WILMINGTON, Ohio — After falling behind 8-0, Marietta College scored 45 straight points on its way to a 45-15 road victory Saturday (Oct. 14) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference football action. The Pioneers improve to 4-2 overall and 302 in the OAC. Wilmington falls to 3-3 on the season and 2-3 in the OAC.
"We didn't start out the way we wanted to. But our guys responded and played a very good three quarters of football after that scoring 45 consecutive points," Marietta head coach
Andy Waddle said. "Our defense continues to get pressure on the quarterback and limit teams in the running game. Connor (Vierstra) stood in there and did some good things throughout the game. Bryce (Agnew) was awesome today and Vante' (Hodges) had a really nice game."
Wilmington intercepted a Pioneer pass and returned the ball to the Marietta 23-yard line and a penalty moved the ball to the 13-yard line. The quakers needed just one play to grab the lead as quarterback Derek Larimer connected with Bryan Kearse on a touchdown pass. The Quakers converted a two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead with 11:25 left in the first quarter.
Eric Thurman (Massillon, Ohio/Washington) returned the ensuing kickoff back to the Marietta 43-yard line. The Pioneers moved the ball 57 yards in six plays to get on the board.
Connor Vierstra (Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood) hit Jay Melchiori on a 27-yard touchdown.
Viertsra put the Pioneers on top later in the first quarter with a 5-yard scoring strike to
Dawson Snyder (Pittsburgh, Pa./Moon Area). Marietta led 14-8 heading into the second period.
The second quarter was all
Bryce Agnew (Cleveland, Ohio/Berea-Midpark). The All-American scored two of his three touchdowns in the game. Agnew scored on runs of 9 yards and 2 yards giving Marietta a 28-8 lead at halftime.
Agnew's third touchdown of the afternoon, this time from 5 yards out, extended the Pioneer lead to 35-8. Viertsra put the game out of reach with a 42-yard scoring strike to Melchiori to give Marietta a 42-8 lead after three quarters.
Marietta's final points came on a 29-yard field goal from
Derek Cline (De Graff, Ohio/Indian Lake) with 9:12 left in the game.
Wilmington scored with two minutes left in the game when Larimer tossed a 1-yard pass to Jayv'n Hill.
Agnew finished with 167 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries.
Vante' Hodges (Horn Lake, Miss./Horn Lake) ran for 53 yards on six carries. Vierstra completed 14-of-19 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. He was picked off twice.
Logyn Ratliff (New Lexington, Ohio/New Lexington) completed his only pass of the game for 37 yards.
Dre Baldwin (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny) had five catches for 107 yards for the Pioneers. Melchiori finished with four receptions for 82 yards and two touchdowns, while Snyder had three catches for 23 yards and one touchdown.
Larimer completed 22-of-33 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once. Nehemiah Jenkins carried the ball 19 times for 52 yards and Nathan Throckmorton had 45 yards on seven carries. Lathan Jones caught eight passes for 89 yards, while Kearse had five catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Marietta returns home to host Heidelberg next Saturday (Oct. 21). Kickoff is set for 3:00 p.m. as the Pioneers will be celebrating Homecoming.
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 X and Instagram.
