NEW CONCORD, Ohio — Muskingum University jumped out to a 17-0 lead and then held on to defeat Marietta College by the score of 17-13 Saturday (Nov. 8) afternoon in the annual battle for the Shrine Trophy. The Fighting Muskies retained the trophy for the sixth straight year.
Neither team managed a first down on its first two possessions of the game as the rivals were feeling each other out. Following a Marietta punt that was downed at the one-yard line, Muskingum (2-7 overall, 2-6 OAC) marched 99 yards on 19 plays for the first score of the game.
Running back Melvin Smith was the workhorse carrying the ball 14 times for 61 yards on the drive. Smith capped the drive with a four-yard scamper into the end zone. Cody Dent added the point after for a 7-0 Muskie lead with 14:22 left in the first half. Muskingum's drive took 9:55 off the clock.
Smith finished the day with 157 yards rushing on 35 carries. He scored twice. Muskie quarterback Cody Williams was 9-of-16 for 82 yards passing. Williams ran for 31 yards on six carries.
Marietta (2-7, 1-7 OAC) struggled on offense in the first half. The Pioneers had just two first downs and 14 total yards of offense, while Muskingum had the football for nearly 21 minutes in the first two quarters.
With 6:16 remaining before halftime, the Muskies forced Marietta to punt from its own two-yard line. Muskingum put the ball in play from the Pioneer 31-yard line and scored six plays later on a three-yard rush by Smith. Dent's PAT made it 14-0.
Marietta went three-and-out on its next possession giving Muskingum the ball back with 2:38 left in the second quarter. The Muskies drove to the Pioneer 12-yard before settling for a 30-yard field from Dent to take a 17-0 lead into the locker room.
Desperately needing to get the offense going, Marietta turned to freshman running back
Nick O'Neal (Mont Belvieu, Texas/Barbers Hill) in the third quarter. The Pioneers started from their own 13-yard line to open the second quarter and three straight carries by O'Neal moved the ball to the 31-yard line.
Quarterback
Akil Young (Pittsburgh, Pa./University Prep) hit tight end
Tyler Anderson (Huntington, W.Va./Cabell Midland) for 18 more yards moving the ball out near midfield. After an array of penalties on both teams over the next four plays, Marietta had the ball first-and-ten at its own 48-yard line.
The Pioneers broke the huddle and set up in a special formation with the offensive line split out to the Marietta sideline. Only the center, a guard, the tight end and quarterback were left in the middle of the field.
With the Muskie defense confused, Marietta snapped the ball and Young hit Anderson streaking down the center of the field for a 52-yard scoring strike. Muskingum was whistled for being offside on the PAT so Marietta elected to go for two but O'Neal's run failed leaving the Pioneers down 17-6.
With the momentum swinging in the Pioneers' favor, Marietta held the Muskies to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession. The Pioneers took over at its own 30-yard line.
15 plays later, O'Neal dove in from a yard out cutting the Muskingum lead to four, 17-13, with 3:24 still remaining in the third quarter. O'Neal did the bulk of the work on the drive with 12 carries for 49 yards.
Zach Prichard (Lowell/Fort Frye) added the point after.
O'Neal finished with 23 carries for 89 yards on the day. Young completed 11-of-23 passes for 138 yards. Anderson caught five passes for 100 yards.
After trading punts for the remainder of the third quarter and most of the fourth, Marietta had one last chance to overcome the Muskie lead. The Pioneers took over at its own 16-yard line with 2:20 left in the game.
Young completed passes to Anderson for seven yards,
Tannon Roberts (West Palm Beach, Fla./Berean Christian) for 16 yards and O'Neal for seven more to move the ball out to the 49-yard line. On fourth down, Marietta needed three yards to keep the drive alive. Young was flushed from the pocket and tackled a yard short of the line to gain turning the ball back over to Muskingum with 55 seconds left on the clock.
Muskingum assumed the victory formation and kneeled on the ball twice to run out the clock and retain the Shrine Trophy. Smith was named the offensive Most Valuable Player, while Marietta middle linebacker
Daryl DeWindt (Lilburn, Ga./Meadowcreek) earned the defensive MVP award after making 10 tackles and forcing a fumble.
Marietta returns home next Saturday (Nov. 15) to host Capital University in the season finale. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. as the Pioneers welcome members of the armed forces for Veterans Appreciation Day. Marietta will also honor its six seniors prior to the game.
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.
