TIFFIN, Ohio — Heidelberg University capitalized on three big plays in the first half and went to defeat Marietta College by the score of 40-20 Saturday (Oct. 25) afternoon. The Student Princes scored on two plays of over 70 yards and picked up two points on a blocked PAT.
Sophomore quarterback
Akil Young (Pittsburgh, Pa./University Prep) completed 21-of-37 passes for a career-high 264 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Pioneer attack. He was picked off once. Senior Tannon Roberst caught five passes for 90 yards and one TD. Freshman running back
Nick O'Neal (Mont Belvieu, Texas/Barbers Hill) carried the ball 28 times for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Senior All-American tailback Cartel Brooks rushed for 249 yards on 24 carries. He had two touchdowns. Senior quarterback Michael Mees completed 17-of-33 passes for 251 yards and three TDs. Donteea Dye had eight receptions for 160 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Heidelberg struck first when Brooks broke free and scampered 71-yards to pay dirt. Two possessions later Mees hit Dye on a 73-yard scoring strike for a 14-0 lead.
Marietta responded with a 14-play scoring drive that covered 75 yards. O'Neal scored from seven yards out to cut the deficit to 14-6. The point after was blocked by Austin Crowe and scooped up by Tim Littles. Littles went the distance on the return for two points and a 16-6 Heidelberg lead.
The Pioneers forced Heidelberg to punt on its next possession and took over at their own 37-yard line. Young completed five-of-seven passes on the ensuing drive including a 20-yard scoring strike to Roberts. O'Neal rushed for the two-point conversion as Marietta got within two points, 16-14, with 1:34 left in the half.
Heidelberg grabbed the momentum right back as Mees engineered an eight-play, 86-yard drive to end the half. Mees capped the drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Dye as time expired in the first half. Stephen Smith added his third PAT and the Student Princes took a 23-14 lead into halftime.
AJ Morrison hit a 43-yard field goal for the Student Princes to account for the only points of third quarter. The Pioneers made it a one possession game when Young hit senior
Tyler Anderson (Huntington, W.Va./Cabell Midland) on a 20-yard scoring strike to make it 26-20 with 13:20 left in the game.
Once again Heidelberg answered right back driving 86 yards in eight plays. Mees again capped the drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Robert Gray. Brooks put the game away when he dove in from a yard out for a 40-20 lead with 6:27 left on the clock.
Marietta returns home to host Ohio Northern University next Saturday (Nov. 1) at 1:00 p.m. 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 and Instagram.
