Second half comeback leads Marietta past rival Muskingum 30-22 on Homecoming
Pioneers overcome slow start to defeat Muskies for eighth straight year

Oct. 25, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College freshman wide receiver Jahmaal Jones (Valrico, Fla./Bloomindale) caught a pair of second half touchdown passes from classmate Andrew Keller (Cincinnati/Glen Este) to lead the Pioneer football team to a 30-22 Homecoming victory over visiting Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) rival Muskingum College Saturday (Oct. 25) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium.

The Pioneers, who have now defeated the Fighting Muskies on seven straight occasions, improved to 2-5 overall and 1-5 in league play. Muskingum fell to 2-5, 1-5 in the OAC. Six of the previous seven meetings between the two southeast Ohio schools had been decided by less than one score, and Saturday's outcome extended the trend to seven of eight games.

Muskingum struck first on its second possession after the Pioneers fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, the only turnover of the game. The Muskies capitalized on the next play with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Jake Burns to Josh Grafton, giving the visitors a 7-0 advantage just 2:13 into the action.

Marietta bounced back with its first scoring drive of the day on the following possession, which was set up by a 39-yard kickoff return by freshman wide receiver Chad Walker (Spring Hill, Fla./Central). Junior quarterback Dexter Hughes (Woodsfield/Monroe Central) completed 4-of-4 pass on the drive to get the Pioneers' down to the Muskies' 15-yard line. Marietta, however, was forced to settle for a 32-yard field goal attempt, which was converted by senior Corey Lemke (Loudonville), making the score 7-3.

The Fighting Muskies extended their lead early to 10-7 in the second frame when Nick Stevens capped a 10-play, 32-yard drive with a 39-yard field goal. Muskingum then increased its advantage to 16-3 with 10:01 left in the half when Burns hooked up with Dwight Sutton for an 84-yard touchdown pass, the longest in school history. The extra point attempt failed.

Marietta closed the gap to 16-10 just before halftime. A kick catching interference penalty on a punt gave the Pioneers the ball on their own 42-yard line with three minutes to play in the second quarter. Hughes led Marietta down to the Muskingum 29-yard line by completing four straight passes, while a pass interference call moved the Pioneers into the red zone at the 14-yard line. On third down and 15, Hughes scrambled for 14 yards, getting tackled to set up a fourth down and one from the five-yard line. Hughes then found sophomore wide out Jake Long (Mars, Pa./Pine-Richland) open for the touchdown with 16 seconds left on the clock to cut the lead down to six points, 16-10, and give his team the momentum heading into halftime.

The Pioneers came out on their first possession of the second half and pieced together an 11-play, 63-yard drive to take their first lead of the day, 17-16. Hughes appeared to have scored the go-ahead touchdown on a three-yard run but a penalty negated the score; Hughes was also hurt on the play. Keller relieved Hughes and found Jones open for an eight-yard touchdown strike on the next snap to put the points back on the board with 10:23 to play in the third.

The score remained 17-16 in favor of Marietta into the fourth frame and until the Pioneers extended their lead to 24-16 on their first drive of the quarter. Senior running back Garrett Banks (Barberton) finished off a 15-play, 77-yard drive, which took almost eight minute off the clock, with a two-yard touchdown run.

Muskingum answered on their next possession, just their second of the half, with an eight-play, 76-yard drive to pull within a score, 24-22. Caleb Fuller caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Burns to cap the drive. The two-point conversion failed when junior defensive back Rob Williamson (Williamstown, W.Va.) knocked down the Burns pass attempt.

Marietta extended its lead back to eight points minutes later when Keller hit Jones on a 21-yard touchdown pass with just 4:09 left in the game. The score capped a five-play, 43-yard drive, which was set up by a 33-yard kickoff return by sophomore Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta).

Muskingum had chance to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion after Marietta missed its extra point, but senior defensive back Clinton Thompson (Waverly, W.Va./Williamstown) broke up a pass on fourth down from the Marietta 27-yard line to give the ball back to the Pioneers, who ran out the clock for the 30-22 victory.

The Muskies finished the day with a 321-294 lead in total offense. Marietta, who controlled the ball for 31:27, had 20 first downs compared to Muskingum's 16 first downs.

Junior tailback Lamar Hunter (South Euclid/Brush) led Marietta, who finished with 137 yards on the ground, with 16 carries for 54 yards, while Banks added 12 carries for 40 yards. Keller also added five rushes for 25 yards, while Hughes had six rushes for 18 yards.

Hughes completed 14-of-25 passes and threw for 110 yards and one score before leaving the game in the third quarter. Keller finished 5-of-5 for 47 yards and two touchdowns. Kriechbaum caught a game-high and career-high 10 passes for 80 yards. Long pulled in four receptions for 34 yards, including the touchdown, while Jones had three grabs for 34 yards and two scores.

Fuller paced the Muskingum ground attack, which compiled 110 yards, with 15 rushes for 56 yards. Burns added 50 yards on 18 carries. He also completed 12-of-21 passes for 211 yards and three scores. Sutton and Murray both pulled in three receptions; Sutton's three catches went for 104 yards, while Murray's three receptions totaled 27 yards.

Junior defensive back George Davis (Warren/Newton Falls) led all tacklers with 11 total hits, including nine solo stops. Sophomore Adam Tate (Chesterhill/Federal Hocking) and senior linebacker Grant Cowell (Perrysville/Loudonville) both added six total tackles for the Pioneers, who registered four sacks and 10 tackles for loss on the day. Muskingum's defense was led by Brian Madzia with nine stops, while Pat Lynch had six.

Marietta is back in action on Saturday (Nov. 1) afternoon when the Pioneers visit Westerville for an OAC showdown with undefeated Otterbein College, who defeated Capital today 38-9 to improve to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the OAC. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.