Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Football Postgame Notes
12/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Wearing No. 31 for the Herd in the Boca Raton Bowl - in a tribute to injured linebacker Evan McKelvey -- is senior quarterback Rakeem Cato (usually No. 12). McKelvey was lost for the season to a knee injury in an Oct. 4 Marshall win at Old Dominion.
The Herd helmets in the Boca Raton Bowl include two memorial tributes - a SJK decal for late MU President Dr. Stephen J. Kopp, who died suddenly on Dec. 17, and a No. 10 decal for Elwood Pennington, the father of former MU quarterback great Chad Pennington (whose uniform number at Marshall was 10). Ellwood Pennington died Dec. 15.
Marshall bowl captains versus Northern Illinois - all voted as season captains by Herd players -- are quarterback Rakeem Cato, center Chris Jasperse, wide receiver Tommy Shuler, defensive tackle James Rouse, linebacker Neville Hewitt and cornerback Darryl Roberts. All are seniors playing their last Marshall game.
Senior center Chris Jasperse made his new Marshall major-college record 53rd consecutive start in the Boca Raton Bowl. Only two players in major-college history have made more consecutive starts -- Hawaii center John Estes (2006-09) and Northern Illinois offensive tackle Trevor Olson (2008-11) made 54 straight starts, the NCAA record. Among offensive linemen, LSU's Ciron Black (2006-09) made 53 starts. Stat includes players on offense, defense; no specialists.
Wide receiver Tommy Shuler's first catch extends his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 41 (streak started in 2011 Beef O Brady's Bowl).
Kick returner Deandre Reaves' 93-yard kick return for a touchdown is the Herd's first kick-return touchdown since Oct. 2, 2010 at Southern Miss - Troy Evans' 100-yarder. The 93-yarder matches the sixth-longest in Herd history.
Wide receiver Tommy Shuler's fourth catch (4:00, first quarter) gives him the Marshall career record of 308 receptions, passing Josh Davis (306 from 2001-04). It also puts Shuler into possession of fifth place in major-college career history in receptions.
Justin Haig's 28-yard field goal is the 42nd of his career, tying him for No. 2 on Marshall career list with Tim Openlander (42 from 1994-96). Dewey Klein's 54 (1988-91) are the school career record.
Wide receiver Tommy Shuler (106 yards, 5:30 left in 2nd quarter) has the 12th 100-yard receiving game of his career.
Running back Remi Watson's 3-yard run (8:4, third quarter) was the 4,000th snap played by Herd center Chris Jasperse in his career. Jasperse has started 50 games at center and three at right guard in his four seasons.
Quarterback Rakeem Cato's third-quarter touchdown pass (to Tommy Shuler) takes him to 46 consecutive games with a scoring pass, the NCAA's FBS record and tying the all-divisions record. The only other quarterback with 46 is Mike Reilly (2005-08) of Central Washington. That's the Division II record.
Wide receiver Tommy Shuler's 6-yard touchdown catch (6:39, third quarter) gives him 25 career touchdown catches, moving into sole possession of the No. 5 spot in Herd history. No. 4 is Mike Barber, with 26.
Wide receiver Tommy Shuler, with his third-quarter touchdown catch, is at 82 receptions for the season. He is the only player in Herd history with three seasons of at least 80 catches. No other player has more than one 80-catch season.
Running back Devon Johnson has his 10th 100-yard rushing game of the season. That ties the Marshall record set three times by Chris Parker (1993, '94, '95). Those were Division I-AA seasons, so Johnson has the school's major-college record.
Running back Devon Johnson, with 122 rush yards (fourth quarter), is at 1,758 yards for the season, the No. 2 single-season performance in Herd history. Chris Parker's record is 1,833 in 1995. Johnson has passed two other Parker single-season numbers in the bowl.
Quarterback Rakeem Cato's 27-yard touchdown pass to Deon-Tay McManus (11:48 left) is his 40th touchdown pass this season, a new Marshall single-season school record. Cato had 39 in 2013, as did Chad Pennington in 1997.
Kicker Justin Haig has 346 career points for the Marshall career kick points record. Tim Openlander had 337 points from 1994-96.
Justin Haig has 10 points tonight, giving him the single-season Marshall record of 133. He has 82 PATs this season, tying Tim Openlander's single-season PAT mark in 1996.
Tommy Shuler broke the Conference USA record for career receptions with 321.
