Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Sacks Miami, 33-25
9/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Marshall Sacks Miami, 33-25
9/29/2004
- Box Score
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall senior defensive end Jonathan Goddard amassed a career-high four sacks, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble, and made nine tackles in leading an inspired Marshall football team to a 33-25 win over Mid-American Conference rival Miami, Wednesday night, at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
"I just went out and played hard every down," Goddard said. "This was a big game, a rivalry game, and everyone on our team did what we had to do to get the win over a good team."
Marshall (1-3, 1-0 MAC) scored a season-high 33 points in the win that was televised nationally by ESPN2, however the defense managed to harass the RedHawks (2-2, 1-1 MAC)throughout forcing five turnovers and limiting Miami to only 263 total yards of offense. Much of that disruption came from Goddard.
"I thought our defense played very well tonight," Marshall coach Bob Pruett said. "We forced some turnovers and got good pressure on them. He (Goddard) was awesome. He changed the whole game...they could not stop him."
Marshall established the tone early with a Curtis Keyes interception of a Josh Betts pass on the first play of the game. The Thundering Herd managed to convert a 31-yard field goal attempt to take the early 3-0 lead. Miami's next possession ended with Goddard sacking Betts for an eight yard loss and forcing a fumble that Marshall's Reggie Hayes would recover at the Miami 27.
From there, Marshall quarterback Stan Hill fired a 27-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Brad Bates to put the Herd up, 10-0, at the 8:54 mark of the first quarter.
Miami would answer, however with a six play, 80-yard drive that ended with a Mike Smith four yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 10-7, before going ahead, 14-10, with 59 seconds to go in the first half on a one yard touchdown pass.
Marshall answered the call in the second quarter with a 16-yard pass from Hill to Josh Davis at the 10:37 mark and a 29-yard Ian O'Connor field goal at the 9:00 mark, to take a 20-14 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Herd showed signs of pulling away. Hill connected with Bates on a six-yard touchdown pass with 7:47 to go in the quarter to widen the gap to 26-14 (Marshall's two-point conversion attempt failed), and on the Herd's following possesion Donte' Newsome broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run to put Marshall up 33-14.
The RedHawks refused to go away and capped off a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a 27-yard field goal to close out the third quarter of action. Miami would later score on a Josh Betts one yard quarterback sneak and convert on a a two-point conversion to make it a one possession game with seven minutes to play.
On the Herd's next possession, Miami's Joey Card would intercept a Stan Hill pass that was tipped by a receiver and return it to the Marshall 16 yard line. With momentum swinging, Marshall's defense rose to the occassion, forcing a Miami fumble that would bound out of the endzone for a touchback just three plays later. In addition to this, Marshall's defense prevented Miami from scoring on its final possession to preserve the win.
"I'm really proud of our football team," Pruett said. "We needed this win and now we need to continue."
Marshall recorded 338 total yards of offense to Miami's 263, and managed 22 first downs to the RedHawks 16.
In addition to Goddard's impressive night, senior linebacker Kevin Atkins tallied 10 tackles and one interception, and senior defensive end Jamus Martin posted eight tackles (three for a loss), forced a fumble, and was responsible for two sacks.
Offensively, senior running back Earl Charles rushed for 122 yards and Hill completed 23 of 37 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns.
Josh Davis grabbed a game-high seven receptions for 61 yards and touchdown, while Brad Bates managed six catches for 66 yards and two scores.
Davis' seven receptions moved him into second all-time in MAC receptions with 238, just behind Marshall's Darius Watts who holds the league record with 272.
Miami was led by Mike Smith's 95 rushing yards and a touchdown. Betts finished the night, 14-of-23 passing for 144 yards and one touchdown. He threw two interceptions.
Marshall now turns its attention to another rival, Ohio. The Herd will travel to Athens to take on the Bobcats on Saturday, October 9th. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in the annual "Battle for the Bell."
