Marietta College’s Dawson Snyder (1) celebrates with teammates Seth Wallace (73) and David Busch (78) after scoring a touchdown during last week’s game against Mount Union. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Marietta College nearly stunned the nation last week at Mount Union.

The Pioneers led the fifth-ranked Purple Raiders 21-14 going into the fourth quarter, but gave up the tying and go-ahead touchdowns in the final five minutes to fall 28-21.

It was the first loss of the season for Marietta (8-1), which was ranked 22nd in the latest D3Football.com poll.

“We were really close to coming away with that win,” said MC head coach Andy Waddle. “Obviously every game comes down to a collection or variety of plays. In that game, there were certainly plays that went our way, but there were also a half dozen, maybe more, plays that kind of — if they go the opposite way, maybe you’re coming away with a different outcome. That’s how all close ball games are. We didn’t make those plays and Mount Union did. Give credit to them and their players. We have to be better in some of those critical moments.”

As Waddle put it after the game Saturday, “It’s not getting any easier next week.”

The Pioneers will be back on the road this week as they are set to take on John Carroll at 2 p.m. Saturday to wrap up regular season play.

Marietta has never beaten JCU, and this may be the program’s final chance. The Blue Streaks are leaving the Ohio Athletic Conference after this year to join the North Coast Athletic Conference. So, the Pioneers will have a chance to send them out of the conference on a sour note, but it won’t be easy.

John Carroll is 7-2, with its losses coming to Mount Union (37-31) and Wisconsin-Whitewater (34-7).

The Blue Streaks are scoring 40.1 points per game and allowing 16.4.

“They’re extraordinarily well-coached, especially offensively,” Waddle said. “Offensively, they’ve got a really good scheme. It seems like they’ve gotten better as the year has gone on, and they’re playing much better at this stage of the season than maybe they were early in the year.”

John Carroll’s offense starts with quarterback Nick Semptimphelter. A 6-foot-1 graduate student, Semptimphelter has thrown for 2,334 yards and 26 touchdowns in nine games. He’s only been intercepted twice. His top target has been Tyren Montgomery, who has 41 catches for 843 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“I’m really impressed with their quarterback and his accuracy,” Waddle said. “He’s got receivers with the ability to make plays and a talented offensive line. It’s going to be a good game.”

When the Blue Streaks run the ball, Nemo Jenkins (65 carries, 441 yards, five TDs), Evan McVay (61 carries, 368 yards, nine TDs), and Quincy Newsom (59 carries, 329 yards, nine TDs) have been the main guys.

Defensively, Tyler Thimons leads JCU with 64 tackles. Joe Thimons and Ben Day have five and four sacks, respectively, while Jacob Hufnagel has two interceptions and eight pass breakups.

Marietta should be up to the task against John Carroll’s electric offense. The Pioneer defense is allowing just 9.78 points per game, tied for fifth in the country.

Chance Knight is among the nation’s leaders in sacks with 12. Jaelon Quiero-Gordon is one of the most respected corners in Division III as teams often avoid throwing in his direction.

“We all have to play well on defense,” Waddle said. “Certainly our secondary, but our underneath coverage needs to be there, too, which includes our linebackers and at times our defensive ends. We’ve got to be able to put pressure on the quarterback.”

Marietta is scoring 44.2 points per game this season.

Connor Vierstra has passed for 2,096 yards, 22 touchdowns and four picks. Dawson Snyder has 68 receptions for 800 yards and 10 TDs, while Jay Melchiori has 39 catches for 674 yards and five scores.

The Pioneers’ ground game is led by Taz Morris (109 carries, 630 yards, seven TDs) and Vante’ Hodges (77 carries, 615 yards, seven TDs).

Marietta has a great shot at getting an at-large bid in the D3 playoffs with a win, but may still get an opportunity to play even with a loss.

“If we win we’re going to be in the playoffs, for sure,” Waddle said. “If we lose, we’ll probably still be playing another game, whether it’s in the playoffs or in the Opendorse Bowl. So, we’ve let the guys know what next week could look like, but our focus is mostly on being 1-0.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.