HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The 13-yard touchdown pass from Chase Litton to Deandre Reaves marked a pair of career-firsts. It was the first touchdown pass for the true freshman Chase Litton and the first touchdown reception for the senior Reaves. It was a special moment for both players as they set out to make their mark on Marshall’s offense and leave a lasting impression in the coaches’ minds.
“It felt great,” said Reaves. “Chase just gave us a chance. He put the ball out there and we just made the plays for him.”
Litton and Reaves connected for a second touchdown in the second quarter, a 36-yard pass that included an acrobatic spin move, but the first touchdown is always special.
So since it was the first touchdown for both Reaves and Litton, who gets to keep the football? Litton was quick to acquiesce to the senior Reaves.
“He does. That’s a senior and he worked for that one. That was an easy inside throw for me and he did the rest,” said Litton.
Reaves was generous at first, offering to let Litton keep the ball, but quickly reconsidered.
“I’ll let him keep the football, he’s the freshman, but he’ll have plenty more so, you know what, I may want to take this one,” laughed Reaves.
Reaves, who does have a kickoff return for a touchdown, hauled in four catches for 82 yards on the afternoon, giving the Herd quality reps in the slot position.
“I think he played well out there,” Holliday said of Reaves. “We’ve talked about getting him involved more and we tried to on punt and kick returns, but a lot of the kicks didn’t go very far. He went in there at slot receiver and started and played well for us.”