Box Score

As the old adage goes, “when it rains, it pours.” And that's exactly what happened on Saturday afternoon at Don Shula Stadium as the John Carroll Universtiy football team handled the visiting Marietta Pioneers by a score of 61-14 on Homecoming weekend.

After winning the coin flip, the Blue Streaks elected to receive the ball and immediately put the pedal to the metal. Senior Lane Robilotto returned the opening kickoff past midfield to give the Blue Streaks great field position and momentum from the very start of action. Using only five plays, the JCU offense went 45 yards and scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game behind a 2-yard rush from senior DaQuan Grobsmith.

With a 7-0 lead in hand, the Blue & Gold defense caused confusion for the Marietta offense, getting the ball back for the JCU offense in due time. With 4:04 remaining in the first quarter, the Streaks scored again as junior Randy Greenwood scrambled 23 yards to cap off a five-play, 80-yard drive to give JCU the 14-0 lead.

On the following kickoff, the Pioneers fumbled the ball and the Blue Streaks were able to recover on the Marietta 26-yard line. Four plays later, senior Sean Kuenzig scored on a run from six yards out, increasing the lead to 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.

A 36-yard field goal from Kresimir Ivkovic increased the Blue Streaks' lead to 24-0 with 12:28 remaining in the first half. Marietta was able to get on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter as senior Tom Fulton found junior Kirby Harris open for a 23-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 24-7.

After the score by the Pioneers, the Blue Streaks' offense responded once again as Kuenzig was able to record his second touchdown score of the day, this time from three yards out, to give JCU a 31-7 lead with 4:29 remaining in the second quarter.

From there, the Blue and Gold were able to score 10 points in the final 90 seconds of the first half as a 23-yard field goal by Ivkovic was followed by a Marietta three-and-out. Getting the ball back with 1:00 remaining before intermission, Myers conducted another scoring drive, finding junior Alex Kline open in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 31 seconds left to give JCU a 41-7 lead going into halftime.

At the intermission, Myers had already racked up 244 yards through the air while throwing one touchdown. Despite having a convincing lead over the Pioneers, the Blue Streaks didn't slow down much at all early in the second half.

JCU used a pair of Bradley Marchese field goals as well as a pair of touchdowns--a three-yard pass from senior Mike Locke to fellow senior Kyle Hubbard and a three-yard touchdown run by sophomore Domonic De La Riva--to swell the JCU lead as the Blue Streaks defeated the Pioneers on Homecoming weekend, 61-14.

“It's huge from a confidence standpoint. [This win] gives everyone the mentality of knowing that this is how we have to go into every game. It's a huge morale booster for the team,” said sophomore linebacker Kevin Cope, who had six tackles, one sack and a forced fumble. “We've been meshing the whole season, but in these last two weeks everyone has been really coming together and having a good time.”

Senior captain and offensive lineman Bob Schmitz also voiced his approval of the dominant win on Homecoming weekend.

“We really needed to use this as a turning point in our season because we did lose those two games after coming back from Ireland. This win gives us momentum carrying forward for the rest of the year,” said Schmitz.

With the victory, the Blue Streaks improve to 24-0-1 all-time against Marietta, an undefeated mark that will stand for at least one more year.

“It's just been great. It's a lot of fun. Anytime you come out here and play with your boys and you can get everybody to play on Homecoming weekend, it's indescribable,” said Cope.