Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
7-3 , 5-1
Coastal Carolina
5-5 , 2-4
Marshall Football Gets 31-19 Win Over Coastal Carolina
11/16/2024 5:45:00 PM | Football
Big plays key special victory as Herd honors ‘75’, finishes with 6-0 home record
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall Football got huge plays in all phases as the Thundering Herd earned a 31-19 win over Coastal Carolina in front of 24,175 fans in the annual '75' game on Saturday at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
With the win, Marshall moves to 7-3 on the season while keeping pace in the SBC East Division at 5-1 in the league.
"I thought our players did a phenomenal job of adapting, adjusting and executing," Marshall Football coach Charles Huff said. "Our guys went out and battled. Hats off to every person that showed up today to honor the '75'. As I've gone into the fourth year now, this story is special. Obviously, it's a story of tragedy and rebirth, but what I continue to think about is obviously those '75' souls, but also those who pulled the rope to keep it alive so I could stand at this podium coaching one of the best teams in the country."
The win also gives Marshall a perfect 6-0 record at Joan C. Edwards Stadium this season – the first time the Herd has gone perfect at home since 2015.
It was a game full of big plays – many of which came through defense and special teams.
Marshall defensive end Mike Green, who was named a Bednarik Award candidate last week, came up with a pair of big defensive plays in the fourth quarter. Green had a pair of sacks in the fourth quarter – one that forced a fumble that Chris Thomas recovered and returned inside the Coastal Carolina 5-yard line and another fourth-down sack later in the quarter with the Chanticleers in the red zone looking to cut into a deficit.
Green's first sack-fumble led to Braylon Braxton's 2-yard touchdown pass to Toby Payne, which put the Herd up 31-10 with 11:55 left.
The game's biggest play came in the first half and kept in line with the Nov. 14 theme as defensive back J.J. Roberts, who fittingly wears No. 11, registered a field goal block that led to Marshall's first field goal block for a touchdown in 14 years as Jacobie Henderson recovered and raced 65 yards to give the Herd a 17-7 lead.
"Special teams is always a big factor in the game, whether people feel like it or not, so making a play like that, it's able to shift the momentum," Roberts said. "I think it definitely helped us in the game."
Roberts joined Green in having a banner day for the Herd defense. In addition to the field goal block that led to a score, Roberts finished with 12 tackles, including 1.0 for loss, and four pass breakups, which gives him the Sun Belt lead in passes defended with 14.
Henderson, a defensive back, was the second No. 10 to score a touchdown in the second quarter as his offensive counterpart – No. 10 Chuck Montgomery – hauled in a fingertip grab in the end zone from Braylon Braxton.
It was Braxton's 11th touchdown pass of the year – a 14-yard scoring toss to Montgomery – that gave the Herd a 10-7 advantage.
Following the blocked punt return for a score, Marshall never surrendered its two-score lead with the defense logging a pair of fourth-down stops in the red zone and the offense showing it could move the ball through the air.
Braxton finished the game 19 of 29 for 216 yards and three touchdowns. Carl Chester led the Herd with 69 yards receiving while Montgomery finished with six catches for 67 yards. Christian Fitzpatrick also hauled in a 7-yard touchdown pass in the second half to aid the Herd in the win.
"I just went out there and did my job," Braxton said. "If I've got to step up and make a throw or step up and extend a play, run, whatever, I'm going to do my job and get the ball to playmakers."
Marshall now looks ahead to the final stretch of the regular season with a pair of road games – the first of which is a 7:30 p.m. matchup at Old Dominion on Saturday that will be shown on ESPNU.
For all the latest information about Marshall Football, follow @HerdFB on Twitter and @Herd_FB on Instagram.
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Team Stats
CCU 7, MAR 0
CCU - Bennett,Braydon 4 yd run (Hensley,Kade kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:56
CCU 7, MAR 3
MAR - Totten,Nathan 39 yd field goal 9 plays, 53 yards, TOP 03:42
CCU 7, MAR 10
MAR - Montgomery,Charles 14 yd pass from Braxton,Braylon (Totten,Nathan kick) 9 plays, 37 yards, TOP 05:56
CCU 7, MAR 17
MAR - Henderson,Jacobie 65 yd blocked field goal return (Totten,Nathan kick)
CCU 7, MAR 24
MAR - Fitzpatrick,Christian 7 yd pass from Braxton,Braylon (Totten,Nathan kick) 10 plays, 92 yards, TOP 04:14
CCU 10, MAR 24
CCU - Hensley,Kade 46 yd field goal 9 plays, 46 yards, TOP 03:18
CCU 10, MAR 31
MAR - Payne,Toby 2 yd pass from Braxton,Braylon (Totten,Nathan kick) 1 plays, 2 yards, TOP 00:03
CCU 17, MAR 31
CCU - Tucker,Jameson 47 yd pass from Vasko,Ethan (Hensley,Kade kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:51
CCU 19, MAR 31
CCU - 0 yd safety
