Marietta falls 34-7 to host Wilmington in OAC opener
Pioneers turn the ball over six times in loss

Sept. 20, 2008
WILMINGTON, Ohio — The Marietta College football team was plagued by six turnovers in its Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) opener Saturday (Sept. 20) night, helping host Wilmington College roll to a 34-7 victory in the first night game on the Quakers' campus since 1974. The Pioneers snapped a four-game win streak against the Quakers and fell to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the OAC. Wilmington improved to 1-1, 1-0 in league play.

Marietta, who turned the ball over three times in each half, finished with 274 total yards—215 yards rushing and 59 yards passing. Wilmington, meanwhile, racked up 346 yards with 114 coming on the ground and 232 coming through the air. Both teams committed 12 penalties in the game; it cost Marietta 109 yards and Wilmington 136 yards.

Wilmington took a 7-0 advantage into the second quarter after scoring on its fourth possession of the game. Tim Pugh capped a six-play, 58-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the first frame. Marietta threatened to tie the score on its next possession after working the ball down to the Wilmington eight-yard line. T.J. Burbridge, however, intercepted a pass by junior Dexter Hughes (Woodsfield/Monroe Central) in the end zone to stop the drive.

On the ensuing Quaker possession, Billy Blackburn connected with Jeremy Stuckey for 26-yard touchdown pass to give Wilmington a 14-0 lead. A Hughes fumble in Marietta territory led to Wilmington's third touchdown. Blackburn took advantage by completing three straight passes; the third one was a 14-yard touchdown strike to Stuckey to give Wilmington a 21-0 lead with 5:25 to play in the half. Blackburn orchestrated another three-play scoring drive at the end of the half to extend his team's lead to 28-0 at intermission. Again, Stuckey was the target on the touchdown, a 28-yard connection between the two, which was their third of the half.

After a scoreless third quarter, Wilmington added another touchdown following Hughes' second interception of the game. This time, it took just two plays for the Quakers to move 19 yards, highlighted by an 18-yard touchdown run by Adam Reynolds. The conversion attempt failed, making the score 34-0 in favor of host Wilmington with 7:20 remaining in the game.

Marietta finally got on the board on its next possession, which was set up by a 24-yard kickoff return by junior George Davis (Warren/Newton Falls) along with a 15-yard Quaker penalty after the play. Junior Lamar Hunter (South Euclid/Brush) capped a six-play drive with a three-yard touchdown run, his first of the year. Junior Corey Lemke (Loudonville) added the extra point to provide the final tally in a 34-7 loss.

Hunter led all ball carriers with 26 rushes for a career-high 172 yards. Hughes finished 8-of-23 and threw for 59 yards. Sophomore Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta) caught two passes for 19 yards, while sophomore Cody Huff (Byesville/Meadowbrook) had two catches for 18 yards and freshman Jake Long (Mars, Pa./Pine Richland) had two catches for seven yards.

Blackburn finished the night 17-of-32 and threw for 232 yards and three scores. Three different Quakers had five receptions. Stuckey's five grabs went for 87 yards and three touchdowns, while Brandon Hiatt and Marque Jones had 65 yards and 37 yards, respectively. Astin Laury led Wilmington's rushing attack with nine carries for 40 yards.

Defensively, Davis, Lemke and sophomore Adam Tate (Chesterhill/Federal Hocking) all had eight tackles, while seven other Pioneers finished with four stops. Tate and senior Grant Cowell (Perrysville/Loudonville) combined for Marietta's lone sack.

Wilmington's defense was led by Chris Medley with 12 tackles. Donta' Stone added nine stops and John Rupp had seven hits, including two sacks.

Marietta will look to bounce back on Saturday (Sept. 27) night when the Pioneers play host to Baldwin-Wallace College (1-1, 1-0 OAC) in their home opener at Don Drumm Stadium. The Yellow Jackets defeated cross-town rival John Carroll Univesity 21-17 in week three. Kickoff of the game, which will be carried live on WTAP-TV as well as on WMRT-FM 88.3 and WMOA-AM 1490, is slated for 7 p.m. The television broadcast can also be seen on www.wtap.com, while both radio broadcasts can also be heard online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html. Live statistics will be available at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/livestats/xlive.htm. Saturday will be Alumni Day at Marietta and it is the fourth annual River City Bowl with the first 1,000 fans receiving a free t-shirt.