Marshall University Athletics
Leftwich, Jones Earn MAC Honors
10/3/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Leftwich, Jones Earn MAC Honors
10/3/2000
After having failed to earn a Mid-American Conference Player of the Week award all season, the Marshall football squad picked up it's second and third such honors in the last two weeks on Monday.
Sophomore quarterback Byron Leftwich (Washington, D.C.) Was named Offensive Player of the week for his efforts in Marshall's 31-28 victory over Akron. Leftwich passed for a career-best, and MAC season-high, 393 yards, including drives of 97 and 87 yards, the last culminating in the game-winning touchdown in an 11-yard pass to John Cooper with 26 seconds left.
In the game-winning drive, Leftwich completed 7-of-10 passes for 75 yards. He also led the team in rushing with 26 yards despite being sacked six times. Leftwich has not thrown an interception in his last 97 attempts. For the game he completed 26-of-49 passes for 393 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He is ranked among the nation's leaders in passing efficiency (33rd), total offense (7th) and pass completions per game (8th).
Leftwich has already passed for more than 2,000 yards (2,209) this season, making him just the seventh quarterback in school history to reach that level. Marshall sophomore Curtis Jones (Okeechobee, Fla.) Was also recognized by the Mac for his performance against the Zips.
Jones sparked Marshall's comeback win with an 83-yard kickoff return late in the third quarter that set up Marshall's game-tying touchdown. Jones returned four kickoffs for 130 yards (32.5 avg.) and also had two receptions for 27 yards as a wide receiver. He is currently ranked 14th in the nation (25.82) in kickoff return average.
Leftwich and Jones join defensive end Ralph Street, who was named league Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Kent State on Oct. 21.
Marshall, which now stands along atop the Eastern Division of the MAC, will take on Bowling Green this Saturday at Doyt L. Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Herd will be attempting to break an 11-game losing streak to the Falcons at Bowling Green, while also maintaining their advantage in the MAC East standings.
Kickoff for the game is slated for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be televised by the Thundering Herd Network.
