BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University football team won its first Ohio Athletic Conference game with a 52-24 victory over Marietta College in the 40th Lee Tressel Shrine Classic on Tressel Field inside George Finnie Stadium.
BW (2-2, 1-2 OAC) was led by junior quarterback Jake Hudson (East Lake, Fla.) as he accounted for 367 of the Yellow Jacket 572 total yards. Hudson, who was named the BW Lee Tressel Shrine Classic Player of the Game, completed 16 of 27 passes for 260 yards and a career-high five touchdowns and rushed for 107 yards on 11 carries. Freshman running back TyQuan McCray (Rock Hill, S.C/York) rushed for 36 yards on 11 carries with two TDs. Junior wide receiver Chad Steinwachs (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville North) led the receiving corps with five catches for 65 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Defensively, senior All-OAC linebacker Sam Groff (Waynesburg/Sandy Valley) and junior defensive back Ty Fields (St. Augustine, Fla.) with 10 tackles apiece.
Marietta (2-2, 1-2 OAC) was led by junior quarterback Darrien Fields as he completed 20 of 31 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. Senior running back Roger Walke, who named the Pioneers Shrine Classic Player of the Game, led the ground game with 143 yards on 16 carries with a long of 60 yards. Senior wide out Alex Smith led the receiving unit with six catches for 71 yards. Defensively, junior linebacker Garrett Davis made a game-high 13 tackles and freshman linebacker Caleb Boy added 12 stops.
In the first quarter, Marietta scored the only points when junior kicker Jimmy Embrescia converted a 24-yard field goal with 1:41 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Yellow Jackets opened the second quarter scoring to take a 7-3 lead when McCray rushed up the middle for the 15-yard score at the 11:05 mark. Freshman Brandon Vollmer (Pickerington/Central) tacked on the extra point. The Pioneers responded to regain the lead at 10-7 when sophomore running back Tanner Clark broke a 32-yard rush for the score and Embrescia add the point after at 4:41. BW tied the game at 10-10 when Vollmer hit his first career field goal from 29-yards out at 1:03. The Yellow Jackets closed out the first half scoring to take a 17-10 lead when Hudson connected with Steinwachs on a 24-yard score with four seconds remaining in the opening half. Vollmer tacked on the extra point
In the third quarter, BW scored three more times to take a 38-10 lead. Hudson then threw a 48-yard dart to junior wide receiver Jordan Leverette (Cleveland/John Adams) at the 13:00 mark. Hudson and Steinwachs hooked up on scoring plays of seven-yards and nine-yards with the last coming at 6:32. Vollmer added all three extra points.
The Yellow Jackets opened the final quarter scoring to extend their lead to 45-10 when McCray found pay dirt for the second time on a one-yard run at the 14:49 mark. Marietta snapped a 35-point unanswered streak when Fields hit freshman tight end Bobby Cashaw on a 21-yard touchdown at 11:28 to cut the lead to 45-17. BW scored its final points when sophomore wide out Deion Greer (Toledo/Toledo Central Catholic) scored his first career touchdown when he caught a 15-yard pass from Hudson at the 7:03 mark. The Pioneers closed out the scoring when Fields hit sophomore wide receiver Andrew Barker with a 7-yard pass at 5:53. Vollmer added both extra points for BW and Embrescia tacked on the PATs for Marietta.
The Yellow Jackets return to action on Saturday, October 7 when it hosts an OAC and Homecoming game against Wilmington College on the Tressel Field inside Finnie Stadium at 1:30 p.m.
