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SPORTS
Southern Miss 27, Marshall 20
The Thunder Walk is held prior to the Marshall vs. Southern Miss C-USA football game on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
HUNTINGTON — A dizzying run of odd circumstance ended Saturday evening with Marshall University football left to figure out a confounding loss.
Staring at another opportunity to secure bowl eligibility, the Thundering Herd fell just short, losing 27-20 to Southern Miss before an Edwards Stadium crowd of 21,036. Marshall (5-5, 3-3 Conference USA), ended the game with its top two offensive threats on crutches and all but eliminated from East Division championship contention. Leading receiver Cody Slate, among the nation’s top tight ends, and tailback Darius Marshall Division I-A’s No. 5 leading rushers, each suffered leg injuries.
Safety Justin Wilson intercepted a pair of Brian Anderson passes in the final 2:06, securing the Golden Eagles’ first road win this season. Martevious Young’s 36-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Brown with 6:54 remaining locked down the final margin for Southern Miss (6-4, 4-2), which remains in a divisional title chase with East Carolina and UCF.
Saturday’s opening half could be defined as unusual at best. Along with the loss of Slate, Marshall trailed, 14-13, through two quarters despite outgaining Southern Miss, 220-91, in total yards and possessing the ball one second short of 21 minutes.
Tory Harrison capped the Golden Eagles’ initial drive — lasting 13 plays and extending 80 yards — with a 1-yard touchdown run. Craig Ratanamorn countered with his 12th made field goal in as many attempts this season, this one from 27 yards, to narrow the deficit to 7-3.
Marshall assumed its first lead on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Dobson. The true freshman wide receiver from South Charleston leaped near the end zone’s back line for his first career score.
A 10-7 Thundering Herd lead lasted all of 13 seconds when Tracy Lampley returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards untouched, returning the advantage to USM at 14-10 and providing the Golden Eagles’ final memorable first half moment.
Because in equal parts of a ball control offense, a roughing penalty on a Kase Whitehead punt and a pass interference call, Marshall proceeded to snap 24 consecutive plays from scrimmage and 40 of the next 43, but couldn’t separate from its divisional rival.
The Thundering Herd netted just a 46-yard Ratanamorn field goal and pulled within 14-13 at halftime.
Special teams gaffes continued to define an uneven matchup. Each team roughed the other’s punter in the first half, Marshall allowed a kickoff return to the end zone and midway through the third quarter, DeQuan Bembry muffed a Southern Miss punt at the Thundering Herd 39-yard line.
One play later, Young found tailback Damion Fletcher, bottled in the running game, along down the Marshall sideline for a touchdown connection. Michael Janac blocked the extra point kick attempt, continuing a rough evening of the game’s third phase, but Southern Miss owned a 20-13 advantage.
Marshall continues its regular season stretch run with another 4:30 p.m. Edwards Stadium kickoff Saturday against SMU, which has assumed C-USA West Division control. Coupled with No. 15 Houston’s 37-32 loss at UCF, the Mustangs (6-4, 5-1) took over divisional lead with a 35-31 victory over UTEP.
