Local Sports

Yellowjackets rout Tigers, improve to 5-0

MARIETTA -- Marietta was seemingly behind 14-0 before the "Wall of Sound Marching Band" had completed their pre-game rendition of "The Eye Of The Tiger."

Despite a valiant effort the Tigers couldn’t overcome a tough start on a homecoming Friday night at Don Drumm Stadium as they dropped their seventh consecutive game 42-14 to the visiting Williamstown Yellowjackets.

The Tigers made a pair of crucial mistakes in the early going and the 'Jackets took full advantage as they scored a pair of touchdowns in the first two minutes of the game and never looked back.

Williamstown won the toss but elected to defer and play defense as they looked to avenge a loss suffered to the Tigers last year on their home turf.

A 33-yard kickoff return by Nick McGill gave the Tigers good field position but they coughed the ball up on their very first play from scrimmage with JT Amrine recovering the ball for the 'Jackets at the Marietta 46-yard line.

It would take Williamstown just two plays to make the Tigers pay for their miscue as quarterback Breck Allen connected with JT Strobl on a 28-yard completion to move the ball down to the 18-yard line where sophomore Daniel Cunninham ran it into the end zone on the next play to give the 'Jackets a 7-0 lead.

Disaster really struck for the Tigers on the ensuing kick off as Williamstown kicker Carter Hoops booted the ball which appeared to be heading out of bounds only to take a last minute turn towards the playing field where a very alert 'Jacket defender pounced on the ball before the Tigers did resulting in a turnover and a great opportunity for the 'Jackets.

Two plays later Cunningham scored again this time on a 7-yard run to make it 14-0.

Despite the struggles the Tigers have endured in the 2026 season, Williamstown head coach Chris Beck knew full well how important it would be to jump out to an early lead in a rivalry game no matter what the records are.

"That was huge no doubt about it," said Beck of the great start. "We got the turnover and then made a great play on special teams. Our guys have done a really good job of creating turnovers this year and they were able to do that again tonight."

It would have been quite easy for the Tigers to throw in the towel after such a difficult start but that would be anything but the case as they answered with a rather impressive 84-yard, 13-play drive to cut the 'Jackets lead in half.

Marietta picked up six first downs on the drive and Braydon Frye capped it with a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 14-7.

Williamstown moved the ball near midfield only to see their drive stall and they decided to go for it on fourth down and three at the Tiger 49-yard line.

Allen picked up the crucial first down with a five-yard run and then on the very next play connected with a wide open Strobl on a 44-yard touchdown pass down the middle that gave them a 21-7 lead.

Neither team would be able to score in the second quarter but the 'Jackets began to break things wide open in the third.

It took Williamstown just four plays to march 65-yards with Cunningham scoring his third touchdown in the game to increase the lead to 28-7.

Cunningham made his presence known on the defensive side of the field as well as he intercepted a Trenton McVey pass late in the third to set up yet another 'Jacket touchdown.

Hoops would make all six of his point after kicks in the game and also got a chance on offense as he picked up a 1-yard touchdown run with just seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Cunningham would cap a huge night with his fourth rushing touchdown of the game early in the final quarter as he broke loose on a 48-yard touchdown run to temporarily set the running clock into motion.

Cunningham carried the ball 18 times for 182 yards and the four touchdowns while also making contributions on defense for the 'Jackets

"He's just a sophomore but he is coach-able, competitive and has elite quickness," said Beck of Cunningham. "He's a smaller running back but he is tougher than nails and does a great job."

Sophomore Cooper Brown gave the Tiger faithful something to cheer about late as he scored on a 92-yard run for the final score of the game.

The loss dropped the Tigers season record to 0-7 with a tough game next on the agenda at Fort Frye next Friday.

"A credit to them (Williamstown) they jumped on us early and stayed on us," said Kupfner. "It's been our kryptonite all year though killing ourselves and we just can't spot teams 14 points and then expect to come back and win."

The second-year Tiger head coach feels like his team has shown positive signs. They just can't seem to put it together for a full 48 minutes.

"I think our older guys are still bought in. We’ve just got to find a way to put four good quarters of football together," said Kupfner. "I still believe that if we don't kill ourselves and do what we do well we can be good. We just have to do that for the whole game."

Deep runs in the playoffs are certainly nothing foreign to Beck and his team and with a 5-0 record at the halfway point they seem ready to challenge once again in 2026.

"We are a good team right now but we want to be great,"said Beck, whose team hosts Poca next Friday night. "It's never as good as it seems and it's never as bad as it seems. We've got to show up Monday and get back to work and get better because for us to accomplish the things we want to we've got to continue to get better."

At Don Drumm Stadium

Williamstown 42, Marietta 14

WHS (5-0) 21 0 14 7 - 42

MHS (0-7) 7 0 0 7 - 14

W: Daniel Cunningham 18 run (Carter Hoops kick) 11:04, 1st

W: Cunningham 7 run (Hoops kick) 10:14, 1st

M: Braydon Frye 1 run (Kingston McMahon kick) 2:17, 1st

W: JP Strobl 44 pass from Breck Allen :08, 1st

W: Cunningham 15 run (Hoops kick) 10:33, 3rd

W: Hoops 1 run (Hoops kick) 0:23, 3rd

W: Cunningham 48 run (Hoops kick) 8:21, 4th

M: Cooper Brown 92 run (McMahon kick) 4:27, 4th

Team stats

Williamstown: First downs: 16, Rushes-yards: 51-303, Passing yards: 99, Total yards: 402, Passing: 6-12-0, Penalties-yards: 4-40, Punts-avg.: 1-40.0, Fumbles-lost: 1-1.

Marietta: First downs: 10, Rushes-yards: 36-222, Passing yards: 12, Total yards: 234, Passing: 1-7-2, Penalties-yards: 4-30, Punts-avg: 3-40.0, Fumbles-lost: 3-2.

Individual stats

Williamstown: Rushing: Daniel Cunningham 18-182, Breck Allen 13-66, Owen LeFebure 3-14, JP Strobl 1-8, Dominic Robinson 3-8, JT Amrine 2-5, Jack Moore 4-5, Carter Hoops 2-5, Connor Bailey 4-5, Case Williams: 1-5. Passing: Allen 6-11-0, 99yds, LeFebure 0-1-0, Receiving: Strobl 4-84, Moore 1-5, Mason Kern 1-10.

Marietta: Rushing: Cooper Brown 1-92, Trenton McVey 11-39, Daymeon Gulley 8-32, Braydon Frye 9-28, Dylan Combs 1-13, Zach Carver 5-11, Nick McGill 1-4. Passing: Trenton McVey 1-6-1, 12 yards, Coombs 0-0-1, Receiving: McGill 1-12.

Next Games: Marietta at Fort Frye, Poca at Williamstown.