MARIETTA, Ohio — Junior running back
Roger Walker (Palm Bay, Fla./Bayside) scored four touchdowns but it wasn't enough as Marietta College dropped a 45-29 decision to visiting Ohio Northern University Saturday (Oct. 29) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium.
The Polar Bears improve to 4-4 on the season and 4-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Marietta slips to 2-6 overall and 2-5 in league play.
Walker scored on runs of 4, 5 and 53 yards and caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback
Darrien Fields (Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa). Walker carried the ball 26 times for 172 yards. It was the fifth straight game he has rushed for over 100 yards.
After a scoreless first quarter, the teams traded touchdowns and went into halftime tied, 21-21. Walker got the Pioneers on the board first with a 4-yard run to cap a 13-play, 88-yards drive.
Jimmy Embrescia (Northfield, Ohio/Nordonia) kicked the extra point.
Ohio Northern answered right back moving 60 yards on just five plays. Christiaan Williams ran it in from 2 yards out and Joe French added the point after making it 7-7.
Both teams scored on three straight possessions in the quarter. Walker put MC back in front when Fields hit him on a 21-yard soring strike. Once again Williams evened the score with a rushing touchdown for the Polar Bears.
On the ensuing possession, Marietta went 76 yards on nine plays to retake the lead. Walker scored from 5 yards out for a 21-14 lead. Ohio Northern needed just one play to knot the score as Will Freed hooked up with Williams on a 61-yard scoring strike.
After the halftime break, French hit a 41-yard field goal to put ONU in front for the first time, 24-21. Including the Freed to Williams bomb in the second quarter, the Polar Bears would score 31 straight points to build a 45-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Marietta got its first points of the second half when Walker broke off a 53-yard touchdown run. Fields hit
Dalyn Loomis (Newark, Ohio/Lakewood) for the two-point conversion making it 45-29 with 5:51 left in the game. But that was as close as the Pioneers would get.
Fields completed 25-of-38 passes for 219 yards. Freshman
Billy Frauens (McKees Rocks, Pa./Sto-Rox) was on the receiving end of 11 of those completions accounting for 70 yards. In addition to his passing, Fields ran the ball 12 times for 110 yards.
Williams finished with 23 carries for 162 yards for the Polar Bears. Freed threw for 282 yards on 19-of-26 passes. He threw three touchdowns and was picked off once.
Marietta hosts Capital University next Saturday (Nov. 5) for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff. 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.
