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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Lucas D'Orazio TD reception
Doug Beigie
Lucas D'Orazio hauled in what turned out to be the game-winning TD reception.
31
Winner John Carroll JCU 4-1 , 4-0
28
Marietta College MAR 3-2 , 2-2
Winner
John Carroll JCU
4-1 , 4-0
31
Final
28
Marietta College MAR
3-2 , 2-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
JCU John Carroll 21 0 3 7 31
MAR Marietta College 0 14 7 7 28

Game Recap: Football | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

Blue Streaks Hang Tough in a Road Victory at Marietta

MARIETTA, Ohio – Despite what the all-time series says, a trip to Don Drumm Stadium is never easy.

At the midway mark of the 2023 campaign, John Carroll Football traveled to the Ohio/West Virginia border for a battle with the Pioneers.

As expected, Marietta provided quite the battle. But the Blue Streaks emerged as a battle-tested team, taking home a narrow 31-28 victory.

With the win, the #12/16 Blue Streaks advanced to 4-1 on the season. Importantly, John Carroll remains unbeaten in Ohio Athletic Conference play at 4-0 by winning the OAC TV Game of the Week. 

The story of the game was a fast start by the JCU offense to the tune of a 21-0 lead, and then a feisty Marietta squad refusing to give up, down to the final whistle. 

After Marietta won the coin toss and deferred, the Blue Streaks got the ball. Brennan Fugh broke the scoreless tie in John Carroll's favor on the sixth play of the drive. The fifth-year receiver ran a nice drag route underneath, caught a Joe Collins pass in stride, and raced down the left sideline 37 yards to the house. The Yanni Volas extra point upped the score to 7-0.

Marietta's very first offensive drive portended bad tidings for the Pioneers. Jacob Hufnagel picked off a Marietta pass, returning it 14 yards to the Marietta 31-yard line. The pick marked his second in as many road games for the freshman. 

The JCU coaching staff reached deep into the bag of tricks to complete the drive. Jon Tomcufcik lined up in the Wildcat formation, and on the first carry of his JCU career, powered his way into the end zone on a beautifully designed play.

Eager to respond, the Pios marched down the field into JCU territory. But on 4th and 1 from the JCU 46-yard line, Chris Golson and Tyler Thimons combined to stop a Marietta rush and force a turnover on downs. The teams then traded quick drives, though a Yanni Volas punt to the 3-yard line hemmed in Marietta critically.

After JCU's defensive stop, John Carroll quickly got into the red zone. Joe Collins connected with Brennan Fugh on a screen pass, and Fugh dashed into the end zone from 15 yards out, sprung by Matt Wrather and Nathan Kovach blocks (and aided by others). That ties Fugh for seventh all-time in receiving touchdowns with Antoine Dunklin at 19. Yanni Volas hit the PAT for the 21-0 lead that stood after the first quarter.

But from there, the Pios slimmed the lead. A few plays into the second quarter, Marietta got on the board via a Connor Vierstra 21-yard touchdown pass. JCU's offense could not author a response, with an interception and then a punt. On the final drive of the half, the Pioneers marched 11 plays for 77 yards ending in a second Vierstra TD pass. 

So at halftime, it was very much a ballgame at 21-14 JCU.

Marietta did not make anything of the opening drive of the second half, but John Carroll did. Mason Sullivan got JCU into the red zone with a nice run, but the Blue Streaks stalled there. Out trotted Volas for a 35-yarder, which he nailed for a two-score lead.

The two-possession advantage did not last long. The Pioneers methodically drove down the field on a 10-play, 75-yard march. The Pios finished it off with another Vierstra TD pass, this time to Dawson Snyder, cutting the margin to 24-21. That score stood entering the fourth. 

Early in the fourth quarter, the Pioneers looked to be in position to do more damage. But Lamar Thomas made a nice read on an interception, flipping the momentum. The Blue Streaks took the air out of the ball at first, killing clock with seven straight runs. That lulled Marietta's defense into the box, which the Blue Streaks took full advantage of. Joe Collins fooled the Pios with a brilliant playaction pass, finding Lucas D'Orazio. The grad student caught the ball at the Marietta 32, and dashed into the end zone down the sideline, a 48-yard catch and run. 

Not done yet, the Pios matriculated the ball down the field in response. On an 11-play, 73-yard drive, the Pioneers manufactured a score, with a short Vierstra pass closing the gap to 31-28.

John Carroll's next drive was all runs, forcing the Pioneers to burn all their timeouts. But Marietta got the ball back with 1:59 on the clock. The Pioneers threatened with four straight complete passes. 

Enter Jahiem Peake.

The senior linebacker raced off the right edge with great speed, and sacked Vierstra before the third-year starter knew what hit him. Peake's critical play backed up the Pios to 2nd and 19 to the JCU 43-yard line. Out of field goal range, the Pios missed on a pair of incomplete passes, and crucially got flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct call. Facing 3rd and 34, Marietta's comebacks hopes sunk and the Blue Streaks walked away with the win. 

Peake starred on defense with 5 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 tackle for loss. Leading the way in tackles was Tyler Thimons, as the Pittsburgher tallied a whopping 15 stops. Jacob Hufnagel also enjoyed a wonderful day with 9 tackles plus the pick.

On offense, Joe Collins helmed the ship, completing 16-of-21 passes for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns. Lucas D'Orazio was the top target with 5 catches for 94 yards and a score, while Fugh's three receptions for two scores were wonderful, too. Dorian Facen, Jr. hauled in four catches.

On the ground, Mason Sullivan and Evan McVay split the work. Sullivan toted the rock 17 times for 90 yards, while McVay tallied 13 rushes for 59 yards. 

The Blue Streaks remain unbeaten in the all-time series with Marietta, 35-0-1.

John Carroll will return to action next Saturday, hosting Ohio Northern at Don Shula Stadium for a 2 pm kickoff. 
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