[Westside]

Herd Survives Ohio

Huntington Dispatch.com

Another home game against a rival, another wild finish for the Marshall University football team.

This time around, though, Marshall got the stop on a two-point conversion when it needed it.

The Thundering Herd gave up a Hail Mary touchdown on the final play, but Ohio’s 2-point conversion attempt fell to the turf as Marshall (1-3) earned a 24-23 win over the Bobcats (1-3) in the Battle for the Bell played before a crowd of 28,143 in Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

It was an exciting way for Marshall’s Doc Holliday to earn his first win as a head coach.

“Wow,” Holliday said. “A little different result thank goodness, but very similar (to West Virginia). We have to find a way to finish. ... “I’ve done this for a long time and a win is a win guys. You get a win, man, enjoy it. I’m just happy to get that win, that’s for sure.”

For the second straight home game, Holliday watched as the Herd squandered a fourth-quarter lead only to allow a score in the final seconds to make things interesting.

Ohio drove 72 yards in just 61 seconds, capped on the final play of regulation when Terrence McCrae went up over the Marshall defense for a 36-yard touchdown reception from Boo Jackson.

Following a timeout, Ohio coach Frank Solich made the choice to go for the win on a 2-point conversion attempt, but Jackson’s pass fell to the turf after a receiver fell down on his route.

It set off a celebration among the Marshall players, who narrowly avoided a letdown for the second consecutive home game.

In a Sept. 10 loss to West Virginia, Marshall surrendered a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining and a subsequent 2-point conversion which tied the contest 21-21. The Mountaineers then went on for a 24-21 win in overtime.

Prior to the final drive, Marshall took a 24-17 lead with 8:21 left when Antavious Wilson scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brian Anderson.

Wilson caught the pass at about the 6-yard line and juked inside, eluding two Ohio defenders before crossing the goal line for the second time in the contest.

Wilson finished with seven receptions for 119 yards and two scores while Anderson ended the contest 21-of-30 for 295 yards and three scores.

“Brian Anderson came out and played well,” Holliday said. “He had three touchdown passes and didn’t turn it over. I was happy for Brian. I’m proud of the way he played.”

The 70-yard drive was one of the best of the season for the Herd as the team drove 70 yards in 14 plays and chewed up 6:43 off the clock.

Marshall excelled on third-down, converting all four opportunities on the drive, including a 17-yard pass from Brian Anderson to Aaron Dobson.

Not only did Anderson excel on the drive, but the Herd managed to go 4-of-4 on third-down chances despite losing left guard Landis Provancha in the midst of the drive.

“Especially in that one drive that put us back ahead, it was big — we had some big third-down conversions there,” Anderson said. “Hopefully, we can continue to do that.”

At one point, senior center Chad Schofield looked to each side and saw backups Erik Vint and Alex Schooler.

Ohio saw the middle of the Herd’s offensive line featured a pair of reserve linemen and sent multiple blitzes at the inexperienced front.

Schofield said they held up well under the constant pressure.

“After Landis went down, they sent a bunch of blitzes and twists at us,” Schofield said. “Third downs are critical. That makes or breaks a game. The way we came out and went downfield and scored, it took a huge monkey off our back. It was a huge uplift for us. When the situation called for it, they stepped up.”
The Herd took a comfortable 13-3 lead to the locker room at halftime, but Ohio took the lead just before the end of the third quarter on a 6-yard fake field goal run for a touchdown by Paul Hershey with four seconds left.

On the play, Hershey faked a throw and got Marshall linebacker Kellen Harris to bite then outraced the defense to the pylon for the score.

It was the end of a quarter that also started bad for the Herd as the Bobcats took the kickoff in the second half and drove 64 yards for a score on Boo Jackson’s 2-yard pass to McCrae.

After not having a catch in the first half, McCrae had three catches for 82 yards in the third quarter. On each drive, McCrae caught long passes that helped set up the scores.

Ohio had just 105 yards in the first half, but had 140 in the third quarter alone.

“I thought that we did some things in the second half that shows we are a team of character, a team that never quits and the last two quarters show big in that regard,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said.

Between the Ohio touchdowns, Marshall drove inside the Ohio 10-yard line, but had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Tyler Warner, his first of the season.

The third quarter offset an opening half in which Marshall played well and took a 10-point lead into the break after countering a late score by the Bobcats.

After Ohio got on the board with a 48-yard field goal by Matt Weller late in the second, Marshall quickly countered back with a touchdown of its own on a 7-yard pass from Anderson to Andre Booker with 1:15 left in the half.

The drive was kept alive when Ohio safety Steven Jackson was called for a personal foul for a hit on Dobson on an incompletion. On the next play, Anderson found Booker for a 33-yard pass down the sidelines.

A pair of runs in the middle set up third-and-goal where Anderson read the all-out blitz of the Bobcats and hit Booker on the hot route for the score to give Marshall a 13-3 lead, which they took to the locker room.

After having just four receptions coming into the contest, Booker finished with three catches for 51 yards — all in the first half.

The performances of Booker and Anderson served as vindication after both players felt as though they left some plays on the field last week in a loss at Bowling Green.

“Like Coach Doc said, our team doesn’t lack confidence,” Booker said. “I had confidence coming into this game. We watched film and were prepared. I’ve never been prepared for a game like this.”

The Herd came out trying to establish the run early against the Bobcats with nine of 14 first-quarter plays being on the ground.

However, Marshall’s initial touchdown came on a 4-play, 92-yard drive in which three plays went through the air — two of which went for big gains.

The initial pass was a play-action to Dobson that covered 42 yards. Two plays later, Anderson delivered a 45-yard touchdown strike to Wilson while absorbing a big hit.

Marshall had a chance to go up big in the first quarter after Monterius Lovett picked off a pass and returned it to the Bobcats’ 39. However, two false start penalties negated yardage and the Herd was forced to punt.

It marked the second-consecutive contest that a Marshall cornerback had an interception in their debut. Last week, Darryl Roberts also had a pick in the first game of his career.

Marshall now focuses on Conference USA play, which starts with an 8 p.m., Saturday, contest at Southern Miss.

[TidesHoss32]

Pretty nice first win for Doc! Hope this is the first of MANY to come for Coach Holliday..Go Herd!