MARIETTA, Ohio — John Carroll University defeated Marietta College by the score of 35-10 Saturday (Oct. 17) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference football action. The Blue Streaks improve to 5-1 on the season and 4-1 in the OAC, while Marietta slips to 1-5 overall and 1-4 in conference play.
John Carroll built a 21-0 lead in the first half. The Pioneers were 0-for-8 on third down conversions and suffered from several key penalties to aid the Blue Streaks.
Ro Golphin ran the ball in from three yards out to give JCU the lead with 7:40 left in the opening quarter. Golphin's run capped a 10-play, 76-yard drive. Jake Vivonetto added the point after for a 7-0 lead.
Jake Schaefer threw a pair of scoring strikes in the second quarter. He hit Nico james for a 21-yard touchdown and Marshall Howard for a 19-yard score.
A big play from the Marietta defense was thwarted by a penalty just before halftime.
Ben Hawkins (Houston, Texas/Dekaney) intercepted a Schaefer pass at the 15-yard line and returned it 85 yards for an apparent touchdown. However, a Pioneer penalty negated the score and Marietta settled for a field goal attempt that fell short sending MC to the locker room trailing 21-0.
The Pioneer defense held twice on fourth down in the third quarter to keep Marietta within striking distance.
Jimmy Embrescia (Northfield/Nordonia) hit a 23-yard field goal with 1:36 left in the third to cut the JCU lead to 21-3.
John Carroll answered right back with a 63-yard scoring drive. Golphin carried the ball five times for 50 yards before Schaefer and Howell hooked up on a 13-yard TD pass.
On the ensuing possession, Marietta used a little misdirection to score its only touchdown of the afternoon. On first down at the JCU 30-yard line, quarterback
Lucas Havens (Granville Summit, Pa./Troy Area) took the snap, turned to his right and threw a lateral to
Nick Hineman (Beaver, Pa./Beaver Area).
Hineman then lofted a pass to
Roger Bush (Palm Bay, Fla./Bayside) who was streaking down the left sideline. Without a single Blue Streak defender with 20 yards, Bush caught the pass and coasted into the end zone. Embrescia added the point after cutting the lead to 28-10 with 9:53 left in the game.
Golphin scored his second rushing touchdown of the game less than three minutes later to secure the win for John Carroll. Golphin finished with 203 yards on 33 carries. Schaefer was 21-of-37 for 225 yards and three scores. Jordan D'Orazio caught 10 of those passes for 81 yards, while Howell had five catches for 91 yards and two scores.
Havens was Marietta's leading rusher gaining 78 yards on 20 carries. He completed 9-of-23 passes for 78 yards.
Clay Moorefield (Pittsburgh, Pa./University Prep) had five receptions for 33 yards and Hineman had three catches for 43 yards to go along with his first career touchdown pass.
Defensive back
Corey Hunsberger (Washington, Pa./Trinity) had a game-high 10 tackles.
Chase Randolph (Dayton/Oakwood) made nine tackles, while
Christian Mayola (Dublin/Coffman) finished with eight stops.
Marietta hosts Heidelberg University next Saturday (Oct. 24). Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
