MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College overcame an early deficit to beat rival Muskingum University by the score of 31-25 Saturday (Sept. 21) in the annual Shrine Trophy game. The Pioneers retain possession of the trophy for the third straight year and improve to 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Muskingum falls to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the OAC.
"Muskingum came in here and gave us a great fight. They have some talented players and really played well," Marietta head coach Andy Waddle said. "We got off to a slow start, but Tanner got rolling in the second quarter and man he was awesome tonight."
The Fighting Muskies jumped out to an early 9-0 lead. Gavin Costello capped a 15-play drive that took over seven minutes off the clock with a 38-yard field goal. And then on Marietta's next possession, Willie Smith stepped in front of a Kyle McSweeney pass and returned it 65-yards for a touchdown. The point after was blocked leaving the Muskies with a 9-0 lead as the first quarter came to an end.
Marietta got the near capacity crowd back on its feet with a pair of touchdowns in a matter of 14 seconds. Tanner Clark dove in from two yards out to finish off a nine-play, 55-yard drive cutting the deficit to 9-6 as the point after was blocked.
On the ensuing kickoff, Muskingum's Bernard Johnson mishandled the kick and James Knox recovered the ball for the Pioneers on the Muskie four-yard line. Clark added his second rushing touchdown with a four-yard scamper and Jacob Griffin added the point after giving Marietta a 13-9 lead.
Griffin connected on a 25-yard field goal in the final seconds of the first half sending the Pioneers into halftime with a 16-9 lead.
Clark was the workhorse for the Navy Blue and White carrying the ball 39 times for 214 yards and three touchdowns. His third touchdown was a from a yard out in the third quarter and pushed the Pioneer lead to 23-9.
Muskingum got back into the game with a 28-yard field goal from Costello and a 24-yard touchdown pass from back-up quarterback Jordan Garrett to Darius Hayes-Carruth making it a five-point game, 23-18, with 9:50 left in the game.
The Muskies then forced a three and out on Marietta's next possession. Muskingum drove the ball to the Pioneer 24-yard line before turning the ball over on downs when Brody Hahn's pass on fourth down was incomplete.
Clark wasted no time getting Marietta back into scoring position breaking off a 53-yard run on the first play of the possession. McSweeney hit a wide-open Bobby Cashaw on a 24-yard touchdown and then completed a pass to Justin Bell for the two-point conversion giving the Pioneers a 31-18 lead with 4:35 left in the game. McSweeney completed 8-of-14 passes for 126 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Once again Muskingum got itself up of the mat as Hahn marched the Muskies right down the field covering 75-yards in seven plays in less than two minutes off the clock. Hahn hit Patrick Eanes on a 17-yard scoring strike and Costello added the point after making it 31-25.
After forcing another Marietta punt, Muskingum had one last chance taking possession of the ball on its own 20-yard line with 18 seconds remaining. But the Muskies failed to complete a pass as time expired.
Hahn completed 15-of-29 passes for 212 yards and one touchdown. Hahn also had 13 carries for 69 yards. Garrett was 3-of-5 for 79 yards and one touchdown pass. Johnson ran the ball 16 times for 72 yards.
Marietta retains Shrine Trophy with 31-25 win over Muskingum
/seasons/2019/boxscores/20190921_rfo1.xml
2019
Muskingum
25
Marietta
31
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muskingum (1-2) | 9 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 25 |
| Marietta (3-0) | 0 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 31 |
Sep 21, 2019