MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College rushed for nearly 400 yards as the Pioneers easily defeated Capital University by the score of 54-10 Saturday (Sept. 28) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference football action. Marietta improves to 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in the OAC. Capital falls to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in the OAC.
"It was really good to see us control the line of scrimmage. Having two backs over a 100 yards rushing was awesome and to see Vante' (Hodges) go for 210 was special," Marietta head coach
Andy Waddle said. "We played great on the defensive line with six sacks and put their running game in check. To win the rushing war 374 to 38 yards is a testament to our guys up front on both sides of the ball"
Marietta's running back tandem of
Vante' Hodges (Horn Lake, Miss./Horn Lake) and
Taz Morris (Tampa, Fla./Wharton) combined for 338 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just 22 carries. Hodges had two runs over 70 yards and finished with 210 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. Morris had 15 carries for 128 and one score.
Hodges got the Pioneers on the board when he scored form 19 yards out to cap a 7-play, 62-yard scoring drive.
Derek Cline (De Graff, Ohio/Indian Lake) added the point after.
Marietta added two more scores in the first quarter.
Connor Vierstra (Thornville, Ohio/Lakewood) connected with
Evan Gandee (Vincent, Ohio/Warren) on a 3-yard touchdown pass and then Vierstra ran one in from the 4-yard line. Cline converted both extra points giving the Pioneers a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Capital responded with one of their best drives of the afternoon. Quarterback Ben Owens hit Wesley Armstead for 36 yards giving the Comets a first and goal at the Pioneer 10-yard line. But a rush for minus one, an incomplete pass, and a sack for a loss of six yards left Capital with a fourth and goal at the 17-yard line forcing Capital to settle for a field goal. Tyler Terrell's 34-yard attempt was good making it 21-3.
After trading punts, Marietta put the ball in play at its own 23-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Hodges broke free for a 77-tard touchdown run.
The Pioneers forced another Capital punt on the ensuing possession and took over at its own 15-yard line. Marietta went on a 9-play, 85-yard scoring drive. Vierstra connected with
Dawson Snyder (Pittsburgh, Pa./Moon Area) on a 15-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive and took a 35-3 lead into halftime.
Capital received the second half kickoff, but a penalty left the Comets starting from their own 6-yard line.
Chance Knight (Bridgeport, Ohio/Linsly School) sacked Owens in the endzone for a safety.
A 30-yard field goal from Cline pushed the margin to 40-3 midway through the third quarter. Capital answered with a 6-play, 60-yard scoring drive. Aaron Gilbert dove in from a yard out for a 40-10 Pioneer lead.
Morris and
Antwon Johnson (Monaca, Pa./Central Valley) added short rushing touchdowns for the final 54-10 score.
Vierstra completed 15-of-20 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Snyder caught six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown. Morris and Gandee each had three catches. Morris had 51 yards receiving and Gandee had 46 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Chance Knight (Bridgeport, Ohio/Linsly School) led the Pioneer defense with 3.0 sacks, a forced fumble and a safety. He finished with five tackles.
Marietta is back at home next Saturday (Oct. 5) when Ohio Northern visits Don Drumm Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:00 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.
