Marietta secures first winning season since 2002

Marietta’s Kobe Alexander (15) carries the ball during Friday’s game against Point Pleasant.
(Photo by Mike Morrison)

The Marietta Tigers honored their 15 seniors prior to Friday night’s Twin State League showdown with Point Pleasant at Don Drumm Stadium and then celebrated in grand fashion by rolling to a 24-3 win.

The Tigers clicked on all cylinders and dominated the game from start to finish to keep both their playoff chances and their TSL title hopes alive.

Senior running back Seth Britton rushed for 163 yards and the Tiger defense completely stifled a Big Blacks offense that put up 44 points last week in a win over Warren.

“We lost two heart-breakers to local teams the past two weeks (Fort Frye and Williamstown) and we had a little heart-to-heart this week,” said Tiger head coach Jason Schob. “We had probably our best week of practice all year and the kids responded really well and I’m so proud of their effort.”

Marietta set the standard for what was to come when they put together a 16-play, 78-yard opening drive that was capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass from senior Drew Warden to junior Owen Riley.

Marietta’s Owen Riley runs after a catch during Friday’s game against Point Pleasant.
(Photo by Mike Morrison)

The Tiger drive took nearly seven minutes off of the clock keeping the usually potent Big Blacks offense off of the field.

The Marietta defense forced a three-and-out on the first Point Pleasant possession of the game but came up empty on their second possession of the half.

Once again the Tiger defense rose to the occasion as they forced the Big Blacks to punt for the second consecutive time.

The Tigers took over possession of the football at their own 37-yard line and methodically moved the ball deep into Point Pleasant territory.

When the drive stalled at the 3-yard line, Schob elected to send in the field goal unit with senior Braxten Lang making a 20-yard field goal to increase the lead to 10-0.

Marietta’s Isaac Klintworth (59) blocks during a Seth Britton carry against Point Pleasant Friday.
(Photo by Mike Morrison)

Point Pleasant finally began to show some flashes of explosiveness on its next series, quickly moving the ball into enemy territory thanks to long runs from scrimmage from Issaac Creel and Conner Hatten.

The Marietta defense came up with a huge play however with the ball at its own 21-yard line when Braiden Plaugher stripped Creel of the football and Riley was in the right spot at the right time when he quickly scooped up the loose ball and raced 55 yards down the field before being tackled at the Big Black 24-yard line.

Warden connected on passes with senior Carson Chavez and Riley to move the ball to the 5-yard line and Britton capped the drive by plowing into the end zone from there to give the Tigers a 17-0 lead.

Point Pleasant finally managed to get on the board when kicker Alex Shrader drilled a 41-yard field goal as time expired in the opening half.

The Big Blacks had possession of the football to open the second half and picked up a couple of first downs before a personal-foul penalty moved them back 15 yards and eventually forced them to punt.

Marietta’s Will Tornes (22) returns a punt during Friday’s game against Point Pleasant.
(Photo by Mike Morrison)

The Tigers have become known for their long, grinding drives that chew a lot of time off of the clock and usually result in points and that was the case once again on their initial drive of the second half.

Marietta took over possession of the football at its own 13-yard line with eight minutes to play in the quarter. After a Warden incomplete pass to begin the drive, the Tigers executed the ying-T to perfection as they ran the ball 14 consecutive times before junior Kobe Alexander plunged into the end zone from a yard out to give them a 24-3 lead with just 13 ticks remaining on the clock in the third quarter.

Schob had huge praise for the play of his offensive line, anchored by junior center Teddy Bauer, as they won the war in the trenches from beginning to end.

“We knew Point Pleasant was going to be big and physical up front,” said Schob. ‘We’ve got to give a lot of credit to our big boys up front because they were outstanding and won the line of scrimmage all game long.”

Point Pleasant needed to score and score in a hurry but once again the Tiger defense rose to the occasion and a huge tackle for a loss by Alexander forced them to punt the ball back to the Tigers.

Alexander found a gap and blew up Creel in the backfield for a three-yard loss.

“I’m so proud of our whole defense and that was a great play by Kobe,” said Schob. “To hold a team that put up 40 points last week to just three is a credit to our whole defense.”

From there on the Tigers played keepaway from the Point Pleasant offense as the running back duo of Britton and Alexander picked up first down after first down to keep the chains and the clocks moving.

Britton had a game to remember in his final one at Don Drumm Stadium.

“This is one of the biggest wins that Marietta football has had in a while,” said Britton. “Our line is awesome and they beat whoever is in front of them. They are the dudes.”

The win ensured the Tigers would finish the season with a winning record and made next week’s regular season-ending showdown with arch rival Warren a huge one with both a share of the TSL title up for grabs as well as a possible playoff berth.

“Both the TSL and the playoffs on the line and playing at your arch-rival, it doesn’t get much bigger than that,” said Schob. “I told the kids to enjoy tonight and we are going to have to get after it and have a really great week of practice again.”

Bauer feels like the Tigers are peaking at just the right time.

“We came into this knowing they were a really good team so it was a great test for us,” said Bauer. “This was big to keep us in the playoff hunt and everyone really wanted it. We were really locked in.”

Marietta ran a total of 64 plays in the game compared to just 30 for the Big Blacks.

Warden completed 7-of-his-12 passing attempts for 94 yards while Riley hauled in three catches for 56.

Alexander ran the ball 19 times for a bruising 65 yards.

Creel led the way for Point Pleasant by rushing for 65 yards on 12 touches.

The Big Blacks (3-3) will also play for a share of the TSL crown when they host Fort Frye next Friday.

The game marked the final one at home for Tiger seniors Britton, Skiler Adams, Junior Bass, Warden, Brody Alexander, Chavez, Eastin Tucker, Lang, Bryan Depuy, Charlie Merrill, Dakota Jackson, Isaac Klintworth, Blake Bills, Aiden Wilkinson and Grady Hartline.

“Our seniors have really helped to change the culture and led us to our first six-win season in 23 years,” said Schob. “I’m so happy for the kids.”