The Muskingum football team beat rival Marietta 17-13 on Senior Day in the annual Shriners game on Saturday in McConagha Stadium.
Prior to the contest, Muskingum recognized seniors Rob Bartosiewicz, Nathan Caplan, Garrett Clark, Damond Goggins, Terence Lofton, Tony Moore, Marvin Morris, Nathaniel Poling, Jordan Smith and Bryson Stephen. With the win, Muskingum moves to 6-0 all-time in the Shriner series.
The Muskies (2-7, 2-6) rode a 17-point second quarter scoring outburst to the victory.
Junior running back Melvin Smith capped off a 19-play, 99-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run at the 14:22 mark of the second quarter to give the Muskies a 7-0 lead.
Smith added his second score on a three-yard rumble to complete a six-play, 31-yard drive with 4:10 left in the opening half. Smith, who was named the Shriner Offensive Most Valuable Player, ended the outing with a career-best 157 yards rushing on a career-high 35 carries with two touchdowns.
Sophomore kicker Cody Dent capped off the Muskie scoring with a 30-yard field goal in the waning seconds of the half. The score ended a 10-play, 44-yard drive.
The Muskie offense churned out 244 yards in the opening half, while the Muskie defense limited Marietta to just 14 yards of offense. Muskingum led 17-0 at the half.
Marietta (2-7, 1-7) opened the third quarter with an eight-play, 87-yard drive that culminated in Akil Young hitting Tyler Anderson for a 52-yard touchdown pass. The Pioneer two-point conversion attempt, following a Muskie penalty, failed.
The Pioneers completed the scoring with Nick O'Neal's one-yard touchdown plunge with 3:24 remaining in the third quarter. The score capped off a 15-play, 55-yard drive.
Muskingum junior quarterback Cody Williams ended the game going 9-of-16 for 82 yards. He also added 31 yards on the ground on six attempts.
Freshman Aron Sutton led the Muskie receivers with four grabs for 23 yards. He also had four rushes for 17 yards. Senior Marvin Morris had two receptions for 27 yards.
Defensively, junior linebacker Chaney Fulton had a game-high 11 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss for 19 yards and 1.5 sacks.
Senior linebacker Damond Goggins had eight stops and junior defensive lineman Joseph DeWitt III logged seven hits. Junior defensive back Dorian Maynard also recorded his fifth interception of the season.
Sophomore punter Samuel Green led the Muskie special teams. Green had six punts for 212 yards for a 35.3 punting average. He placed four punts inside the 20.
Young led the Pioneer offense going 11-of-23 for 138 yards and one touchdown.
O'Neal led the Marietta rushers with 89 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries. Anderson led the receivers with five receptions for 100 yards and one score.
Daryl DeWindt and Dalton Fix paced the Marietta defense with 10 stops each. DeWindt was named the Shriner Defensive Most Valuable Player.
Muskingum concludes its season at Wilmington on Saturday, November 15. Game time is slated for 1:30 p.m.
