Leftwich tears CMU in record performance
HUNTINGTON, W. VA— Byron Leftwich had a memorable homecoming game against the Chippewas.
For the second straight week the Marshall quarterback had a career day.
Leftwich completed 30 of 44 passes for 471 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Thundering Herd past CMU 42-21.
“Marshall dominated us in the second half,” said Head Coach Mike DeBord.
Marshall finished with 647 yards of total offense, 359 in the second half.
After not scoring in the first quarter, the Thundering Herd scored 42 straight on six consecutive possessions.
Up 14-7, at 6:49 of the third quarter Franklin Wallace ran 14 yards for a touchdown, which capped off a 85-yard 14 play drive.
Wallace finished with 81 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns.
Leftwich hit wide receiver Darius Watts for their next two scores on touchdown passes of 47 and 86 yards.
“Leftwich made some great plays against us,” DeBord said.
Watts finished with 9 catches for 183 yards. Davis led with 10 catches for 175 yards and one touchdown.
DeBord said the Herd’s offensive line did a good job of protecting Leftwich.
“Each time we blitzed they picked it up or hurt us with their short passes,” DeBord said.
At 9:43 in the fourth quarter, Brandon Carey scored on a one-yard run giving Marshall a 42-7 lead.
Tory Humphrey caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Derrick Vickers to give the Chippewas a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Vickers finished with 14 of 31 for 178 yards with one interception at the goaline in the second quarter.
The Herd responded with their first score after Wallace scored on a six-yard run, capping a 10 play 91 yard drive.
“They switched their coverage,” Vickers said. “I misread the coverage and threw a bad pass.”
He said in the second half the offense had too many breakdowns.
“Dropped balls, bad throws, all of the things we did not need to happen,” he said.
Paul Savich missed a 34 yard field goal wide left at the end of the first half, giving Marshall a 14-7 lead.
“It really stung us,” DeBord said. “It always hurts when you can’t miss opportunities to put points on the board.”
He said not making the score 14-10 at the half caused the team to loose momentum.
“They always stopped us at critical third downs and we could never stop them,” DeBord said.
Terrence Jackson ended the offenses drought by scoring on a two-yard run late in the fourth quarter.
Jackson for the third straight week had a 100-yard game. He finished with 108 yards on 27 carries.
Kenan Lawhorne finished with 100 yards on 14 carries. Rob Turner was the leading receiver with 2 catches for 51 yards.
Derek Gorney hit Dante McKnight for a 31- yard touchdown pass as time expired to end the game at 42-21.
