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Marshall Football News
11-4-06
Skinner Leads Offense to Fourth Quarter Rally, Turns Back Wave
HUNTINGTON - Propelled by two 21-point quarters, the Marshall Thundering Herd
extended its winning streak to three games with a 42-21 victory over the Tulane
Green Wave Saturday night at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
The 42-point offensive output by the Herd (4-5, 3-2 C-USA) was the most by a Mark
Snyder team against an NCAA Division I-A opponent. Tulane (3-6, 2-3 C-USA) lost its
ninth straight road game and the fifth consecutive C-USA road contest.
"My hat is off to Tulane and head coach Chris Scelfo," Snyder said. "His team played
hard and didn't quit. They did a fantastic job taking away our running game.
"Our guys were pass protecting well so we were able to soften them up with some
passing in the second half and that opened up our running game."
Conference USA Player of the Year candidate Ahmad Bradshaw (Bluefield, Va./Graham)
recorded his third straight 100-yard rushing game, posting a 22-carry, 138-yard
performance.
Marshall starting quarterback Bernard Morris (Orlando, Fla./Jones) finished 16-of-22
for 227 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Morris left the game with an
injury in the third quarter and was replaced by senior Jimmy Skinner (Chillicothe,
Ohio/Chillicothe). Skinner completed 9-of-11 passing for 113 yards with three
touchdowns.
Cody Slate (Chipley, Fla./Hargrave) led all receivers with seven receptions for 84
yards and two touchdowns. Bradshaw added seven catches for 44 yards with a
touchdown, while Emmanuel Spann (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake) finished with four catches
for 77 yards and a touchdown.
Junior tight end Brian Shope (Portage, Pa./Portage Area) finished with three catches
for a career-high 67 yards.
Matt Couch (Okeana, Ohio/Ross Senior) led all defenders, recording a career-high 17
tackles, along two pass breakups. C.J. Spillman (Louisville, Ky./Central) added 11
tackles, while Curtis Keyes (Mt. Olive, Miss./Mize) recorded 10 stops.
Tulane's Lester Ricard led all passers with 262 yards on 26-of-46 passing with one
touchdown and two interceptions. Matt Forte finished with 61 yards on 19 carries,
while catching five passes for 80 yards.
The Herd continued its recent offensive outburst against the Green Wave, quickly
taking a 21-0 first quarter lead. After Tulane went three-and-out on its opening
drive, the Herd used a 10-play, 71-yard drive to take an early 7-0 lead.
Morris recorded his second rushing touchdown of the season on an eight-yard rush
around the left side to break into the end zone. During the drive, Bradshaw became
the eighth player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-yard single-season mark.
On the ensuing Tulane possession, redshirt freshman Zearrick Matthews (Greenwood,
S.C./Greenwood) returned a Ricard interception 44 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0
Herd lead.
Marshall's defense forced another three-and-out on Tulane's next offensive
possession. Seven plays later, Morris connected with Slate for a nine-yard touchdown
pass. Morris' seventh completion of the opening quarter gave the Herd a 21-0 lead
with 28 seconds remaining in the period.
Tulane's offensive fortunes changed in the second quarter. The Wave engineered a
10-play, 83-yard drive that consumed 2:46 on the clock. Ricard's 15-yard touchdown
pass to Preston Brown cut the deficit to 21-7.
In the first quarter, the Herd capitalized on a Green Wave turnover. In the second
period, however, it was Tulane taking advantage of a Marshall miscue. Taurean Brown
forced a Morris fumble, which was recovered by Josh Mitzel at the Marshall 36-yard
line. Mitzel's 23-yard return gave the Green Wave excellent field position at the
Herd 13-yard line.
Five plays later, Forte pulled the Wave to within seven points, 21-14, with a
one-yard touchdown run at the 9:35 mark of the second quarter.
Tulane erased the Herd's 21-point lead on the Green Wave's opening possession of the
third quarter. Forte scored his second rushing touchdown of the night - a four-yard
run - to even the score at 21-21 with 9:56 remaining in the third quarter.
Marshall had a chance to retake the lead late in the third quarter, but Tulane's
Jeremy Foreman blocked Anthony Binswanger's (Pleasant Hill, Calif./Diablo Valley CC)
38-yard field goal attempt.
However, the Herd traded turnovers during the final two minutes of the third
quarter. Josh Johnson (Milledgeville, Ga./Georgia Military) intercepted Ricard's
pass and returned it to the Tulane 28-yard line. On the next play, Skinner's pass
was intercepted by David Skehan at the Wave's 22-yard line.
Three plays later, the Herd seemed to have forced its third turnover of the game,
but Ricard's apparent fumble was overturned upon further review. On the next play,
Jon Moravec (Frederick, Md./Linganore) blocked Chris Beckman's punt which was
recovered at the Tulane 24-yard line.
Moravec's key special teams play led to the Herd's first touchdown since the first
quarter. Skinner threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Slate on a fade route to give the
Herd a 28-21 lead with 12:34 remaining in regulation. Moravec later recovered a
fumble on a Tulane kickoff return to setup the first of two late touchdowns.
The Herd put the game out of reach with two more touchdown passes from Skinner in
the fourth quarter. The senior Chillicothe, Ohio, native connected on a 28-yard pass
to Spann and an 11-yard strike to Bradshaw.
The Marshall Thundering Herd will travel to Greenville, N.C., to face Conference USA
East Division leader East Carolina Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. (EST).
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