GREENVILLE, Pa. (Sept. 6, 2008) – Marietta College put on an impressive offensive display Saturday in a, 21-18, season-opening victory over Thiel College at Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers out-gained the Tomcats 470-267 on offense, with 395 of those yards coming by way of a potent Marietta passing attack which was headlined by quarterback Dexter Hughes.  Hughes finished the day with 348 yards and two touchdowns, completing 29 of 43 passing attempts.

Thiel quarterback Willie Bova (Port Allegany, Pa./Port Allegany) (Port Allegany, Pa./Port Allegany) also had a solid outing, completing 19 of 33 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns.

Of the six Tomcat receivers making catches on the day, Tim Van Horn (Leechburg, Pa./Kiski Area) (Leechburg, Pa./Kiski Area) made the biggest impact, hauling in 11 passes for 121 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown with 3:03 remaining in regulation.

Van Horn's touchdown grab put Thiel up 18-14, but Marietta responded with a five-play 58-yard scoring drive that set the game's final tally.

Thiel got the ball back with two-minutes to go, but any hope of a comeback ended when Marietta's Dan Starr intercepted a Bova pass at the Pioneer 30 yard line.

The Tomcats were led defensively by senior cornerback Tom Butera (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) who compiled 10 tackles and broke up a pair of passes.  Junior Clint Walker (Madison, Ohio/Madison) (Madison, Ohio/Madison) made eight tackles, including one for a three-yard loss.

William Haase (Latrobe, Pa./Derry Area) (Latrobe, Pa./Derry Area) and Matt Shields (North Jackson, Ohio/Jackson Milton) (North Jackson, Ohio/Jackson Milton) each registered a sack in the contest.

On the ground for the Tomcats, sophomore tailback Cody Sirgey (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian) (St. Petersburg, Fla./Northside Christian) responded well to the first starting nod of his collegiate career, rushing for 62 yards on 21 carries. Sophomore middle linebacker Mike Lewis (Leesburg, Fla./Leesburg) also lined up as a runningback in a second-quarter goal line situation, pounding the ball in from three yards out to put Thiel up, 12-7.

Bova connected on a seven-yard toss to Brendan Taylor (Girard, Pa./Girard) (Girard, Pa./Girard) six seconds into the second quarter for the Tomcats' first touchdown strike of the day.

Thiel failed to convert on two PAT attempts as well as a fourth quarter two-point conversion.

Thiel returns to action next Saturday when they travel to Albion for a 1 p.m. contest.