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Knox steps up to help Herd defeat Charlotte 30-13

— By David Walsh

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Next man up. That tag applied to Marshall’s Brenden Knox on Saturday and did he respond in a big way.

With Tyler King and Keion Davis — the Thundering Herd’s top two rushers — out of action due to injury, Knox became the workhorse and ran for 116 yards on 22 carries and scored once to lead the Thundering Herd to a 30-13 win over Charlotte in front of 19,418 fans at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. 

Knox was nowhere to be found in Herd rushing stats entering the game. The redshirt freshman went over 100 yards with a 9-yard run with 7:37 left in the fourth period.

“It feels great,” Knox said. “The rest of the backs we push each other. It was my turn to step up. I knew first of the week I’d be getting reps. Nothing different. Hold on to the ball and be the be.”

On his carries, Knox delivered the first blow to the would-be tackler.

“Bring it to them first,” Knox said.

Herd offensive line coach Greg Adkins, also a former 49ers assistant, tipped his hat to the job his group did along with Knox.

“He busted a couple. He waited his turn,” Adkins said. “We had to be efficient running the ball. The guys up front opened things up and we could get Knox on the edge.”

Marshall improved to 6-3, 4-2 in Conference USA. Middle Tennessee is the frontrunner in the C-USA East at 6-1 after its win at UTEP. In addition, the Herd reached bowl eligibility with the win. Marshall is home next week against UTSA for Senior Day.

Charlotte, coached by former Marshall assistant Brad Lambert, falls to 4-6 overall and 3-3 in the C-USA East. The 49ers must final two games to be bowl eligible. They play FIU at home next week and close out on Nov. 24 at FAU.

Saturday also was the annual memorial game, which Marshall plays on a date close to the anniversary of the football program’s plane crash on Nov. 14, 1970. The team wore black tops and black pants, and had a special helmet with ’75’ on one side — the number of people killed in the tragedy — and the logo of the 1971 Young Thundering Herd.

on the other side. The names of all 75 people who perished in the disaster were on a green stripe down the middle of the helmet. All former Marshall football players were invited back to participate in the pregame ceremony including walking arm-in-arm with players onto the field after a moving video tribute was shown.

“We knew all week it was a must win,” Herd defensive tackle Ryan Bee said.

”We wanted to honor those guys in the right way. Been here five years and never lost.”

Charlotte showed it meant business on the opening drive, going 75 yards in 12 plays. Benny LeMay carries six times for 41 yards. Evan Shirreffs scored on a 1-yard TD run and the 49ers used just over six minutes on the clock.

On its first drive, Marshall responded with a 58-yard march in 11 plays with Justin Rohrwasser connected on a 23-yard field goal. Green returned as the starter after taking over late in the second period in last week’s loss at Southern Miss. He had been sidelined since suffering a leg injury in a win at Western Kentucky.

“Play good defense, take care of the ball and be good on special teams. Do that and see what happens. It gives you a chance to win,” Marshall coach Doc Holliday said.

Marshall wound dominate play after Charlotte’s opening drive. The Herd took a 10-7 lead on Anthony Anderson’s 1-yard TD run with four seconds left in the opening period. The TD was set up by the Herd’s blocking a 49ers puntg. Rohrwasser added a 33-yard field goal with 4:21 left in the second for a 13-7 advantage. Charlotte mounted a drive right before the half and got a 40-yard field goal from Jonathon Cruz on the final snap to cut the deficit to 13-10.

Anderson fumbled the ball away on the Herd’s first play of the third period. The 49ers had to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Cruz to tie the game at 13-13 with 13:48 left.

“That was big,” Herd linebacker Frankie Hernandez said.

Marshall ruled from that point on. Knox asserted himself and capped a scoring drive with a 4-yard TD run with 9:59 left. Rohrwasser would add a 23-yard field goal and 23-13 lead with 4:39 left. On the next possession, Green connected with Obi Obialo on a 10-yard fade route in the end zone and 30-13 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Charlotte entered the game ranked No. 1 in the league in rushing defense and time of possession. The Herd rushed for 147 yards, Green hit 15 of 26 for 178 to give MU 325 total yards.

The 49ers had 185 total yards with the majority coming in the first half.





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