Tigers Tamed by Panthers
By: Ron Johnston

If time permitted, Perry Wheeler probably would've named every teammate on the Marietta High roster who blocked for him against Morgan.

KEVIN PIERSON The Marietta Times Marietta running back Perry Wheeler (33) breaks free for a touchdown thanks to a block from teammate Todd Stacy (73) on Morgan’s Tyler Walker (50) during the third quarter of a football game at Don Drumm Stadium Friday night. Wheeler set a school record for rushing yards in a game as Marietta won 59-20.

The senior running back rushed for a school-record 320 yards on 33 carries and six touchdowns and two 2-point conversions to lead Marietta to a 59-20 triumph over the visiting Raiders in a season- and home-opening football game at Don Drumm Stadium Friday night.

The old Marietta rushing mark of 312 was set by Dave Burke in the late 1960s.

"Unbelievable," Wheeler said. "The line, the fullbacks, the quarterbacks, and the receivers all played awesome.

"The line was really blowing them (Morgan) off the ball."

Wheeler couldn't resist naming a few names.

"They were Todd Stacy, Justin Sturm, Ryan Offenberger, Wes Wagner, Keith Whealdon, Adam Baker, and Cole Hupp. Everybody just played great. It was a team effort all the way."

Marietta quarterback Morgan Wynn threw for one touchdown to Billy Grizer, and caught a scoring pass from Lance Weppler.

Weppler completed six of seven passes for 118 yards.

Grizer had five receptions for 129 yards.

"Our quarterbacks were awesome," Wheeler said. "They really took a lot of pressure off me."

What a difference in about one year's time. In 2008, Marietta High visited Hilliard Darby, near Columbus, and was trounced 53-14. The Tigers didn't go on to win their first game until week 4 against Warren.

"This is a great way to start the season," Wheeler said after Friday's game.

Wheeler gained 32 yards of five carries in the opening period. But neither Marietta nor Morgan got on the scoreboard.

After the first quarter, the dam burst with Tigers outpointing the Raiders 30-20, also the halftime score.

Wheeler scored on touchdown runs of 9, 14 and 48 yards. Wynn, who started the game at QB, caught a 45-yard TD pass from Weppler.

"Perry is so relentless," said Marietta head coach Andy Schob. "He stayed fresh because we played him mostly on offense and not much on defense. He really does have the total package.

"You've got to give credit to our line, because they controlled the line of scrimmage."

Morgan tried to keep pace with QB Ted Vynalek hooking up twice with receiver Cody Fluhart on scores of 44 and 32 yards.

Levi Boyd also ran 30 yards for a TD.

Vynalek finished the game with 200 yards passing.

But it was still too much Wheeler for the Raiders, who just couldn't stop him.

In the third quarter, Wheeler ran for two more touchdowns of 9 and one yard.

Early in the fourth quarter, Wheeler rushed for his sixth TD of the contest from seven yards out.

Capping all the scoring, Wynn hooked up with Grizer on a 15 yard pass.

Since 1991, Morgan owns a 7-6 advantage over Marietta in the series. When the two schools last met in 2005, the Raiders claimed a 32-7 decision.

Last year, Morgan was 1-9 overall, while the Tigers were 4-6.

Marietta will now be on the road for its next six games, starting with the Parkersburg Big Reds at Stadium Field at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Story from The Marietta Times 8-29-2009.