Marietta College quarterback Joe Tenta hit Dalton Miller on a 12-yard touchdown pass with 14 seconds left, and James Cornwell’s extra point gave the Pioneers a 44-43 win over Mount St. Joseph on Saturday afternoon in Cincinnati, closing Marietta’s season at 7-3 in one of the wildest finishes in program history, Marietta College Athletics reported. Mount St. Joseph fell to 8-2.
The ending was only the last swing. Marietta built a 16-0 lead in the second quarter on a 3-yard Tenta touchdown pass to Zion Jackson-Wilborn, a safety, and a 19-yard Tenta strike to Louis Goodnow, according to the college’s game report. The Lions answered with two touchdowns and a field goal off a bad punt snap to tie the game 16-16 at halftime, then owned the third quarter — a 76-yard Dallas De La Cruz touchdown run and two Jaxon Schreiber touchdown passes built a 36-16 lead, and after Antwon Johnson’s 6-yard touchdown run opened the fourth for Marietta, De La Cruz broke a 58-yard score that made it 43-23 early in the fourth quarter, the report said.
Down 20 with a quarter to play, the Pioneers refused to fold. Tenta found Miller for a touchdown to cut it to 43-30, Drew Neal intercepted Schreiber in the end zone with Mount St. Joseph at the Marietta 4-yard line, and Tenta converted a fourth-and-10 from his own 37 with a 14-yard pass to Nas Foster before hitting Chrys Taylor for a 49-yard touchdown that made it 43-37 with 2:54 left, according to Marietta College Athletics.
The last drive started at the Marietta 3-yard line with 1:10 to play and no timeouts, after the Pioneers got the ball back, lost it on an interception, and forced a punt. Tenta completed passes to Foster and Taylor, then hit Miller for 18 yards and again for 29 yards down to the 12. After an incompletion, Tenta and Miller connected once more — 12 yards, touchdown, tie game — and Cornwell’s kick put Marietta ahead with 14 seconds left, the college reported. A lateral play on the Lions’ final snap ended with Jonah Asebrook’s tackle as time ran out.
Tenta finished 26-of-50 for 420 yards and five touchdowns, and Miller caught nine passes for 130 yards and two scores, according to the game report. Schreiber threw for 361 yards and four touchdowns for Mount St. Joseph, and De La Cruz ran 32 times for 237 yards and two scores. The seven wins are the most by a Marietta first-year head coach since Earle “Greasy” Neale won seven in 1919, the college said. “That was the best football game I have ever been a part of,” head coach Tom Hinkle told Marietta College Athletics. “It’s so easy to quit when things aren’t going your way, but our guys refuse to do it.” Game details in this report are from Marietta College Athletics.
Photo: Warren LeMay, CC BY-SA