With the chance at a bowl berth on the line, Marshall found a way to do
just enough to get by East Carolina winning 34-27 in overtime.
Marshall came out swinging in its regular season finale with
quarterback Rakeem Cato hitting Aaron Dobson for a 77-yard touchdown pass on
the first offensive play of the game giving Marshall a quick 7-0 lead with only
:17 elapsed in the first quarter. Before East Carolina could even catch their
breath, the Thundering Herd came in with another gut punch. This time Marshall
forced a fumble on the kickoff and had the ball again, this time at the ECU
16-yard line.
In what turned out to be a pivotal early stop, the ECU defense forced a
3-and-out culminating with Marshall's Justin Haig making a 24-yard field goal
to give the Thundering Herd a 10-0 with 12:48 left in the first quarter.
The Pirates finally saw the ball on offense on the next kickoff
and proceeded to go 77 yards in 12 plays
ending with a Dominique Davis touchdown pass to Justin Jones. The extra point
cut the Marshall lead to 10-7 with 7:27 left in the first quarter. The ECU
defense again came up big in the next Marshall possession forcing a fumble and
recovering on the Marshall 32-yard line. It only took Davis and company 6 plays
to find the end zone once again with Justin Jones collecting his second
touchdown reception of the quarter giving ECU its first lead at 14-10.
The Thundering Herd and Pirates traded punts to end the first quarter
with the same 14-10 lead for ECU. East Carolina got the ball back at their own
13-yard line with 11:59 left in the half and went on an 11-play, 57 yard drive
that was capped by Michael Barbour making an impressive 57-yard field goal to
extend the Pirate lead to 17-10.
With 2:44 left in the first half, Marshall got the ball at their own
46-yard line and went 54 yard in 7 plays to tie the score at 17 with only :39
seconds left in the half. ECU answered and Barbour made another ridiculous
field goal, this time from 58 yards to give the Pirates a 20-17 lead going into
the half.
ECU was unable to take advantage of receiving the 2nd half kickoff and
gave the ball back to Marshall at the Thundering Herd 23-yard line. Cato drove
Marshall on a 13-play, 71 yard drive that Tyler Warner finished with a 23-yard
field goal to knot the game up once again at 20-20. Neither team could move the
ball for the rest of the 3rd quarter leaving the Pirates with a 3rd and 8 at
their own 5-yard line to start the 4th quarter.
The Pirates found a way to convert that 3rd and 8 and proceeded to move
the ball to the Marshall 35-yard line before stalling. Barbour missed on his
chance to have a 3rd 50-yard+ field goal in the game giving Marshall the ball
back at their own 35-yard line. Cato then found Antavious Wilson for a 53-yard pass
but ECU's Derek Blacknall forced a fumble into the end zone resulting in a
touchback for the Pirates.
After a defensive stop by Marshall, the Pirates gave the Thundering
Herd the ball back at their own 35-yard line yet again. This time the Pirate
defense was unable to stop Marshall, allowing a 7-play, 65-yard drive that was
finished with a Travon Van 33-yard rushing touchdown giving Marshall a 27-20
lead with only 4:49 left in the game.
Like they did all game long, the ECU offense responded accordingly.
Davis led the Pirates on a 15-play, 82-yard drive that ended with another
Justin Jones touchdown catch on 4th down with only :03 left in the game.
Barbour tied the game with the extra point sending it to overtime tied at 27.
It only took Marshall 1 plays to find pay dirt with Tron Martinez
taking it in from 1 yard to give the Thundering Herd a 34-27 lead after
Marshall's offensive possession. The Thundering Herd came up with a huge stop
on the ensuing possession with Darryl Roberts intercepting Davis on a
4th-and-12 at the Marshall 27-yard line.
Marshall won by the final of 34-27 in overtime.
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