No. 17 Marietta holds off No. 8 St. Joseph's Prep 21-17

No. 17 Marietta (Ga.) took down No. 8 St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) 21-17 in front of a national audience Friday night on ESPNU.

The Top 25 showdown lived up to the billing and then some with a heart-stopping final 2:22 that put a cap on an entertaining back-and-forth affair.

St. Joseph's Prep opened the scoring mid-way through the second quarter with an eight play, 80-yard drive culminating with a 29-yard diving touchdown catch by Malik Cooper.

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Marietta quickly evened things up at 7-7 on a one yard touchdown run by Kimani Vidal on an 11 play, 80-yard drive set up by three big grabs by 5-star tight end Arik Gilbert.

Marietta struck first in the second half, finishing a five play 70-yard drive with a 39 yard touchdown reception by Gilbert to take a 14-7 advantage early in the third quarter.

As both teams struggled to gain traction, defensive lineman Anthony Leneghan made a momentum-shifting play with a 30 yard interception return late in the third. The return inside the 10 yard-line led to a 22-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10 with 1:50 remaining in the third period.

A wild finish ensued with a five-play, 74-yard touchdown drive from St. Joseph's Prep that left just 1:18 remaining for the Blue Devils.

A 26-yard kick return from Rashun Bass gave Marietta great field position for their final drive of the game, beginning at their own 34 yard-line.

After opening the Blue Devils final drive with a drop that likely would have resulted in touchdown to take the lead, Michigan State commit Ricky White came up clutch in the end.

White reeled in the game-winning 23-yard touchdown catch with 14 seconds remaining to become the hero.

Tennessee commit Harrison Bailey had a strong night in the win, throwing for 263 yards and two touchdowns, including orchestrating the game-winning touchdown drive in just over a minute.

Marietta (2-0) will travel to Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.) next Friday, while St. Joseph's Prep (0-1) will return to the Northeast to take on another tough test in No. 5 St. John's (Washington, D.C.) at Rutgers University.