Football drops tough game at Marietta

The Muskingum football team fell in a fierce battle at Marietta in the annual Shriner Game on Saturday night, 31-25.

The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (1-2 overall, 0-2 OAC), Marietta (3-0, 2-0 OAC)
• Location: Marietta, Ohio - Don Drumm Stadium
• Attendance: 4,242
• Temperature: 87 and partly cloudy

Notable

• The game marked the annual Shriner Game contest between the rivals. Muskingum leads the Shriner series 7-5.
• Muskingum ended the game with a season-best 463 yards of offense, which included a season-high 291 passing yards.

How It Happened

• Muskingum opened the scoring in the at the 3:10 mark of the first quarter on sophomore kicker Gavin Costello's 38-yard field goal. The score capped off a 15-play, 66-yard drive.
• Muskingum stretched its lead to 9-0 on freshman defensive back Willie Smith's 65-yard interception return for a touchdown in the waning seconds of the first quarter. The score was the first of Smith's young career. The extra-point attempt was blocked. It marked Muskingum's first interception return for a touchdown since Brandon Schon ('19) returned one 41 yards for a score at Wilmington last season. 
• Marietta answered the Muskie strong first quarter with 16 straight points in the second frame. The Pioneers took advantage of two Muskie fumbles to score 10 points and orchestrated a nine-play, 55-yard drive to add another touchdown en route to taking a 16-9 lead into the break.
• The Pioneers took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 66 yards on seven plays to increase their lead to 23-9 on Tanner Clark's one-yard score. 
• Muskingum trimmed its gap to 23-12 on Costello's 28-yard field goal at the midway point of the third quarter.
• The Muskies pulled to within one score on sophomore quarterback Jordan Garrett's 24-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Darius Hayes-Carruth at the 9:50 mark of the fourth quarter. Muskingum's two-point attempt failed, and the Muskies trailed 23-18.
• Following a three-and-out by the Pioneer offense, Muskingum drove to the Marietta 24 but was unable to convert the first down and turned the ball over on downs.
• Marietta then marched 76 yards in three plays to extend its lead to 29-18 on Kyle McSweeney's 23-yard touchdown pass to Bobby Cashaw. The Pioneers converted the two-point conversion to take a 31-18 lead.
• Muskingum quickly answered the Pioneer score and covered 75 yards on seven plays that ended with junior quarterback Brody Hahn hitting sophomore receiver Patrick Eanes for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 2:53 on the clock. Following Costello's extra point, the Muskies trailed 31-25.
• On the ensuing possession, Marietta picked up one first down and was then forced to punt with the Muskies getting the ball at their own 20 with 18 seconds left. The Muskies were able to move the ball close to midfield before time expired. 

Inside The Numbers

• Muskingum ended the game with 463 yards of offense (172 rushing/291 passing) on 69 plays. The Muskies had 23 first downs and ended the outing going 7-of-13 on third-down conversions. The Muskies also held a 31:19-28:41 advantage in time of possession.
• Marietta ended the outing with 342 yards of offense (216 rushing/126 passing) on 58 plays. The Pioneers registered 16 first downs and were 2-of-11 on third-down conversions. 
• Hahn ended the game going 15-of-29 for 212 yards with one touchdown. He also rushed for 69 yards on 13 totes.
• Senior running back Bernard Johnson rushed for a team-high 72 yards on 16 carries. He also hauled in four receptions for 62 yards.
• Freshman wideout Tyler Heinecke led the Muskie receivers with four grabs for a career-high 100 yards.
• Eanes had three receptions for 38 yards and one touchdown. 
• Hayes-Carruth had three catches for 44 yards and one score.
• Senior defensive lineman Tim Ousley led the defense with 10 hits and one half-sack. He now has 21 career sacks which rank first all-time at Muskingum.
• Junior linebacker Nehemiah Bowie added nine tackles, and Smith had an interception return for a touchdown.
• McSweeney directed the Pioneer offense going 8-of-14 for 126 yards, with one score and one interception.
• Clark led the ground attack with 217 yards rushing on 39 totes with three scores. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry.
• Andrew Barker and Gage Giovengo each had one reception for 49 yards.
• Drake Neuberger had nine stops and two tackles for loss to pace the Pioneer defense. 
• Vic Giovengo had eight hits and one fumble recovery, and James Know had three tackles and one fumble recovery.

Up Next

• Muskingum next hosts Wilmington on Saturday, September 28. The game is slated for 1:30 p.m. in McConagha Stadium.