarders, The Quakers moved the ball to the Pioneer 15-yard line setting up Gabbard's first field goal of the day.
Marietta had two long drives in the fourth quarter but couldn't manage any points. The Pioneers opened the period with a 12-play, 57-yard drive that ended with a missed 23-yard field goal.
The Pioneers also took over five minutes off the clock with an 11-play drive that stalled on the Wilmington 25-yard line. Marietta went for it on fourth and nine, but Fulton's pass attempt was incomplete giving the Quakers the ball with 1:51 left in the game.
Three straight completions from Arehart to Jeremy Duncan moved the ball to the Marietta 41-yard line. Arehart then connected with Turner for 28 more yards down to the Pioneer 13.
After an incomplete pass, a false start penalty moved the ball back to the 18. Two more incomplete passes gave Wilmington fourth down at Marietta's 18-yard line. The Quakers called on Gabbard to attempt the 35-yard field goal. Gabbard split the uprights to give Wilmington a 13-12 lead with 31 seconds left on the clock.
Marietta was able to move the ball into Wilmington territory when Fulton hit Roberts for a 19-yard gain. Fulton's next two pass attempts were incomplete. On third down, Fulton was picked off sealing the win for the Quakers.
Marietta travels to Berea next Saturday (Oct. 27) for a 1:30 p.m. kick off against Baldwin Wallace University. Fans can catch the action live at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
