Johnson sets rushing record, carries Marshall to 35-16 win

HUNTINGTON, W.Va.—Devon Johnson set a Marshall single-game rushing record and carried the 23rd ranked Thundering Herd to a 35-16 victory over FAU. Johnson rushed for 272 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries, breaking Ron Darby’s record of 262 yards set back in 1988.

“All the credit goes to the line, with out them I couldn’t have got it,” said Johnson. “My line does a great job and I knew they were going to give me holes when they did I just hit it.”

Johnson’s 272 yards gives him 1,203 yards for the season, in just the eight games, making him the fastest Marshall running back to reach the 1,000 yard plateau in a season.

“We did a good job and everybody got a hat on a hat and Devon just did what does,” said center Chris Japserse.

Johnson started the game with a bang. On the first play from scrimmage the 245-pound back burst through the line and sprinted to a 58-yard touchdown. It was the first of three big touchdown runs for Johnson on the night. Johnson broke loose for touchdown runs of 62 yards later in the second quarter and 66 yards in the fourth quarter. Johnson added a 7-yard score to ice the game away with 51 seconds remaining.

“I just did what I had to do to make sure the team got the win,” said Johnson. “We were mentally strong and not just physically and made us push through it.”

Marshall faced adversity throughout the game as FAU controlled the ball for much of the first half. FAU had a 16-14 lead at halftime, marking the first time this season the Herd had trailed at intermission. The Owls ran 53 plays and held the ball for 20:53 of the first half. Meanwhile, Marshall ran only 25 plays and had the ball for 9:07.

“I think they struggled with tempo and that is something we have seen on their film,” explained FAU coach Charlie Partidge. “That is part of our wheelhouse and it is something that we do and something that we do and something that we are working to create pressure on defenses.”

Jaquez Johnson connected with tight end Alex Deleon for a 16-yard touchdown with 11:36 to go in the second quarter. Greg Joseph added field goals from 30, 40 and 24 yards to give the Owls the 16-14 advantage at the break. However, Marshall’s defense would pitch a shutout in the final two quarters.

FAU was limited to 166 yards of total offense in the second half, held to 2-of-8 on third downs and 0-for-2 on fourth down conversion attempts.

“We came out in the second half and did what we had to do,” said coach Doc Holliday. “I though our defense played tremendous and our offense made plays in the second half. We did what we had to do to win the football game.”

As Marshall’s defense stepped up in the second half, so did the offense. Rakeem Cato found Tommy Shuler for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 3:09 to go in the third quarter, extending Cato’s streak to 40 consecutive games with a touchdown pass.

Devon Johnson did the rest. Johnson’s two touchdowns in the fourth quarter put the game away.

“I think we did the same thing in the second half that we did in the first, we just did a little better job executing,” thought Jasperse.

“To go out and win the way we did in the second half was critical and I am happy with what those kids did and how they reacted in the second half,” said Holliday.

Marshall finished the day with 546 yards of total offense. Cato threw for 218 and a touchdown.

Marshall, now 8-0 on the season, has a bye coming up next week before going on the road at Southern Miss on Nov. 8.





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