Marietta football rallies past Baldwin-Wallace for 32-31 road win
Vrable throws for three touchdowns and runs for two more to lead Pioneers from 18-point fourth-quarter deficit

Nov. 5, 2005
BEREA, Ohio — Trailing 31-13 on the road with 11 minutes to play in the game Saturday (Nov. 5), head coach Todd Glaser and his Pioneers could have chalked it up as a disappointing loss. Instead, they fought. And fought. And fought. And when it was over, a confident Marietta left Finnie Stadium in Berea with a 32-31 victory over a stunned Baldwin-Wallace.

With the win, its third straight and one of the team’s greatest in recent history, Marietta improves to 5-4 overall and 4-4 in the OAC. Baldwin-Wallace, meanwhile, falls to 3-6, 2-6 in league play. The loss also secures the Yellow Jackets’ first losing season in 39 years.

Baldwin-Wallace’s defense opened the scoring on the first play from scrimmage when Jake Knipp tackled Jason Vrable (South Park,Pa.)in the end zone for a safety 25 seconds into the first quarter.  The play was set up by a penalty on the opening kickoff that forced the Pioneers to begin their drive on the four-yard line.

Marietta followed a Baldwin-Wallace missed field goal with a 12-play, 80-yard drive, which was capped by a 20-yard touchdown pass from Vrable to sophomore Chad McDaniel (Wooster/Triway, to take a 7-3 lead with 3:01 to play in the first frame.

The Yellow Jackets took advantage of a Pioneer turnover to regain the lead early in the second quarter. Brad Rhoden’s three-yard touchdown run gave his team an 8-7 advantage at the 11-minute mark of the half. The two-point conversion failed.

Another Marietta mistake — a low snap on a punt — resulted in Luke Chronister blocking the Jason Curry (Akron/Springfield) kick. Curry alertly saved a touchdown by kicking the loose ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety to give B-W a 10-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

Baldwin-Wallace increased its lead to 17-7 with a seven-yard touchdown run by Brandon Hedges with 4:15 left in the period. The score was made possible because of a successful fourth-down conversion deep in Marietta territory.

A 10-yard Vrable touchdown run cut the Pioneers’ deficit to 17-13 with 58 seconds to go in the half. The PAT was blocked.

Baldwin-Wallace used an 18-play, 98-yard drive that spanned nine minutes to increase it lead to 24-13 with 3:41 to play in the third period. Mickey Mental finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run.

Hedges added his second touchdown of the game — a one-yard run with 11:25 remaining in the game — to give the Jackets a 31-13 lead.

From there, it was all Marietta for the rest of the game.

Vrable scored on a one-yard run with 7:57 to play in the game to make the score 31-19. The touchdown run, his second of the game and third of the season, capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive. The two-point conversion failed. The drive was kept alive thanks to a 23-yard run by Curry on a fake punt.

Following a defensive stand, the Pioneers continued their comeback with a six-yard touchdown pass from Vrable to Curry with 3:50 to go in the game. The extra point was blocked to make the score 31-25.

The Marietta defense then came up with another three-and-out, forcing a Yellow Jacket punt. The punt went into the end zone for a touchback, giving the Pioneers the ball on the 20-yard line.

Marietta was able to march 80 yards in 12 plays to complete the comeback. The scoring drive was capped by fourth-down, 11-yard touchdown pass from Vrable to junior Nic North (Madison/East) to tie the score at 31-31. Sophomore Nick Manson (Canal Fulton/Akron Manchester) drilled the extra point to give MC the 32-31 lead with 51 seconds to play in the game.

Baldwin-Wallace had a final chance, but junior J.J. Wheeler (Zanesville/Maysville) intercepted a Mental pass on the 47-yard line to preserve the comeback-victory.

Marietta rolled up 460 yards of total offense, while Baldwin-Wallace finished with 395. The Pioneers went 5-of-5 in red zone opportunities.

Vrable had his third-straight solid performance under center. He finished 32-of-52 for 305 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran 14 times for 49 yards and two more scores. The junior has now thrown for 1,725 yards this season. He is now 109 yards shy of Marietta’s single-season passing record (1,834 yards).

McDaniel led all receivers with 10 catches for 97 yards, including five for 29 yards in the game-winning drive. North added eight grabs for 70 yards, while Curry had six receptions for 84 yards in the win. North has now accumulated 47 catches on the year, seven shy of the school’s single-season record of 54.

Sophomore Joe Webb (Monessen, Pa./Ringgold) ran for 40 yards on four carries, while senior Steven Wagner (Harwick, Pa./Fox Chapel) finished with 12 rushes for 36 yards. Wagner is now 56 yards shy of 3,000 career yards.

Hedges led B-W’s ground game with 18 carries for 59 yards, while Mental finished 15-of-29 for 227 yards. Tom Murphy had a team-high five catches for 79 yards in the loss.

Marietta’s defense was paced by Darren Marks (Parkersburg, W.Va.) with 13 tackles. Sophomores Clay Ream (Burbank/Northwestern), Jeff Mast (Defiance) and Brian Hahn (Upper Sandusky) finished with 11, nine and nine tackles, respectively.

Joe George led B-W with 17 tackles, including a sack.

Marietta will close out the season Saturday (Nov. 12) at home against Ohio Northern. The Polar Bears defeated Wilmington 63-0 Saturday. Kickoff on Senior Day is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Don Drumm Stadium.