The John Carroll defense kept Marietta off the scoreboard while freshman placekicker Bradley Marchese (Columbus, OH, Saint Charles Prep) set a school record to lead the Blue Streaks to a 22-0 win in their annual Homecoming game Saturday afternoon at Don Shula Stadium.

Box Score

The difference in the game would be how John Carroll took advantage of opportunities while Marietta gave them away. The Blue Streaks made four trips into the red zone and scored 16 points whereas the Pioneers had seven of their 12 possessions end either in a turnover or downs.

John Carroll took the opening kickoff and marched 48 yards in 10 plays, stalling at the Marietta seven-yard line. Marchese would drill a 24-yard field goal to get JCU on the scoreboard with 8:20 left in the opening quarter.

Marietta would fumble on its first two possessions. The Blue Streaks could not cash in on the first turnover but the second one would be a different story. John Carroll needed just five plays to find the end zone, with DaQuan Grobsmith (Syracuse, NY, Bishop Ludden) scoring on a five-yard run to cap the 43-yard drive.

The score remained 10-0 until late in the second quarter. John Carroll tacked on six points in the final 3:54, aided by a blocked punt byChukubueze Iheama (Cleveland, OH, Benedictine) that led to a 40-yard field goal by Marchese. Then, with just 70 seconds left in the half, JCU used six plays to move 42 yards -- the last 20 on a pass play fromJeffrey Javorek (Chesterland, OH, West Geauga) to Chris Esparza (Tampa, FL, T.R. Robinson) -- to set up another Marchese 40-yard field goal as time expired. John Carroll took a 16-0 lead into the locker room.

The second half began inauspiciously for John Carroll as a fumble at midfield gave the Pioneers a short field in an attempt to get back into the game. Marietta would drive down to the Blue Streaks' three-yard line, but on a second-and-goal play, Joe Cigas (Brooklyn Heights, OH, Cleveland Benedictine) would force a fumble as Lamar Hunter turned the corner. Emmett Lydon (Rocky River, OH, Saint Ignatius)recovered the loose ball to stop the threat.

When JCU went three-and-out deep in its own end after the fumble, Marietta had yet another chance at points, but a Corey Kriechbaum pass on a reverse play would be intercepted at the John Carroll seven-yard line by Blue Streak cornerback Michael O'Neal.

The Blue Streaks chewed up the final 6;10 of the third quarter, driving 90 yards in 12 plays before Marchese connected on a 24-yard field goal on the opening play of the fourth quarter to up the lead toi 19-0.

Marchese would set the school record with his fifth field goal of the game at the 13:43 mark of the fourth quarter. His successful attempt from 39 yards out made him the first player in the 90-year history of John Carroll football to make five field goals in a single game. Five players previously had made four field goals in a single contest.

John Carroll (3-2, 3-1 OAC) posted its first shutout since September 1, 2007, when it blanked Wooster, 24-0. 

Javorek finished the day with 144 yards on 17-25 passing. The trio of Grobsmith (13-52),Mark Elsaessar (Webster, NY, Rochester McQuaid Jesuit) (6-41) and Aaron Schecter (Athens, OH) (6-38) combined for 141 yards rushing on 25 carries.

Defensively, Ken Bevington (Mentor, OH, Middlefield Cardinal) record two solo sacks and one assisted sack, while Jim Gilchrist (Cuyahoga Falls, OH, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary) led all players with ten tackles. Cigas andMatt Hodges (Columbus, OH, Bishop Watterson) forced fumbles while Iheama, Lydon and Alex Mileskiewicz (Grand Rapids, MI, Central Catholic) had fumble recoveries. O'Neal and Matt Ostry (Hudson, OH, Holy Name) had interceptions for the Blue Streaks, who held the Pioneers to 164 yards and seven first downs on the afternoon.

Marietta (2-3, 1-3 OAC), which dropped its third game in a row after a 2-0 start, was paced by 58 yards on 12 carries by Tevin Dones. 

Corey Lemke had an interception and Cody Williams recovered a fumble for Marietta's defense.