Fighting Muskies beat Marietta in home-opener

  On Sept. 17, 2011, the Muskingum University Fighting Muskies defeated the Pioneers of Marietta College 34-14.

  The game was the third annual fight for the Shrine Club Trophy; a tradition game started two years ago in 2009 between Marietta and Muskingum.  Prior to Saturday's game, Muskingum led the series two wins to none.

  The game started with an exhilarating first drive topped off with a touchdown by sophomore running back Shane Dotson.  On Marietta's first possession, Muskie sophomore cornerback Darell Jones returned a fumble for 62 yards putting the Muskies up 13-0.

  The Pioneers got on the board in the first quarter with a five yard touchdown pass from Andrew Keller to Chad Walker.

  The Muskie interception occurred in the second quarter by senior defensive back Anthony Zarcone.

  At the end of the second quarter, sophomore quarter back Dalton Smith hooked up with sophomore wide receiver James Washington for a 14 yard touchdown putting the Muskies up 20-7 with 11 seconds left in the half.

  With their first possession of the third quarter, sophomore running back Alvin Taylor returned a punt 36 yards for a Muskingum touchdown, putting the Musies up 27-7.

  After a Marietta three-and-out, Smith hooks up with Washington again for another touchdown going 42 yards for the score.

  The following possession by Marietta ended with a 26 yard pass between Pioneer quarter back Keller and wide receiver Kirby Harris making the score 34-14 with the Muskingum Muskies still in the lead.

  The fourth quarter went scoreless with two interceptions by Muskie junior Tyler Richardson and senior Alex Thomas.

  Some of the outstanding Muskie performances include quarter back Dalton Smith who completed 7seven passes on 13 attempts and had two passing touchdowns; running back Palmer Smith who ran for 95 yards and averaged 6.3 yards per carry; defensive back Darell Jones who had three total tackles and returned a fumble for 62 yards and a touchdown.

  Jones said after the game, that his first quarter fumble recovery was a momentum builder for the muskies.

  The defensive player of the game for the Muskies was  linebacker Alex Thomas who had 15 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, .five sacks and an interception that was returned for 47 yards.

  The offensive player of the game for the Muskies was wide receiver James Washington who had three receptions for 81 yards and two touchdowns.  

  "I knew this was a big game for us," said Washington. "I wanted to go out and do my best."

  At the end of the game, Coach Logan did the honors of hoisting the Shrine Club trophy for the third time in his career.

‭  ‬"Our kids played hard," said Head Coach Al Logan. "We were the most physical team. Our offense did better than [they have in] the last couple weeks."