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Marshall, Charlotte bring strong defenses into C-USA contest

The Charlotte defense had a strong showing in last week’s 14-3 loss to Tennessee.

 

— By Bill Cornwell

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Defenses could dominate Saturday when Marshall and Charlotte meet in a Conference USA East Division matchup at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. 

Charlotte (4-5, 3-2) and Marshall (5-3, 3-2) have the top two run defenses in Conference USA. 

The 49ers are third in the league in overall defense, while Marshall is fifth.

Marshall head coach Doc Holliday hopes his Thundering Herd offense can penetrate the 49ers defenders, something Tennessee couldn’t do last week.

“They held Tennessee last week to 20 yards rushing and Tennessee only scored seven points offensively,” Holliday said. “They play great defense and do a job of controlling the ball on offense.”

Charlotte head coach Brad Lambert, who coached at Marshall in the early 1990s with former Herd head coach Jim Donnan, knows his club is facing a team still hurting after the Southern Miss loss.

“This will be a tough challenge for us to go on the road for a conference game,” Lambert said. “Everyone is playing for a lot —they are and we are — but I think our guys are looking forward to it.”

There are plenty of Marshall connections on the Charlotte team and coaching staff. 49ers assistant Chris Scelfo was a Marshall assistant along with Lambert under Jim Donnan. Charlotte’s strength coach is Marshall grad Jim Durning. 

Three Charlotte players‚ Dylan Ratliff, Cody Bartram and Caleb Parker — have fathers who played for the Thundering Herd. 

There is even a Huntington native on the 49ers roster in redshirt junior offensive lineman Trevor Stacy, who played his high school ball at Spring Valley.

Lambert believes the familiarity between the programs is something special.

“It kind of takes on a different turn for us,” Lambert said. “It’s always an emotional trip for us and there’s just a lot of ties to that school and a lot of good memories there and a lot of good alumni from that university that I have stayed in touch with over the years.

“It’s an emotional day to go back and play there for sure.”

Marshall has a 2-1 edge in the brief series with the 49ers, including last year’s 14-3 win at Charlotte’s Jerry Richardson Field. 

The 49ers have won their only game in Huntington, a 27-24 victory in 2016.

Marshall’s most important job this week will be to take care of the ball after suffering four turnovers in the Southern Miss loss. 

“Every game that we have played this year and taken care of the ball, we have won,” Holliday said. “We are 5-0 when we take care of the football, so it is important that we play that way again this week.”

Holliday announced Tuesday redshirt freshman Isaiah Green will start at quarterback against Charlotte. Green replaced Alex Thomson in the middle of the Southern Miss game, returning after suffering a leg injury in the Western Kentucky win. 

Saturday’s game is also special because it is Marshall’s annual ‘Blackout’ game, the home game closest to the anniversary of the November 14, 1970 plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 Marshall football players, coaches, administrators and fans as they returned from a game at East Carolina. 

Herd players will be dressed in black jerseys on Saturday and their helmets will have a 75 decal as well as one that was worn by the 1971 Young Thundering Herd team. There is also a reunion of all past Marshall football players planned for Saturday’s game.

Holliday and his staff have always emphasized the special nature of Marshall’s football program and how it rose from the ashes of the 1970 tragedy to become a winner in the 80s, 90s and beyond. 

“It is so important that we go out and play our best football that we have all year on that particular date,” Holliday said. “I am excited as a football coach to have all of our ex-players come back and join us on the field prior to the game.

“This will be the first time we have ever done that and it will be a special deal for them to help us go play a great game against Charlotte.”

Saturday’s game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. and it will be shown nationally on ESPN+.





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