(Marietta Communications)
GREENVILLE, Pa. — Marietta College head football coach Jeff Filkovski needed a last-minute touchdown to pick his first collegiate victory on Saturday (Sept. 6) afternoon. Fortunately, his offense came through and the Pioneers defeated host Thiel College 21-18 to win their season opener. It is the 13th time in the last 15 years that Marietta has begun the season 1-0.

Despite dominating the statistics throughout the game, Marietta trailed 18-14 with 3:03 left to play. However, junior quarterback Dexter Hughes (Woodsfield/Monroe Central), who finished the game 29-of-43 and threw for 348 yards and two scores, led the Pioneers down the field on a five-play, 58-yard drive. Hughes completed a huge fourth-down pass to freshman Chad Walker (Spring Hill, Fla./Central) to keep the drive alive. He then threw a 42-yard dart to junior Marty Mueller (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) on the next play, which took the ball down to the Thiel one-yard line. Mueller fumbled the ball before he was down but it was picked up in the end zone by freshman Jake Long (Mars, Pa./Pine-Richland) for the game-winning score.

Marietta racked up 471 yard of total offense; 395 came through the air and 76 was on the ground. The Pioneers defense limited the Tomcats to just 267 yards, which included 70 yards on the ground and 197 through the air. Marietta, who over came three turnovers, controlled the ball for 31:36, including almost 10 minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Pioneers took a 7-0 lead on their second drive of the game. Sophomore wide out Cory Kriechbaum (Marietta) took the ball on a reverse and then laced a 47-yard touchdown strike to Mueller. The conversion attempt by junior Corey Lemke (Loudonville) was good, giving Marietta the seven-point advantage with 3:45 to play in the first frame.

Thiel came right back with a seven-play, 39-yard drive to pull within a point, 7-6. Quarterback Wilie Bova found Brendan Taylor in the end zone from seven-yards out on the first play of the second quarter. The extra point attempt failed because of a poor snap.

A Marietta fumble on its next possession set up Thiel’s next score. Mike Lewis capped a nine-play, 59-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run. Again, the snap on the extra point was muffed, leaving the score 12-7 in favor of the home Tomcats.

The score remained the same through most of the third quarter until Hughes hooked up with freshman wide receiver Sam Bond-Zielinksi (Freeport/Buckeye Trail) for a 34-yard touchdown with 2:05 to play in the frame. The score, which concluded an eight-play, 92-yard drive, and the extra point gave Marietta a 14-12 lead.

Thiel regained the lead with just 3:03 to play in the game when Bova connected with Tim Van Horn for a seven-yard touchdown strike. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 18-14.

A 22-yard kick return by Kriechbaum on the ensuing kickoff gave Marietta the ball on its own 42-yard line with 2:54 remaining. From there, Hughes and his offense did the work to help the Pioneers pull out the 21-18 victory.

Mueller had a breakout game, finishing with eight catches for a game-high 157 yards. Kriechbaum also had eight receptions for 93 yards to go along with his 47-yard touchdown pass, and Long pulled in five grabs for 71 yards. Senior running back Garrett Banks (Barberton) and junior running back Lamar Hunter (South Euclid/Brush) both finished with 11 carries. Banks ran for 36 yards and Hunter had 33.

Bova finished 19-of-33 and threw for 197 yards and two scores for Thiel. Van Horn was his favorite target. He caught 11 passes for 121 yards. Cody Sirgey led the Tomcats’ rushing attack with 21 carries for 62 yards.

Defensively, senior linebacker Grant Cowell (Perrysville/Loudonville) paced the team with seven total stops. Senior linebacker Joe Deppen (Ashland) and senior defensive back JR Gibson (Sebring/West Branch) both added six hits. Sophomore Joe Williams (Akron/Archbishop Hoban) added a pair of sacks, while freshman Dan Starr (Senecaville/Buckeye Trail) sealed the victory with an interception with 25 seconds to play in the game. Tom Butera led Thiel with a game-high 10 tackles, while Clint Walker added eight stops in the loss.

Marietta now turns its attention to the Ohio Athletic Conference. After a bye in week two, the team is back in action on Sept. 20 when the Pioneers open OAC play on the road at Wilmington College. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. The Quakers opened the season with a 21-7 loss at Mount St. Joseph. The game will be carried live locally by WMOA-AM 1490 and WMRT-FM 88.3. Both broadcasts can also be heard online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html.