Glenville State’s Jeremiah King, pictured here during last week’s game diving for extra yardage versus Charleston, carried 19 times for 115 yards on Saturday afternoon to help the Pioneers to a 36-24 victory versus Fairmont State. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

CLARKSBURG — Glenville State bolted out to a 23-0 lead here Saturday afternoon at Robert C. Byrd Eagle Stadium en route to a 36-24 “Battle for the Bit” Mountain East Conference victory against rival Fairmont State.

The Fighting Falcons (2-3, 0-3) used a 41-yard scoring scamper from quarterback Nino Marzullo to open the second half and close to within 26-14.

Following a GSU three-and-out, FSU regained possession only to be held to a three-and-out of its own, which resulted in Pioneer Brandon Penn blocking the punt of Ethan Vargo-Thomas.

Although the G-men (2-3, 1-1) of head coach Mike Kellar had to settle for a 22-yard Brody Layman field goal, the defense only allowed a late third quarter touchdown pass from Marzullo to running back LeJay Hatcher along with a 40-yard field goal by Emmanuel Richardson.

Glenville State, which returns to action 1 p.m. next Saturday at Frostburg State, answered following the Hatcher score with a 6-yard touchdown run by Grayland Holland with 24 seconds left in the third.

Richardson’s field goal came with 8:45 remaining and the Fighting Falcons had it first-and-goal at the seven with 2:10 to play, but Elia Ofosu picked off Marzullo, who finished 17 of 37 for 139 yards and added 79 stripes on nine carries.

Anthony Garrett connected on 9 of 16 in the first half and had 223 yards. The Pioneers got a 12-yard TD grab on their first possession by Naseem Pacheco and then a 19-yard TD catch by Amari Colon-Brown at 9:49 of the second, which made it 16-0 as Layman had hit a 28-yard field goal late in the first.

Jeremiah King, who toted 19 times for 115 yards, had his 1-yard touchdown run answered by Leonard Farrow’s 65-yard gallop, but the G-men led 26-7 at intermission thanks to Layman’s 30-yard field goal with a second left.

Farrow carried 17 times for a game-high 148 yards while Hatcher had 66 yards on 15 attempts.

Holland only had eight rushes, but finished with 96 yards as Garrett’s final line read 11 of 21 for 239 yards. Colon-Brown (3-82) and Pacheco (4-61) were his top targets, but Arnav Thornhill (1-37), Kordell Lewis (1-33) and Tariq Miller (1-33) each had a key grab in the opening half.

Penn led the Pioneer defense with 10 tackles and 7 solo stops while Sean Scott (9T, 8S), Shary Jefferson (8T, 2S) and Tank Gant (8T, 4S) also contributed heavily. The G-men also had a sack and a pair of TFLs from Eugene Allen.

Fairmont State will celebrate homecoming at 2 p.m. next Saturday when West Virginia Wesleyan invades.

Ohio Northern 42, Marietta 9

ADA, Ohio — Ohio Northern scored 21 unanswered second quarter points as the Polar Bears defeated Marietta College by the score of 42-9 Saturday.

The loss drops Marietta to 3-1 overall and 2-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Ohio Northern is 3-1 overall and 3-0 in the OAC.

Ohio Northern capitalized on several Pioneer miscues to build an early lead and then pulled away for the decisive victory. Marietta turned the ball over four times, including three in the first half, resulting in 21 Polar Bear points.

After forcing ONU to punt on its first possession of the game, Pioneer quarterback Antwon Johnson was intercepted on Marietta’s first play from scrimmage. Ohio Northern went 43 yards on just five plays for the first score of the game. Sam Feldman connected with Kyle Celestin on an 11-yard touchdown to cap the drive.

Marietta answered with a seven-play drive that stalled on the ONU 12-yard line and settled for a 29-yard field goal from Nathaniel Demuth . After a pair of Benny Lewis runs gained 14 yards, Johnson hit John Sierputowski on a 40-yard pass to the ONU 26-yard line. Pass interference gave MC a first down at the 11-yard line. Two runs gained one yard and an incomplete pass on third down forced the Pioneers to kick the field goal.

The Polar Bears made it 14-3 on a 14-yard touchdown run by Jordan Pettaway. The score capped a nine-play, 82-yard drive for Ohio Northern.

Marietta fumbled on its next possession giving the ball right back to the Polar Bears. Seven plays later Feldman hooked up with Seth Borondy for a seven-yard touchdown extending the lead to 21-3.

ONU added another score in the first half taking a 28-3 lead into halftime. Louie Blasiole scored on a seven-yard run capping a seven-play, 68-yard scoring drive for the Polar Bears. ONU put the game out of reach with a seven-play, 51-yard scoring drive that resulted in a one-yard touchdown pass from Feldman to Kameron Cox.

Marietta answered with its longest drive of the day. The Pioneers went 60 yards on 12 plays for their only touchdown of the game. Zion Jackson-Wilborn scored on an eight-yard run. Marietta’s two-point conversion attempt failed.

ONU added one more score in the game after intercepting a third Pioneer pass. Blasiole scored on a nine-yard run for the final 42-9 margin.

Johnson completed 14-of-25 passes for 176 yards but was picked off three times. Joe Tenta was 4-for-11 for 25 yards. Sierputowski had six catches for 85 yards. Playing without injured running back Vante’ Hodges, the Pioneers struggled to get a ground game going. Marietta ran the ball 24 times for just 50 yards.

Feldman completed 21-of-30 passes for 280 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Pettaway carried the ball 11 times for 72 yards and one score while Blasiole had 19 carries for 51 yards and two touchdowns. Borondy finished with six catches for 100 yards and one TD.