ALLIANCE, Ohio – The No. 1 ranked University of Mount Union Purple Raiders defeated Marietta College by the score of 84-14 Saturday (Sept. 28) evening. Mount Union remains undefeated on the season with a 3-0 overall record, 2-0 in the OAC. The Pioneers fall to 0-3 on the season and 0-2 in league play.
Marietta took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards on 10 plays to pay dirt and a 7-0 lead with 11:27 left in the first quarter. Junior running back
Tim Conner (Cleveland/Glenville) dove in from a yard out for the score. Conner also completed a 26-yard pass to
Josh Llaneza (Westerville/South) on the drive.
Not accustomed to playing from behind, the Purple Raiders answered with a five-play scoring drive of their own to tie the game at 7-7. Mount Union would go on to score a touchdown on all seven of its first half possessions and took a 49-7 lead into halftime.
Mount pushed the lead to 63-7 with a pair of scores in the third period. The Pioneers put together another long drive at the end of the third quarter that resulted in a touchdown early in the fourth.
Conner capped the nine-play, 74-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown reception from senior quarterback
Tom Fulton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills).
Conner finished the game with both of Marietta's touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. Conner rushed for 30 yards on 13 carries and had the one reception for 13 yards.
Fulton completed 15-of-32 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once. Senior wide receiver
Kirby Harris (Greenville, S.C./South Side) had seven receptions for 105 yards, while Llaneza caught six passes for 96 yards.
Mount Union quarterback Kevin Burke threw for 336 yards and five touchdowns. He completed 22-of-30 passes. Taurice Scott relieved Burke and completed 5-of-8 passes for 59 yards. Scott also had five carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns.
Marietta hosts Heidelberg University next Saturday (Oct. 5) in Don Drumm Stadium for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
