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‘Finally’: Tigers rout Big Blacks for 1st win of season

By Jordan Holland 5 min read

When the losses start piling up and the win column remains blank, the outside noise can start to get really loud.

With a 41-14 victory over Point Pleasant Friday at Don Drumm Stadium, the Marietta Tigers silenced that noise.

"For us, it was like, 'finally,' right?" said MHS head coach Mike Kupfner. "I’m a little bummed that it took nine weeks, but I felt like they were really getting after it tonight and playing for each other, and that’s really what we’re trying to build here. Really proud of those guys."

The Tigers had three close calls in the first six weeks of the season, but struggled to put together a complete four-quarter performance. After back-to-back blowout losses, a winless campaign was starting to seem like a real possibility.

Against the Big Blacks, Marietta dominated from start to finish.

"This one means a lot because we finally put four quarters together," said Trenton McVey, one of the Tigers honored as part of senior night.

"That's what's happened in the past -- heads go down, we're losing, and it carries over. Tonight, we were just telling everybody to keep their heads up. The team really came together tonight. We didn't let anything bother us."

Marietta's ground game was unstoppable, racking up 430 rushing yards on 47 attempts. Senior Braydon Frye led the charge, amassing 273 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries.

"I was just looking at the cutback lanes," said Frye, whose 57-yard TD run on the opening possession got things started. "They were there most of the time. Really just breakaway speed and being able to go through that first round of contact and stay on my feet."

An 0-10 season is every high school football player's worst nightmare, and Marietta's senior class refused to let it happen to them.

"It means a lot, especially that we were able to pick up a win my senior year and not lose 10 games straight," Frye said. "I'm hoping we can take this momentum, go into next week, end our season strong and beat Warren."

Isaiah Waminan led Point Pleasant (3-5) with 186 yards on 26 carries. He scored both Big Blacks touchdowns, including a 12-yarder to answer Frye's score in the first quarter.

Marietta, however, responded with a 21-0 run in the second quarter thanks to rushing TDs by Frye, Zach Carver and McVey, who finished with 118 yards on 16 attempts, to make it 28-6 at halftime.

"I feel like we blocked really well tonight," McVey said. "We could run the same plays over and over again and they just couldn't stop it because our blocking did so well. Our line did a great job. The lead blocks coming from the upback, the running back -- even the quarterback -- everybody was blocking and getting the person running the ball out in space."

Waminan's second touchdown cut it to 28-14 in the third, but Frye found the end zone again to stretch the lead back to 21 points. Cooper Brown's fourth-down sack nearly set up another touchdown for Frye, but he fumbled the ball at the goal line and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a touchback. It was Frye's second lost fumble in the game.

"I came to the sidelines, and they were telling me, 'Don't worry about it. We're going to get it back,'" Frye said.

Sure enough, Brown gave the Tigers the ball back again on another fourth-down tackle-for-loss, and Frye cashed in with a 53-yard scoring jaunt with 8:38 left to put the game out of reach.

"That really defines our whole season, where we couldn't be able to finish," Frye said. "Now, we're finally able to finish. We got it back."

Frye ended up intercepting a pass on Point Pleasant's final offensive play of the game to put the finishing touches on the victory.

"Everybody played their hearts out," Frye said. "We finally put four quarters together."

With a win under their belt, the Tigers now have some energy and momentum going into next week's rivalry showdown with the Warriors.

"I do think we’re getting better," Kupfner said. "I think we’re progressing, and I think that’s a credit to some of our seniors and our younger guys buying into what we’re trying to do. The young guys battling, doing everything they could to make sure the seniors went out on top. That’s really, really important, so really proud of those guys."

NOTE: Marietta recognized the MHS Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2026 inductees -- Mark and Karen Stewart, Dave Barnes, Bernie Brown, Russell Pickering, Emmy Yoho, Layne Carpenter and Wesley Riley -- at halftime.

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

At Don Drumm Stadium

Marietta 41, Point Pleasant 14

P (3-5) 6 0 8 0 -- 14

M (1-8) 7 21 7 6 -- 41

M: Braydon Frye 57 run, Kingston McMahon kick, 10:37 1st

P: Isaiah Waminan 12 run, kick blocked, 4:40 1st

M: Frye 1 run, McMahon kick, 11:34 2nd

M: Zach Carver 3 run, McMahon kick, 10:06 2nd

M: Trenton McVey 17 run, McMahon kick, 4:46 2nd

P: Waminan 10 run, Khileel Bryant run, 7:40 3rd

M: Frye 3 run, McMahon kick, 6:58 3rd

M: Frye 53 run, kick failed, 8:38 4th

Team stats

Point Pleasant: First downs: 14; Rushes-yards: 41-216; Passing yards: 47; Total yards: 263; Passing: 4-7-1; Fumbles-lost: 5-1; Penalties-yards: 3-32; Punts-average: 2-43

Marietta: First downs: 18; Rushes-yards: 47-430; Passing yards: 17; Total yards: 447; Passing: 2-6-0; Fumbles-lost: 2-2; Penalties-yards: 4-40; Punts-average: 0-0

Individual stats

Point Pleasant: Rushing: Isaiah Waminan 26-186, 2 TDs; Khileel Bryant 9-26; Braxton Bauer 4-8; Austin Keefer 2-(-4); Passing: Gabriel Dickens 2-3-1, 24 yards; Bryant 2-3-0, 23 yards; Keefer 0-1-0, 0 yards; Receiving: Waminan 2-24; Bauer 1-14; Ean Wasonga 1-9

Marietta: Rushing: Braydon Frye 20-273, 4 TDs; Trenton McVey 16-118, TD; Daymeon Gulley 5-50; Cooper Brown 1-4; Zach Carver 1-3, TD; Dylan Coombs 1-3; Logan Ward 1-(-2); TEAM 2-(-19); Passing: McVey 2-6-0, 17 yards: Receiving: Kaedyn Dyar 1-15; Payton Casto 1-2

Next game: Buffalo at Point Pleasant; Marietta at Warren

Starting at /week.