Marietta College hits road for 1st time vs. Baldwin Wallace
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MARIETTA -- Marietta College has gotten used to home cooking through three weeks of the 2023 season, but the Pioneers will have to hit the road this week for Saturday's 2 p.m. matchup at Baldwin Wallace.
The Pioneers come into the week at 2-1, with their only loss coming to No. 2-ranked Mount Union. The Yellow Jackets are 2-2 overall, having played each of the last four weeks while Marietta had a Week 2 bye.
The big thing to watch in this game is the matchup between Baldwin Wallace's offense and Marietta's defense. The Yellow Jackets are scoring 33 points per game while MC has allowed just 35 points all season, with 28 of those coming against the Purple Raiders.
The Pioneer defense is coming off a shutout effort against Otterbein, but the Yellow Jackets are a step up in terms of competition.
Baldwin Wallace quarterback Joey Marousek has completed 58.8% of his passes for 802 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. He's also rushed for 118 yards and two scores. In last year's matchup, Marousek threw four TD passes against the Pioneers, including the game-winner with six seconds left.
Marietta's front seven will look to get after Marousek and keep him from getting comfortable in the pocket. That would make life easier for the Pioneers' secondary, which will be busy trying to limit receivers Connor Awad (nine catches, 217 yards) and Darius Stokes (15 catches, 168 yards). It's a balanced BW receiving corps, though, as eight different Yellow Jackets have caught touchdown passes this year, making it difficult for opposing defenses to key on just one or two guys.
Baldwin Wallace, led by seventh-year head coach Jim Hilvert, has a balanced offensive attack as running backs Victor Ford Jr. and George Linberger both have been used frequently. Ford Jr. had a team-high 331 yards on 51 carries (6.5 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. Linberger has gotten the most work out of the backfield with 62 carries for 295 yards (4.8 yards per carry) and two scores. Last week, Marietta held Otterbein to 40 yards on 25 rushes.
Linebacker Harley Hopkins has been a defensive leader for the Pioneers. He has team-high in tackles (26), sacks (3) and tackles for loss (4). Defensive lineman Chance Knight also has a pair of sacks and has been key in helping Marietta's defense control the line of scrimmage. Six different Pioneers have an interception so far this season.
When Marietta has the ball, look for a heavy dose of Bryce Agnew out of the backfield. Agnew has carried 56 times for 253 yards and three touchdowns. He's capable of making game-changing runs.
Quarterback Connor Vierstra is having his best season in the navy blue and white. The senior signal-caller is completing 66.7% (44 for 66) of his passes for 581 yards. He's thrown for three touchdowns and two picks. Dawson Snyder (17 catches, 203 yards, 3 TDs) and Jay Melchiori (10 catches, 212 yards).
Mason Levasseur leads the Yellow Jackets on defense with 36 total tackles and 3 1/2 tackles for loss.
Marietta and Baldwin Wallace have played in some wild games in recent years. In last season's contest, there were four total touchdowns scored in the final three minutes as the two teams traded the lead four times. The previous year, Baldwin Wallace won a tightly-contested 24-21 affair. In 2018, the Yellow Jackets beat Marietta 30-28 on a 42-yard field goal by Jimmy Marshall as time expired. Marietta's last triumph over BW was in the spring opener of 2020 when the Pioneers won 30-20.
Baldwin Wallace leads the all-time series 38-7.
Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.