MARIETTA, Ohio — The No. 4 ranked University of Mount Union scored 21 first quarter points as the Purple Raiders defeated Marietta College by the score of 37-7 Saturday (Nov. 13) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium.
Mount Union finishes the regular season with a 10-0 overall record and won the Ohio Athletic Conference championship with a 9-0 league record. The Purple Raiders advance into the NCAA Championship that starts next weekend.
Marietta ends the season with a 4-6 overall record. The Pioneers went 4-5 in the OAC.
Josh Jones set the tone early for the Mount Union defense. The junior picked off a Marietta College pass and returned it for a touchdown on the Pioneers' second play from scrimmage.
Mount Union made it 14-0 on its next possession. A 40-yard pass from Braxton Plunk to Derrick Harvey moved the ball to the Pioneer 7-yard line. DeAndre Parker carried the ball for no gain and then scored on a 7-yard run on second down.
After forcing the Pioneers to punt on the ensuing possession, Mount Union took over at its own 19-yard line. Plunk capped a 13-play, 81-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Chase Lawson extending the lead to 21-0 with 2:43 l3ft in the first quarter.
Special teams set up Mount Union's final score of the first half. Aaron Hawk blocked a Marietta punt, and the Purple Raiders recovered the ball on the Marietta 10-yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Plunk hit Jaden Manley for a 10-yard touchdown on second down. Nick Deack added his fourth extra point of the game for a 28-0 Mount Union lead at halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, Deack kicked a 22-yard field goal to make it 31-0 with 10:07 left in the game. The Purple Raiders added another score when Josh Petruccelli ran it in from 4-yards out. Deack missed the extra point for a 37-7 Mount Union lead.
Marietta got on the board in the final minute of the game.
Bryce Agnew (Cleveland, Ohio/Berea-Midpark) broke a 20-yard run and then caught a 28-yard pass from
Connor Vierstra (Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood). Vierstra then connected with
Dre Baldwin (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny) on a 28-yard touchdown pass.
Jake Bolyard (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) added the point after for a 37-7 final score.
Agnew finished with 48 yards rushing on 19 carries. He also had four catches for 46 yards. Viertsra completed 10-of-26 passes for 101 yards and one touchdown. He was picked off four times.
Vic Giovengo (Benwood, W.Va./The Linsly School) led the Pioneer defense with 14 tackles.
Darius Hatch (Mesa, Ariz./Mesa) had 11 stops and
Drake Neuberger (Norwalk, Ohio/Norwalk) and
Kyle Gallagher (Chesterland, Ohio/West Geauga) had 1.0 sack apiece.
Plunk competed 25-of-37 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns. Wayne Ruby, Jr. had nine receptions for 73 yards. Petruccelli rushed for 59 yards on 20 carries and scored once. He added five catches for 59 yards.
Jones had two interceptions for the Purple Raiders. Duke Hill had a team-high seven tackles including 1.0 sack.
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.
