Marietta football falls 38-6 on the road against #4 Capital
Pioneers to host John Carroll University Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Oct. 4, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Marietta College's football team suffered a 38-6 loss to fourth-ranked Capital University on Saturday (Oct. 4) afternoon at Bernlohr Stadium in Columbus. The Pioneers fell to 1-3 overall and 0-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), while the Crusaders improved to 4-0, 3-0 in league play.

Marietta dominated the time of possession, holding on to the ball for 34:45, but Capital dominated the play on the field, racking up 531 yards of total offense compared to Marietta's 258 yards. The Crusaders finished with 255 yards rushing and 276 yards passing in the win. The Pioneers ran for 85 yards and threw for 173 yards on the day. Capital overcame three lost fumbles, while Marietta turned the ball over twice.

Junior quarterback Dexter Hughes (Woodsfield/Monroe Central) completed 17-of-32 passes and threw for 139 yards. Freshman backup Andrew Keller (Cincinnati/Glen Este) came in to connect on 3-of-4 passes, covering 34 yards. Keller also accounted for Marietta's only score with an eight-yard touchdown run in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Junior tailback Lamar Hunter (South Euclid/Brush) led the Pioneers' ground game with 17 carries for 48 yards, while senior running back Garrett Banks (Barberton) added eight rushes for 29 yards to go along with a team-high four catches for 29 yards. Freshman wide receiver Jake Long (Mars, Pa./Pine-Richland) added three catches for 41 yards, sophomore wide out Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta) had three grabs for 20 yards and junior wide out Marty Mueller (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) finished with three receptions for 18 yards.

Capital's Marty Assmann finished the day 14-of-19 and threw for 267 yards with touchdown passes of 16 yards and 32 yards to sophomore Evan Blake in the first quarter. Assmann, who had five rushes for 47 yards, added a 15-yard touchdown run in the second frame and then a 30-yard scoring strike to Matt White in the third quarter. Tim Connor paced the Crusaders' rushing attack with 19 carries for 78 yards. Derick Alexander caught a team-high five catches for 105 yards and added a touchdown when he advanced a Capital fumble 76 yards for a score in the third quarter. Blake finished with three receptions for 57 yards and White had two grabs for 50 yards.

Marietta sophomore defensive lineman Adam Tate (Chesterhill/Federal Hocking) posted a career-high 11 stops, all solo, in the game. Junior safety George Davis (Warren/Newton Falls) added eight total tackles, while senior linebacker Jaimie Schumacher (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) had seven hits. Capital's defense was led by Pete Ankrom with a game-high 13 tackles, while Sam Jacobs contributed nine total hits.

The Pioneers, still in search of their first OAC win, will play host to John Carroll University on Saturday (Oct. 14) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium. The Blue Streaks improved to 3-1, 2-1 in the OAC, after a 31-17 win at home over Wilmington in week five. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. Live statistics will be available at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/livestats/xlive.htm and live audio can be heard by visiting http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html.