Rhys Owens
11-4-24
On a warm November day this past Saturday, the Marshall Thundering Herd took on the ULM Warhawks in a pivotal conference game. The game began with Marshall receiving the kickoff; a 26-yard return by Marshall running back Jordan Houston would set the Herd up at their own 30-yard line.
The Herd would begin their first drive with a 22-yard completion to wide receiver Carl Chester, thrown by quarterback Braylon Braxton. The pass would put the Herd in ULM territory at the 47-yard line. On the very next play, Braylon Braxton would find wide receiver Charles Montgomery on the left for a 16-yard gain. Just 2 plays later, a Braxton pass would be broken up by ULM linebacker Carl Glass Jr.; however, an unnecessary roughness by Warhawk defensive lineman Earl Barquet Jr. would move the Herd up to the ULM 15. Despite great field position, Marshall would be forced to settle for a field goal due to a 3rd down sack, which resulted in a loss of 5 yards. Marshall kicker Rece Verhoff would line up for the 33-yard field goal; sadly, Verhoff would miss the attempt, giving the Warhawks the ball.
The Warhawks would hit the ground quickly; running back Ahmad Hardy would gain 17 yards on their first two plays. Despite their success running the ball, ULM decided to pass on the 3rd play of the drive. This would prove costly as Marshall defensive back Josh Moten would intercept quarterback Aidan Armenta’s first pass attempt of the game.
The interception set the Herd up on the ULM 38-yard line, giving the offense amazing field position. A dominant running drive by the Herd would ensue, seeing Marshall gain 27 yards on the ground before running back AJ Turner capped the drive off with a 6-yard touchdown run.
After a successful extra point attempt, giving Marshall the 7-0 lead, Rece Verhoff would kick the ball off to the Warhawks, resulting in a touchback. ULM’s 2nd drive would see more rushing by Ahmad Hardy, who would gain 21 yards for the Warhawks. With the ball on the Marshall 41-yard line it seemed as if the drive would be slow and methodical; however, Aidan Armenta would air the ball out deep left to wide receiver James Jones. Despite great coverage by the Marshall defense, Jones would catch the pass after bobbling it, running it in for a 41-yard touchdown.
An extra point later and the score would be all tied up at 7-7. Neither team would get it going for the rest of the 1st quarter; both sides would send the punt team out onto the field. In a wild turn of events, Marshall punter Alec Clark would lose the ball; somehow Clark would find the ball and send a boot 60 yards, pinning ULM at their own 19-yard line.
To open the 2nd quarter, Marshall would find themselves with the ball on their own 25-yard line after a 12-yard return by Charles Montgomery. The Herd’s drive would begin with a 13-yard run by AJ Turner, moving Marshall to the 50-yard line. The rest of the drive would see an 11-yard pass completion to wide receiver Christian Fitzpatrick, as well as a 12-yard rush by Braylon
Braxton. Despite steady gains, Marshall would be forced to settle for a field goal, and in a moment of Deja vu, Rece Verhoff would again miss, keeping the game tied at 7-7.
The Warhawk offense would take the field looking to score, and that they did. On the very first play of ULM’s 1st drive of the quarter, Ahmad Hardy would explode up the middle for an 80-yard touchdown run. After a successful extra point attempt, the Warhawks would take the lead, making it 14-7.
Each team would punt the ball back and forth before Marshall settled at their own 17-yard line due to a holding penalty during the punt by cornerback TaShawn Jeter. Despite the field position, the Herd would move down the field, mixing the run and pass. Braylon Braxton would find Jordan Houston on a short pass; Houston would pop up the left side for a 27-yard gain. Only 3 plays later and Braxton would go deep, finding Christian Fitzpatrick on the left side of the field for a 30-yard gain, setting the Herd up in the redzone. On the next 3 plays running back Ethan Payne would be fed the ball, twice going for 7 yards, then eventually punching it in at the 1-yard line to keep Marshall in the game. An extra point later, and the game was all tied up at 14-14.
Thankfully, the Warhawks would not score any points on the final drive of the half, in large part due to a sack by Marshall defensive lineman Mike Green for a 9-yard loss.
Going into the 2nd half, the Herd would kick the ball off, and with a touchback by Rece Verhoff the Warhawks would find themselves at their own 25-yard line. The ensuing drive for ULM would see more of their punishing rushing attack, primarily at the hands of Ahmad Hardy. Despite a sustained 8-minute drive, the Warhawks would be forced to attempt a 54-yard field goal. Max Larson would line up for the kick, thankfully Larson would miss the field goal, keeping the score tied.
Marshall would send the offense onto the field with great field position and an opportunity to take the lead. Despite moving the ball to the ULM 35-yard line, luck was not on the Herd’s side; a 35-yard bomb from Braylon Braxton to Christian Fitzpatrick for a touchdown would be overturned after review. A play later and it was 4th down, the Herd chose to go for it, sadly this would prove to be a poor choice; Braylon Braxton would get sacked by defensive lineman Billy Pullen for a 12-yard loss and a turnover on downs.
ULM’s next drive would again be run heavy, relying on Ahmad Hardy to move them down the field. Hardy would explode for a 34-yard run, making it all the way to the Marshall 2-yard line. Thankfully the Herd defense would make a stand, forcing the Warhawks to settle for 3 after an 8-yard tackle for loss at the hands of cornerback Jacobie Henderson. After a successful field goal attempt, the score would read 14-17 in favor of ULM.
The Warhawk field goal came early in the 4th quarter; the kickoff would see Marshall take the field at their own 22-yard line after a 16-yard return by safety Ian Foster. The Herd offense would take the field and waste no time putting points on the board scoring in just 2 plays. First came an eye popping 45-yard run to the right by Jordan Houston; Braylon Braxton would then
air the ball out, finding Christian Fitzpatrick in the endzone for a spectacular 33-yard touchdown catch. After a successful extra point, the herd would again find themselves on top with a score of 21-17.
Freshman kicker Nathan Totten would take the field in place of Verhoff and boot the ball to ULM, resulting in a touchback. The next 3 drives would stall out, seeing Marshall punt once and ULM punt twice. On Marshall’s only punt of the 4th quarter, Alec Clark would pin the Warhawks on their own 5-yard line, forcing them to run the ball. They would be forced to punt due to poor position, only getting the ball to midfield at their own 48-yard line.
The Herd offense would take advantage of the short field; a short completion to Charles Montgomery would result in a 15-yard gain, moving Marshall to the ULM 29-yard line. Ethan Payne would then take over once again, being fed the ball three straight times for a combined 29 yards and a touchdown. Verhoff would take the field and bang in the extra point, extending the Marshall lead to 2 scores, making it 28-17.
Needing to score quickly, the Warhawks took the field with a little over 3 minutes to play. 3 pass plays would aid the Warhawks in moving the ball, finally Aidan Armenta would connect with wide receiver Artis Cole for a 26-yard touchdown, keeping them in the game and making the score 28-23. An unsuccessful onside kick would set Marshall up the ULM 44-yard line, giving the Herd an opportunity to end the game. A 10-yard rush by Jordan Houston would ice the game, giving Marshall their 5th win of the season.
The win sees Marshall move to 5-3 on the year, making Marshall 5-0 this season at the Joan, putting the Herd in 2nd place in the Eastern division of the Sun Belt Conference. Marshall’s rushing attack led the way, seeing 4 different players rush for over 45 yards; Ethan Payne tallied 2 touchdowns while AJ Turner put up 1. The receiving core also aided in the win; Charles Montgomery went for 68 yards on 4 catches, and Christian Fitzpatrick caught 2 balls for 44 yards and a touchdown. The Herd defense also showed out. Mike Green tallied 2 sacks on the day alongside 4 total tackles and a forced fumble, putting him at 10 sacks on the year.
The Herd looks to extend their winning streak to 3 when they take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in Hattiesburg Mississippi, on November 9th at 3:00 pm.