Heidelberg shocks Marietta with 42-40, comeback victory
Student Princes scored 19 unanswered points in final six minutes

Nov. 8, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College football team suffered a heartbreaking, 42-40 loss to visiting Heidelberg College in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action on Saturday (Nov. 8) afternoon at Don Drumm Stadium. The Pioneers (2-7, 1-7 OAC) led their annual Shrine Game, 40-23, with just over seven minutes to play, but the Student Princes (3-6, 2-6 OAC) scored three touchdowns before the final horn sounded to pull out the thrilling victory.

Marietta dominated the time of possession, holding onto the ball for 34:37. The Pioneers, who had a season-high 26 first downs, racked up 234 yards on the ground and 214 through the air to finish with 448 yards of total offense. Heidelberg, who had the ball for 25:23, finished with 450 yards of offense, running for 209 yards and passing for 241 yards. The teams combined for 82 points, including 62 points in the second half.

Shrine Most Valuable Players, Marietta freshman quarterback Andrew Keller (Cincinnati/Glen Este) and Heidelberg sophomore quarterback Andrew Miller, both had solid days under center. Keller, making just his second start, completed 17-of-22 passes and threw for 214 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran eight times for 50 yards and another score. Miller completed 18-of-35 passes and threw for 245 yards with three touchdowns and one interception while adding 10 carries for 81 yards.

Jemar Lewis led the Student Princes and all ball carriers with 20 rushes for 120 yards and two scores. Marietta junior Lamar Hunter (South Euclid/Brush) finished with 13 carries for 71 yards, sophomore Cody Huff (Byesville/Meadowbrook) had 14 rushes for 48 yards and two touchdowns and senior Garrett Banks (Barberton) compiled 41 yards and one score on seven carries.

Freshman Jahmaal Jones (Valrico, Fla./Bloomindale) paced Marietta’s receivers with five catches for 67 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta) also contributed four catches for 23 yards and sophomore Zach Lashaway (Wauseon/Evergreen) finished with three grabs for 52 yards. Mike Preston led Heidelberg with six catches for 49 yards, including the game-winning catch with eight seconds to play. Dawond Roddy added five grabs for 55 yards, while Lucas Bauer had four receptions for 91 yards.

Defensively, freshman Cody Andrews (Carmichael, Pa./Carmichaels Area) led Marietta with eight total hits, while senior Corey Lemke (Loudonville) had six stops. Senior Rob Williamson (Williamstown, W.Va.) picked off a pass for the second straight game. Shawn Shriver led Heidelberg with 12 tackles, while Vaughn Klein had 10 stops.

Marietta began the scoring in its first possession of the game. Hunter carried the ball five straight times for 44 yards before Keller connected with Jones for a 44-yard touchdown to give the Pioneers a 7-0 lead.

After forcing a three-and-out, the Pioneers extended their lead to 14-0 on their second possession. Banks capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Keller set up the score with a 34-yard completion to freshman Chad Walker (Spring Hill, Fla./Central) on fourth and eight from the 35-yard line.

Heidelberg cracked the scoreboard late in the second quarter when Jesse Hawkins kicked a 25-yard field goal. The teams entered the half with Marietta leading 14-3.

Marietta quickly increased its lead to 20-3 when junior George Davis (Warren/Newton Falls) returned the second half kickoff for a 78-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt failed.

The Student Princes answered with a touchdown on their first drive of the third quarter. Lewis capped an eight-play, 37-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run to pull his team back within 10 points, 20-10.

Marietta came right back with another scoring drive, which covered seven plays and 63 yards. The Pioneers stretched their lead to 27-10 with 7:07 to play in the third frame when Keller took the ball around the end from four-yards out for the touchdown, his second rushing score of the season.

Heidelberg once again answered with a touchdown on its next possession. Lewis completed the seven-play, 62-yards drive with a 24-yard touchdown run to make the score 27-17 with 3:28 remaining in the third quarter.

The third quarter scoring explosion, which included 33 points, continued on Marietta’s next turn with the ball when Huff punched it in from one-yard out for the touchdown to increase the Pioneers’ lead to 33-17 heading into the final 15 minutes.

The Student Princes pieced together a four-play, 53-yard drive to open the fourth quarter to pull back within 10 points, 33-23. Miller hooked up with Mitch White for a 34-yard touchdown pass.

Marietta extended the game’s touchdown streak to seven straight possessions with Huff’s second one-yard touchdown run of the game. This score capped an 11-play, 61-yard drive and gave the Pioneers a 40-23 lead with 7:11 left to play.

The Williamson interception stopped Heidelberg’s ensuing drive, but the Student Princes’ Tony Gordon picked up a Marietta fumble on the next play from scrimmage and raced 37 yards for the touchdown. The extra point attempt failed, making the score 40-29 in favor of the Pioneers with 6:03 remaining in the game.

Heidelberg’s defense forced a three-and-out on Marietta’s next possession to get the ball back with 3:26 left on the clock. On fourth down and 15 yards to go from the 36-yard line, Miller threw a pass to Preston, but the ball bounced off his body and into the hands of Bauer, who was tackled at the six-yard line to keep the Student Princes’ drive alive. Miller then hit Elisson Dure on a six-yard touchdown strike to inch closer, 40-35, with 1:47 on the clock.

Then, Heidelberg recovered an onside kick only to be called for a false start, which negated the play and moved the ball back to the 25-yard line. A second onside kick was also recovered by Preston on his team’s 39-yard line and to keep the Student Princes’ hopes alive. Miller then began to march Heidelberg down the field. On third and goal from the eight-yard line, Heidelberg was called for offensive pass interference to move the ball back to Marietta’s 23. Marietta was then flagged for defensive pass interference on the next play to move the line of scrimmage back to the eight-yard line with 11 seconds remaining. Miller took advantage by hitting Preston for the game-winner from eight-yards out to give Heidelberg the dramatic 42-40 victory.

Marietta will close out the season by playing host to #1 Mount Union College on Saturday (Nov. 15) afternoon on Senior Day at Don Drumm Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.