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As struggles mount for Herd, Huff believes team is pressing

— By David Walsh

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Teams are making Marshall’s offense one dimensional at present and coach Charles Huff says that has to change.

The latest example came Wednesday night when Louisiana limited the Thundering Herd to 137 yards passing and 276 total yards as the Rajin’ Cajuns outscored the Herd, 20-7, in the second half to take a 23-13 victory at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

It was a “Blackout” game for Marshall as the team wore all black uniforms and helmets for its first home game as a Sun Belt Conference member. Forget the uniforms, the Herd gave the announced crowd of 19,905 little to cheer about. 

Louisiana scored 20 straight points in the second half to take control before the Herd got a fourth-quarter touchdown. The burst by the visitors came after a 37-minute delay due to lightning just before the start of the third period. During the delay, the teams returned to their locker rooms while the stadium had to be cleared.

“We have a lot of things to clean up, the discipline is what we need to clean up the most,” Huff said. “I’m not discouraged by anything. But this is a real league, and in this league you can’t win games by playing hard. You’ve got to play disciplined, you’ve got to execute in critical situations, and you’ve got execute on both sides of the ball.”

For the Rajin’ Cajuns, Ben Wooldridge made his first career start and completed 17-of-29 passes for a career-best 230 yards and two scores. He also led his team in rushing with 45 yards on 10 carries. There were no dangerous throws and for the most part, Wooldridge kept the offense in operable down-and-distances against a stingy Herd defense.

On the flip side, Herd starter Henry Colombi completed 9-of-13 for 68 yards with one pick. Cam Fancher, who came on in the fourth quarter, hit 7-of-9 for 69 yards.

“We’ve got to play the best guy,” Huff said. “We knew we’d play both. It depends on the flow of the game. They both have a lot of positives.”

Through six games, the Herd is last among 14 Sun Belt teams in passing yards with 1,133.

Huff believes his players need to relax and simplify things.

“As a team we’re pressing now,” Huff said. “When you do that, you’re not locked in. We’ve got to settle in and play. We got a little too far behind. The offense has to get more balance. We have to put ourselves in a position where every drive is not the end of the world.”

Louisiana also had a season-high five sacks and limited Marshall to 123 yards in the second half. An interception by Bralen Trahan helped turn the tide as he returned his pick to the visitor’s 40. Wooldridge later hooked up with Dontae Fleming on a 6-yard TD pass to give Louisiana the lead for good.

Kenneth Almendares followed with two field goals, the latter of which was career-best 52-yarder for a 16-7 lead. He finished with three field goals. Louisiana put the game away in the fourth when Michael Jefferson caught a short pass from Wooldridge, broke a tackle and raced 32 yards for the TD with 9:59 left.

On the running side of this one-dimensional dilemma, Marshall’s Khalan Laborn led Herd rushers with 120 yards on 26 yards and two scores. He’s gone over 100 yards in all six games. His 1-yard TD with 4:09 left in the second quarter gave Marshall a 7-3 lead at the break. He added another 1-yard TD with 6:52 to play on a 75-yard drive led by Fancher. Laborn has 10 touchdowns on the season.

“We’ve got to come back ready to work,” said Laborn, who came to the Herd from Florida State via the transfer portal. “We did run well. Some areas we have to work on. We’ve got it. We’ve just got to put it together.”

On defense, Abraham Beauplan led the way with 11 tackles. Eli Neal and Koby Cumberlander each got a sack.

Marshall has 10 days to prepare for its next game. Its a showdown against current unbeaten and No. 25 ranked James Madison on October 22 in Harrisonburg, Va. It will be homecoming for the Dukes and the game already is a sellout.

“We respect all our opponents,” Laborn said. “We’ve got to put our best foot forward. I’ve worked hard to get here. It’s showing. There are areas where I can contribute more.”

While Marshall’s offensive line has endured struggles in pass protection, Huff wants to see the offense as a whole do a better job on first and second downs to avoid third-and-longs.

“We’re inconsistent in everything,” Huff said. “We’ve got to look where we are and what’s the best way to fix it. We are in the right lane. We have to focus on how we can get better in the time we have. We can put our dukes up or throw in the towel. The guys know what it’s going to take.”





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