MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College used a balanced attack to easily defeat Wilmington College by the score of 52-6 Saturday (Nov. 2) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium. The Senior Day victory gives the Pioneers an 8-0 overall record and 7-0 Ohio Athletic Conference mark. The Quakers fall to 1-7 on the season and 1-6 in the OAC.
"It was awesome to go 1-0 this week and 8-0 on the season," Marietta head coach
Andy Waddle said. "We have a really special group of young men that love each other and want to go out and perform at a very high level."
Quartreback
Connor Vierstra (Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood) made the most of his limited playing time as the Pioneers played three signal callers in the game. Vierstra played the first three series and completed 6-of-7 passes for 77 yards and one touchdown.
"I thought we did a great job at quarterback today. We saw three guys in action and all three did a good job," Waddle said. "I was impressed with our running backs and the way they were able to run the ball. All three made their opportunities count."
Taz Morris (Tampa, Fla./Wharton) started the scoring spree for the Pioneers breaking loose on a 62-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter. Morris finished the day with 10 carries for 94 yards and the one score.
Wilmington responded with a 10-play, 59-yard drive that stalled on the Marietta 11-yard line. The Quakers settled for a 28-yard Connor Bucksath field goal; the first points Marietta has allowed in the first quarter all season.
Marietta finished the half with 21 straight points to lead 28-3 at halftime. Vierstra hit
Dawson Snyder (Pittsburgh, Pa./Moon Area) on a 4-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the first quarter. Snyder then caught a 19-yard touchdown from
Larson Brown (Mason, Ohio/Mason) in the second quarter.
The two touchdown receptions for Snyder set a pair of Marietta College records. Snyder broke the Pioneer single season record and career records with his ninth touchdown catch of the season and 24th in his career. Snyder finished the day with six catches for 66 yards and two scores.
Vante' Hodges (Horn Lake, Miss./Horn Lake) scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns in the final minute of the second quarter diving in from one yard out. He added an 8-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Hodges led Marietta with 96 yards on 12 carries.
Following a 26-yard field from
Derek Cline (De Graff, Ohio/Indian Lake), Jay Melchiori hauled in a 35-yard touchdown catch from Brown. Marietta's final score came on a 5-yard run from
Zion Jackson-Wilborn (Whitehall, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) in the fourth quarter.
Bucksath kicked a 27-yard field accounting for all the Quaker points in the game.
Brown completed 8-of-11 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
Antwon Johnson (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley) was 4-for-6 passing for 41 yards. Jackson-Wilborn carried the ball 10 times for 73 yards and the score, while
Isaiah Mitchell (Hebron, Ohio/Lakewood) had five carries for 41 yards.
Marietta amassed 566 total yards of offense in the game. The Pioneers rushed for 331 yards and threw for an additional 235 yards.
Once again, the Pioneer defense showed why it is among the best in the country. Marietta held Wilmington to just 45 yards rushing; the eighth straight game of keeping the opponent under 100 yards on the ground.
Linebacker
Harley Hopkins (Zanesville, Ohio/West Muskingum) led the defense with eight tackles. Defensive lineman
Chance Knight (Bridgeport, Ohio/Linsly School) had six tackles, including 1.0 for a loss and 0.5 sacks.
Jake Visnic (St. Clairsville, Ohio/Shadyside) had 2.0 sacks.
Marietta hits the road next week for a big game at No. 3 ranked Mount Union on Saturday (Nov. 9). 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 X and Instagram.
