But this time, the defense answered the call.
Zanesville was tested by visiting Marietta Friday night at John D. Sulsberger Memorial Stadium. But Noah Baldwin's 39-yard field goal with 1:28 left in the game sealed a hard-fought 25-14 win in the Southeast Ohio Athletic League. Baldwin hit a pair of field goals on the night with the other coming from 42 yards out to stretch the Blue Devils' second-quarter lead to 15-0. Senior fullback Anthony Scott made an impression on his final home game of his career with a pair of touchdowns. He finished the night with 83 yards on 13 carries to lead all rushers. After Scott's second touchdown from eight yards out in the third quarter stretched the lead to 22-7, Zanesville had to go from cruise control to damage control due to Marietta's passing attack. Marietta quarterback Cody Westbrook heaved a 47-yard bomb on first-and-21 to senior Zane Eschbaugh to put the Tigers deep in Blue Devil territory. Three plays later, Perry Wheeler carried it in from three yards out to bring the game back to a one-score contest at 22-14. Perry led the Tigers with 86 yards on the ground on 20 carries and the one touchdown, while Eschbaugh led all receivers with 130 yards on only six receptions. Westbrook outpassed the Zanesville offense with 233 yards, completing 15 of 31 with one touchdown. The Blue Devil offense was only able to muster one yard passing as many of their screen pass attempts were completed but well-read and often led to losses. Despite the lack-luster passing attack, the Blue Devils were able to dominate the game in the trenches, gaining a team-total of 215 yards on 41 carries. Along with Scott, fellow senior Brydon Gillard had a good game on the ground splitting carries with 65 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown in the second quarter from two yards out. With the win, Zanesville keeps the chances of a .500 record alive, as they moved to 3-5 with only two games remaining. Marietta drops to 2-6 on the year and 1-3 in the SEOAL. The Achilles heel for the Tigers on the night was turnovers. Marietta lost two fumbles and turned the ball over three times on downs, including four straight failed touchdown attempts when they had the ball first-and-goal on the Blue Devil 4-yard line. Three straight rushing attempts from Wheeler only netted a single yard, and on fourth down, Westbrook couldn't connect with Munfield for a second time as the Tigers turned the ball over without scoring. The combination of Westbrook and Sean Munfield got the Tigers on the board late in the second quarter from eight yards out. On the ensuing possession, the Blue Devils were held to a three-and-out, but on the punt, Munfield fumbled the catch for the Tigers and the Blue Devils took over. Zanesville was not able to capitalize on the turnover but with the solid rushing attack, they were able to chew valuable time off of the clock. Scott had a 6-yard run in the first quarter, but the kicked failed to make it 6-0 Zanesville. Brydon Gillard added a 2-yard rumble in the second, but a failed two point conversion left the cushion at 12-0. Following Baldwin's first field goal, Westbrook found Munfield for an 8-yard scoring pass. Eschbaugh's PAT cut the lead to 15-7 at the break.