Marshall University Athletics
Herd Rolls Over Mountaineers, 50-17
8/31/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Herd Rolls Over Mountaineers, 50-17
8/31/2002
- Game Stats
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Byron Leftwich threw for 469 yards and four touchdowns as Marshall (No. 22 ESPN/USA Today, No. 19 AP) overcame a sluggish start in a 50-17 victory over Division I-AA Appalachian State on Saturday night.
Leftwich, who set a Mid-American Conference record with 4,132 yards passing last season, finished 27-of-41 and ran for a fifth score.
Josh Davis atoned for two fumbles and a dropped ball in the first quarter with a huge second half in the absence of Darius Watts, Marshall's top receiver who was out with a separated shoulder.
Davis had 11 catches for a career-high 264 yards, including a 76-yard TD scamper late in the third quarter that broke open a tight game. He had 182 yards after halftime.
Appalachian State, ranked second in the I-AA preseason poll, kept it close for a while despite playing without starting quarterback Joe Burchette. He underwent surgery Friday for a ruptured disc in his back and is expected to miss up to four weeks.
Midway through the third quarter, Appalachian State narrowed the gap to 23-17 after Davon Fowlkes scored on an 89-yard punt return.
That was more yards than the Mountaineer offense managed in the entire second half. Appalachian State had 47 yards in the half and 140 overall.
Richie Williams, the first freshman quarterback to start at Appalachian State since 1989, finished 9-of-24 for 64 yards.
Marshall avoided becoming the first ranked team to lose to a I-AA opponent, scoring the final 27 points to win comfortably.
Despite insisting it wouldn't look ahead to a Sept. 12 game at No. 16 Virginia Tech, Marshall looked anything but comfortable early.
A holding penalty negated a 100-yard return on the opening kickoff by Roberto Terrell.
Davis fumbled Leftwich's first pass after a jarring hit by Erik Crutchfield, and Josh Jeffries recovered for Appalachian State at the Marshall 16. Four plays later, Joey Hoover scored from the 2.
Davis then dropped a pass inside the Appalachian State 20, forcing Marshall to settle for a short field goal, and he fumbled a punt at the Marshall 15 that a teammate recovered.
As Davis left the field, coach Bob Pruett tried to settle him down. He responded with a 10-yard scoring run on a reverse to start the second quarter for a 9-7 lead.