MARIETTA, Ohio — Ohio Northern University jumped out to a 16-0 lead and then held on for a 23-14 victory over Marietta College Saturday (Nov. 1) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium. The Polar Bears improve to 5-3 overall and 4-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Marietta drops to 2-6 overall and 1-6 in the OAC.
Ohio Northern kicked field goals on its first two possessions for a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. Matt Chaney hit a 49-yard field goal and Andrew DiMario connected from 38-yards out.
The Polar Bears' Justin Magazine scored on a three-yard run on the first play of the second quarter and DiMario added the point after to increase the ONU lead to 13-0. Magazine's run capped five play, 37-yard drive. Magazine finished the day with 116 yards rushing on 25 carries.
DiMario made it 16-0 in favor of Ohio Northern with a 24-yard field goal with 3:43 left in the first half.
While the offense was slowly increasing the lead, ONU's defense was stifling the Pioneer offense. Marietta gained 12 total yards and was held without a first down in the first half.
Marietta forced a big shift in momentum in the final seconds of the second quarter. The Pioneers blocked an Ohio Northern punt and MC's
Grant Patterson (Missouri City, Texas/Elkins) scooped up the loose ball and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown with 23 seconds left on the clock.
Thomas Hinkle (Fredericktown/Fredericktown) ran for the two-point conversion cutting the ONU lead to 16-8 at the break.
After trading punts on their first possessions of the second half, Ohio Northern put the ball in play from its own 31-yard line. Four plays later quarterback Patrick Angle hit Chad Bridges on a 27-yard scoring strike. DiMario added the PAT for a 23-8 lead with 10:27 left in the third quarter.
Angle completed 14-of-22 passes for 174 yards on the day. Bridges finished with three receptions for 43 yards, while Magazine caught five passes for 56 yards.
The Pioneers refused to go away quietly. Wide receiver
Nick Hineman (Beaver, Pa./Beaver Area) made a diving catch in the end zone on a 25-yard pass from
Akil Young (Pittsburgh, Pa./University Prep) with 14:15 left in the game. Marietta went for two to make it a one possession game, but the Hinkle's pass was incomplete making it 23-14.
Young completed 5-of-19 passes for 41 yards in the game. Marietta's running game never got going as freshman running back
Nick O'Neal (Mont Belvieu, Texas/Barbers Hill) managed only 43 yards on 18 carries.
For the game, Ohio Northern gained 305 yards of total offense, while the Pioneers were limited to 112 total yards.
Junior middle linebacker
Daryl DeWindt (Lilburn, Ga./Meadowcreek) led the Pioneer defense with 18 tackles. Junior defensive lineman
Joe Ortega (Fresno, Texas/Hightower) recorded 12 tackles including 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss. Senior linebacker
Cody Rice (Orrville/Orrville) had 11 tackles, while junior linebacker
Nick Thompson (Lancaster/Lancaster) had a pair of sacks.
Marietta travels to New Concord next Saturday (Nov. 8) for a 1:30 p.m. showdown with rival Muskingum University in a battle for the Shrine Trophy. 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.
