Football travels to rival Marietta for annual Shriner Game

The Muskingum football team will travel to rival Marietta for the annual Shriner Game on Saturday, September 18. The game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Don Drumm Stadium, and tickets are only available online at https://pioneers.marietta.edu/tickets.

The Series

• The contest will mark the 100th meeting between Muskingum and Marietta, with the first game being played in 1897. The Muskies lead the all-time series, 53-45-2.
• Muskingum leads the Shriner Game series, 7-5, since the series started in 2009. 

The Matchup

The Muskies enter the contest at 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference after beating Ohio Northern last week, 33-31. The win marked Muskingum's first win against the Polar Bears since the 2011 season. Muskingum erupted for a season-high 469 yards of offense and averaged seven yards per play and ended the outing going 5-for-5 in the red zone. Muskingum was 2-for-2 on fourth-down conversions and notched 23 first downs. Muskingum junior linebacker Tristan Howell's interception late in the fourth quarter set up Muskingum's game-winning drive that culminated with sophomore kicker Hunter Albers' 23-yard field goal to propel Muskingum to the electrifying win. Howell, Albers, and senior quarterback Jordan Garrett were all recognized for their outstanding play by being named Ohio Athletic Conference Players of the Week for Defense, Special Teams, and Offense. 

Garrett, who threw for a career-high 336 yards and accounted for three touchdowns against ONU, is 38-of-53 on the season for 514 yards and four touchdowns. He's also rushed for 81 yards and two scores. Junior running back Donny Wilkinson leads the team with 110 yards rushing on 24 attempts with two touchdowns. Sophomore receiver Travis Roberson has a team-high 10 receptions for 101 yards and two scores, while junior receiver Ja'Lin Goodman had a team-high 176 receiving yards on seven grabs.

Defensively, freshman linebacker Azarious Williams has a team-best 18 stops, and Howell had 16 hits and one interception. Senior defensive back Brian Brown has 13 tackles and has forced one fumble/

Overall, Muskingum ranks fourth in the league in scoring (41.0 PPG) and yards per game (428 YPG). The Muskies are led by captains Garrett, Brown, senior defensive back Cortez McGinnis and senior offensive lineman Iggy Horvath.

Marietta enters the game with an 0-1 overall record after dropping its season opener at Dubuque, 30-25. The Pioneers churned out 353 yards of offense and mustered 19 first downs. However, the Pioneers were 0-for-14 on third-down conversions.

Bryce Agnew led the Marietta offense rushing for 122 yards on 21 totes. Connor Vierstra went 17-of-36 for 172 yards and two scores with two interceptions. He also rushed for 74 yards and one touchdown. Agnew found 10 different receivers to distribute the call to, with Maguire Morris and Agnew each hauling in a team-high four grabs.

Kyler Folkert led the defensive effort with 12 stops and 1.5 tackles for loss, whole Drake Neuberger added seven hits, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

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