PHOTO GALLERY: Marshall Hangs on Beating Favored Conference Rival Southern Mississippi

  Marshall in the second quarter was down 17-3 with 5:30 left in the second quarter.   The Herd  came back with 27 seconds left in the half to score on an Aaron Dobson 10 yard pass reception from quarterback Rakeem Cato.  Tyler Warner kicked the extra point to make the score 17-10 at the end of the half.

Marshall tied the game in the third quarter with a Cato 11 yard pass to Gator Hoskins and a good kick form Warner.  That made the score 17-17.

Marshall took a 24-17  lead with 1:19 left in the third quarter on a 17 yard pass from Cato to Dobson and  a Warner kick.

 One key factor to this win had to be the Marshall punting team.  Marshall punter Kase Whitehead and colleagues worked their precision to near perfection. 

 The punting team downed the ball five times allowing no run back from Southern Miss.  Marshall downed the ball on the 5, 6, 3, 1 and 7 yard lines of Southern Miss during the game. 

When Southern Miss started from one yard line  in the fourth quarter it resulted in a safety when Herd player Vinny Curry tackled Southern Miss runner Kendrick Hardy.   That made the score 26-17 and Marshall got the ball back. 

 Southern Miss responded with a drive that started with 2:34 left in the game that resulted in a field goal making the score 26-20.  

Southern Miss then was successful with an on-side kick  and had the the ball with 1:22 left in the game.  There was a lot of tension on the faces of Marshall fans they knew the capabilities of Southern Miss quarterback Austin Davis.   Marshall stopped the drive on the third play with an interception by M.  Lovett.

The game ended and Marshall football players went around the stadium shaking hands with the fans.  Some were going up the hill to greet and shake the hands of the fans and slide then down the hill in a fun way.

Cato passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns.   He was 27 of 42 in passing attempts with  2 interceptions.  He was   sacked twice.  

Davis threw for 309 yards.   He was 25 out of 49 passing attempts and had three interceptions.   He was sacked three times.

Both teams had 20 first downs.  Southern Miss  ran 77 plays for 384 total yards.   Marshall ran 79 plays for 378 total yards.  

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Chris Spencer has been covering Marshall football since before the plane crash. In fact, his photo of the Young Thundering Herd’s win over Xavier is included in the credits of Warner Bros. “We Are Marshall.”