MARIETTA, Ohio — In a game that saw four lead changes in the final two and a half minutes, Baldwin Wallace defeated Marietta College, 33-29, Saturday (Oct. 1) evening at Don Drumm Stadium. The loss drops Marietta to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Baldwin Wallace improves to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in the OAC.
"I'm really proud of our guys and their effort on every play tonight," Marietta head coach
Andy Waddle said. "Our offense made some big plays and scored points when we needed. We got out of position a couple of times on defense and Baldwin Wallace was able to take advantage of it."
Marietta quarterback
Connor Vierstra (Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood) connected with
Derek Witsberger (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) on a 10-yard touchdown pass to put the Pioneers in front, 21-20, with 2:26 left on the clock.
The Yellow Jackets answered with a 10-play, 72-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Joey Marousek to Rocco DelVerme. BW's two-point try failed and the Yellow Jackets led 26-21 with 1:08 on the clock.
Dawson Snyder (Pittsburgh, Pa./Moon Area) took the ensuing kickoff and returned it to the Baldwin Wallace 43-yard line. The Pioneers needed just one play to find the endzone as Vierstra hit Snyder in stride for the touchdown. Marietta went for two and Vierstra found
Justin Moser (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin) open in the right corner of the endzone to make it 29-26 with 53 seconds left in the game.
Marietta's kickoff went for a touchback giving BW the ball on their own 25-yard line. Marousek completed passes to Vinny Lomeo for 13 yards and Mikel Love for 26 yards moving the ball to the Pioneer 36-yard line.
Following an incomplete pass, Marousek found Darius Stokes for 19 more yards giving the Yellow Jackets a first down at the MC 17-yard line. An incomplete pass to Stokes was followed by a 17-yard touchdown to Love. Dean Sarris added the extra point for a 33-29 lead with just six seconds left on the clock.
Marietta fielded the kickoff and lateraled the ball several times before
Bryce Agnew (Cleveland, Ohio/Berea-Midpark) was tackled ending the game.
Marousek completed 18-of-33 passes for 240 yards and four touchdowns. He was picked off twice. Stokes had eight receptions for 84 yards and one score. Jon Murray, Jr. led the BW ground attack with 86 yards on 23 carries.
Agnew carried the ball 28 times for Marietta finishing with 94 yards. Viertsra completed 17-of-26 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns. Snyder finished with nine catches and two touchdowns and tied the school single game record with 210 yards. He also had 99 yards on three kickoff returns.
Marietta plays at John Carroll University next Saturday (Oct. 8). 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.
