— By Adam Rogers
OXFORD, Ohio — Marshall had to wait two and a half extra hours to kick off the 2018 season due to inclement weather and got everything Miami (Ohio) could throw at it, but the Thundering Herd stood strong for a 35-28 win Saturday night.
“I’m proud of the kids the way they responded,” Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. “We sat in that locker room for about five hours on the road. I was concerned, but they came out and played extremely well. At the end of the day, we found the way to win.”
The biggest question for the Herd entering this season was who would be the signal caller between Wagner College graduate transfer Alex Thomson and redshirt freshman Isaiah Green. It was Green who got the starting nod in the end, and did not look so “green” behind the ears in his first college start.
The Fairburn, Ga., native completed 24-of-37 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns, while only taking two sacks and throwing the ball away in high pressure situations.
“We had a freshman quarterback go in there and take care of the football,” Holliday said. “Had zero turnovers and I think that was critical.
“He’s got a little (Rakeem) Cato in him. He walks into different arenas and it doesn’t faze him a whole lot,” Holliday continued. “He grew up extremely tough and has been through a lot of adversity in his life. Like Cato he walks out there and doesn’t get too bent out of shape about anything.”
Marshall’s balance on offense kept Miami (Ohio) off tilt for a majority of the game. The Herd’s trio of tailbacks — redshirt seniors Keion Davis and Anthony Anderson and redshirt sophomore Tyler King — combined for 149 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Green found eight different receivers for completions, with redshirt senior Tyre Brady leading the way with nine catches for 116 yards and two scores.
“They were wrapped all over him all day long, but the kid made some circus catches out there,” Holliday said of Brady’s play. “I’m glad he’s on our side.”
The Thundering Herd defense played better than the stats showed. Despite allowing 444 yards of total offense, 357 of that in the air, the Herd forced the RedHawks off the field seven times after running six or fewer plays — including four three-and-outs.
Although Marshall was unable to force a turnover, its front four created pressure all night on RedHawk quarterback Gus Ragland and forced a sack and four hurries.
Redshirt junior safety Malik Gant led the Herd with 12 total tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack.
Up next for the Thundering Herd is its home opener at Joan C. Edwards Stadium against Eastern Kentucky for Hall of Fame Weekend on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
Marshall: Keion Davis 2-yard run up the middle (12:26)
Score set-up by 33-yard pass from Isaiah Green to Xavier Gaines down right sideline after a pair of 10-yard runs by Green and Keion Davis. Herd leads 7-0
Marshall: Anthony Anderson 1-yard run up the middle (3:28)
Marshall used balanced mix of run and pass on 12 play drive and was assisted by Tyre Brady drawing a second pass interference penalty in as many drives against the RedHawks defense. Herd leads 14-0
Second Quarter
Miami (Ohio): Jack Sorenson 19-yard reception from Gus Ragland to convert fourth-and-4 (2:32)
RedHawks started drive with 12-yard run by Kenny Young and 24-yard reception by Nate Becker, then had to convert on fourth down after intentional grounding penalty with a 10-yard catch by Luke Mayock. Herd leads 14-7
Marshall: Anderson 1-yard run up the middle (00:21)
Obi Obialo and Brady both make spectacular catches, for seven and 21-yards respectively, along the left sideline that require booth reviews on back-to-back plays to stop the clock with less than a minute remaining in the half. Brady’s catch set Thundering Herd up with first-and-goal from the 1-yard line for score. Herd leads 21-7
Third Quarter
Marshall: Tyre Brady 30-yard reception from Isaiah Green (6:32)
Brady also hauled in a 15-yard pass from Green at the beginning of the drive to get it jumpstarted. Then Tyler King followed that up with an 11-yard sprint and a 16-yard catch to push Marshall into Miami (Ohio) territory at the 44. Herd leads 28-7
Miami (Ohio): Alonzo Smith 1-yard run behind center (4:32)
Sorenson beats the Herd defense over the top and is brought down at the Marshall three-yard line for a 54-yard completion from Ragland. Brandon Drayton is called for a horse collar tackle on the play and put the RedHawks first-and-goal from the 1. Herd leads 28-14
Fourth Quarter
Miami (Ohio): Andrew Homer 6-yard reception from Ragland (9:20)
Ragland was three-for-three on the drive with additional completions to Sorenson for 33-yards and Nate Becker for 22-yards. RedHawks took just 49 seconds to cut deficit in half. Herd leads 28-21
Marshall: Brady 21-yard reception from Green (5:27)
Tyler King returned Miami (Ohio)’s punt back 50-yards to the RedHawk 11-yard line after an offensive pass interference call against Miami (Ohio)’s Daniel Darko stalled their drive. After a holding call against the Herd negated a Davis scoring run, Green found Brady to push the lead back up, who caught it in traffic in the front-left corner of the end zone. Herd leads 35-21
Miami (Ohio): Kenny Young 3-yard reception from Ragland (3:31)
RedHawks took less than two minutes to answer the Thundering Herd’s score after Ragland hooked up with Mayock for 13-yards and Smith for 10-yards to get into Herd territory. Then a defensive pass interference and a 23-yard strike to James Gardner put Miami (Ohio) just outside the goal line. Herd leads 35-28