Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
UConn
@HerdFB Tops UConn at St. Petersburg Bowl, 16-10
12/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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PETERSBURG, Fla. - Marshall football secured its fifth consecutive bowl victory on Saturday with a 16-10 win over the UConn Huskies at the St. Petersburg Bowl.
The Herd was first to strike with a two-play drive that was set up by a Deandre Reaves (Sterling, Va.) punt return. After bobbing and weaving out of tackles, Reaves found a crease and returned the punt for 26 yards to the Huskies' 20 yard line. The drive started with a four yard run by senior Devon Johnson (Richlands, Va.), who made his first appearance since Oct. 17 at Florida Atlantic. On the next play, quarterback Chase Litton (Tampa, Fla.) ran a play action pass as the UConn defense committed to the run and hit an open Ryan Yurachek (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) for a 16-yard touchdown reception.
The lead wouldn't last long though for the Herd, as UConn had a 13-play drive for 75 yards on the ensuing possession that resulted in an eight yard rushing touchdown for Ron Johnson.
The first drive of the second quarter for Marshall resulted in points, as the Herd put together its own 13-play drive that set up a chip-shot field goal for Nick Smith (Plain City, Ohio). Smith connected on his first field goal within 20-29 yards on the season, as he made a 21-yard field goal with 8:04 remaining in the half to put Marshall ahead, 10-7.
Marshall went on to close the second quarter the same way they started the period with a double-digit play drive. This time the Herd went 15-plays for 85 yards that set up another Smith field goal. After UConn attempted to freeze Smith with two straight timeouts called, Smith converted a 29-yard field goal to give the Herd a 13-7 lead at halftime.
The Herd defense that came up huge all season made its presence known in the third quarter, as UConn was mustering up a drive. After going 31 yards on five plays in less than two minutes, safety Kendall Gant (Lakeland, Fla.) halted the Huskies drive by intercepting a pass at the Herd's 36 yard line.
Marshall was held scoreless despite out-gaining the Huskies, 79-41 in the third quarter. UConn was able to make a 52-yard field goal before the ending of the period.
With a three-point lead in hand for the Herd, MU took over at its own five yard line with 8:19 remaining in the fourth quarter. Marshall turned to the fresh legs of Keion Davis (Fairburn, Ga.), who ran for a combined 12 yards on his first two attempts to give the Herd breathing room. On the next play, Davis found an opening and ran for 41 yards, the longest rush of the game. Marshall continued to run down the clock and run the ball with Davis until it was stopped at the UConn 15 yard line with 1:49 remaining. Marshall's kicker, Smith, lined up and made his third field goal of the game from 32 yards to give the Herd a 16-10 lead.
UConn got the ball back with 1:44 on the clock in the fourth quarter, but was unable to get into Marshall territory as it turned the ball over on downs.
Marshall would take the ball with 21 seconds left and kneel down to seal its fourth bowl win under head coach Doc Holliday.
Leading the way on offense for the Herd was Litton with 218 passing yards and one touchdown on 23 completions. Davis led Marshall on the ground with 73 yards rushing, while Reaves had 88 yards receiving on nine receptions. On defense, Gant was tied for a team-high nine tackles with Devontre'a Tyler (Arcadia, Fla.). Gary Thompson (La Mesa, Calif.) and Ryan Bee (Ashland, Ohio) each had one sack.
With the victory, the Herd clinched its third straight season of 10 or more wins. Marshall went 10-3 this season, while going 13-1 in 2014 and 10-4 in 2013.
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