MARIETTA, Ohio – The No. 17 Baldwin Wallace football team, led by Head Coach
Jim Hilvert, defeated the Marietta College Pioneers inside Don Drumm Stadium by a score of 31-7 in their fourth Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) game. BW has now passed the halfway point of their OAC schedule with a record of 4-0 and an overall record of 6-0.
Game Recap
The Yellow Jackets were looking to keep their undefeated season alive while the Pioneers hoped to prove their capabilities. Marietta came into the day 2-2 in the OAC with two dominant wins and two one-score losses. The first quarter of Marietta's homecoming game showcased a stout Marietta defense that only strengthened their fans' hopes.
0-0 was the score of the first quarter that featured only six first downs and six punts for the two teams. BW was limited to 47 yards of offense with 36 in receiving and 11 in rushing. Senior OAC Scholar Athlete of the Month
Nolan Hartsel led the Yellow Jackets' defense with four tackles and one quarterback pressure.
Baldwin Wallace started the second quarter on the Marietta side of the field. Only three plays later, senior quarterback
Charlie Bubonics connected with senior wide receiver
Xavier Balson for a 21-yard touchdown to give the Jackets a 7-0 lead with 14:07 to go in the second quarter. The next drive brought the Pioneers' offense all the way to the BW 29 yard line where they attempted a 4
th-and-3 play that resulted in a mere gain of two yards.
The Yellow Jackets stalled after a 22-yard drive to punt the ball back to the Pioneers. Starting on their own 20 yard line, Marietta quarterback Joe Tenta marched the offense down the field with three completions of 10 or more yards. The BW defense stopped Marietta's momentum at the BW 23 yard line where the Pioneers attempted and missed a 40-yard field goal attempt. Baldwin Wallace's offense then stalled after a 23-yard drive, but the defense came up with a nice play before halftime.
On the Marietta 28-yard line, junior linebacker
Blake Hopkins forced the ball out of the receiver's hands and senior defensive lineman
Judah Reid recovered the fumble to give the offense the ball back with 1:19 to go until halftime. Although the Yellow Jackets made it to the Pioneers' five yard line with five seconds to go, they opted for an
Owen Warrick 22-yard field goal to make the score 10-0 at the half.
The first drive of the second half for the Pioneers was less than desirable with a quick three-and-out where they lost 10 yards and punted the ball back to midfield. Sophomore running back
Boston Mulinix totaled 25 rushing yards on the following drive to bring the offense to the one yard line and set up a touchdown pass to fifth-year receiver
Connor Awad. This gave BW a 17-0 lead with 9:00 remaining in the third quarter.
The defense capitalized on the offense's success by stuffing the Pioneers' attack and completing another three and out with a sack by Hopkins on 3
rd-and-10. Then, the
Seandelle Gardner drive happened.
On a 63-yard scoring drive, Gardner had receptions of 14 and 27 yards, along with a four-yard reception that scored a touchdown to put the Jackets ahead 24-0 with 4:45 to go in the third. The Pioneers' next drive lasted only 52 seconds with 10 yards of gain before punting it right back to BW.
Baldwin Wallace sustained a five-minute scoring drive into the fourth quarter as they took the ball 72 yards on 12 plays. With 13:44 to go, Bubonics found Balson for a 12-yard touchdown to put BW ahead 31-0.
On the next Marietta possession,
Nolan Hartsel came up with an interception two minutes into the drive and returned it 43 yards into Pioneer territory. The BW offense had a four-and-out, and Marietta responded with their first scoring drive of the game to make the score 31-7 BW with 7:12 to go. Marietta's punt put BW on their own two yard line.
The Brown and Gold ran the ball 11 times on this last drive to burn out the clock and finish the game without having to give the ball back to Marietta.
Balson had the most productive day offensively with seven receptions for 82 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 11.7 yards per attempt. Bubonics also impressed with a 150.5 QBR on 23 for 35, 196 yards, and four touchdowns.
Defensively, Hartsel and Hopkins each had seven tackles. Hopkins had a sack and forced fumble while Hartsel had the second half interception to bolster the Yellow Jacket defense.
The Matchup
With the win, the Yellow Jackets are now 41-9 against the Pioneers since the teams first met in 1974. Last season, BW won 38-0 on October 25, 2025 in Berea.
Looking Ahead
BW will return to George Finnie Stadium for an OAC game against the Otterbein University Cardinals on Saturday, October 24 at 1:30 p.m. in Berea, Ohio.
