Rhys Owens
11-19-24
This past Saturday at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, the Marshall Thundering Herd and Coastal Carolina Chanticleers dueled it out in Marshall’s final home game of the season. Heading into this conference matchup, the Herd sat at 6-3 with an undefeated record at home. While the Chanticleers came to town sitting at 5-4, coming off a home victory against App State.
The action began with Marshall kicking the ball off to the Chanticleers, who would fair catch the ball and set up at their own 25-yard line. Coastal Carolina’s drive would begin with four consecutive run plays, gaining positive yards each play, setting them up at the Marshall 36-yard line. Chanticleer quarterback Ethan Vasko would launch a ball deep right, connecting with wide receiver Bryson Graves for a 30-yard completion. On 2nd and goal after moving their way down the field, Chanticleer running back Braydon Bennett would punch it in for a 4-yard touchdown run, giving Coastal a 7-0 lead.
Each team’s next drive would be snuffed out, resulting in punts by both sides. Despite a slow start, Marshall would eventually get it going, moving down the field at a good pace. On only the second play of Marshall’s first scoring drive, quarterback Braylon Braxton connected deep with wide receiver Carl Chester for a 33-yard gain, setting the Herd up at the Coastal 40-yard line. Braxton would continue to efficiently move the ball on the Chanticleers. However, after settling in at the opposing 28-yard line, the Herd would be forced to settle for a field goal. They would send freshman kicker Nathan Totten out for the attempt; Totten would bang in the kick, putting up their first points and making the score 7-3.
Coastal would heavily rely on the run after receiving the ball, calling rushes on 5 straight plays. This, however, would prove costly; on the 5th run the Marshall defense would force Braydon Bennett to fumble, allowing for Herd defensive lineman Mike Green to pick up the ball and flip momentum in Marshall’s favor heading into the 2nd quarter.
Coming into the 2nd, the Herd looked to take advantage of the turnover, and that they did. Despite a 27-yard gain on a pass to Carl Chester that made it to the one being called back due to a pass interference, Marshall still managed to get the score. On 3rd and 10, Braylon Braxton would put the ball on a string, finding wide receiver Charles Montgomery in the back left of the endzone for a 14-yard touchdown. After a successful extra point attempt, the Herd took a 10-3 lead over the Chanticleers.
The Chanticleers next drive was highlighted by a pass-heavy attack, seeing Ethan Vasko connect with 3 different receivers on 4 straight pass plays. However, Vasko would get sacked by Marshall defensive lineman Jabari Ishmael. Vasko fumbled the ball, but a Coastal lineman jumped on it to retain possession while losing 5 yards in the process. This sack killed the Chanticleers momentum, forcing them to go three and out and settle for a field goal. Coastal would line up to attempt the field goal, but in a true 75-game moment, Marshall defensive back JJ Roberts would block the kick, allowing cornerback Jacobie Henderson to run it back for a 65-yard touchdown.
After a successful extra point, the Herd would lead 17-7. Once more the defense showed up, forcing Coastal to punt and giving the offense another shot before halftime. Despite finding themselves at the Coastal 38-yard line by way of a 23-yard completion to wide receiver Christian Fitzpatrick, the Herd would fail to put up any points on the final play before the half. Instead, Braylon Braxton would be sacked for an 11-yard loss by Chanticleer defensive lineman Gavin Ransaw.
To open the 2nd half of play, the Herd would receive the ball, and Marshall safety Ian Foster would explode on the return, taking the ball 64 yards up to the Chanticleer 35-yard line. Despite great field position, the Herd would find themselves on 4th down. A pass caught by Charles Montgomery would be fumbled by the receiver but landed on by the Marshall offensive line. Sadly, this would give Coastal the ball back by way of turnover on downs.
All 3 of the games’ next drives would result in punts spurred on by lockdown defense by both teams. While both teams were struggling to put up points the Herd offense took the field looking for a spark. Marshall would begin their drive with no gain through two plays, forcing Braxton to make a play on 3rd and 10. He would find Charles Montgomery on the left, who popped up field for a 23-yard gain and a drive-saving conversion. The very next play would see a pass interference called on Coastal defensive back Zach Cody; this moved the Herd up to their own 46-yard line. The Herd’s pass-heavy drive continued, allowing Braxton to pick apart the Chanticleers, moving all the way to the goal line by way of three complete passes and another pass interference called on Coastal. However, a false start on Marshall tight end Cade Conley would move them back to the Coastal 7-yard line. This did not seem to matter, as Braxton would find Christian Fitzpatrick in the end zone on a short 7-yard pass play for a touchdown. After a successful extra point, the Herd took a commanding 24-7 lead.
Coastal would receive the ball with a short clock to play with before the 4th, the Chanticleer drive would see Ethan Vasko use both his legs and arm rushing for 11 yards, and passing for 9 before the 3rd quarter ended.
Positive gains for the Chanticleers would slowly stop; Marshall’s defense applied pressure and forced Coastal to settle for a field goal. While the gap was wide, the Herd offense strolled on to the field looking to make something happen. Things started well for Marshall; Ian Foster again busted off a huge return, bringing the ball to the Marshall 46-yard line. However, the offense would quickly sputter, having to punt while totaling negative four yards on the drive.
Marshall punter Alec Clark would come out with the special team’s unit and send the ball 58 yards, resulting in a touchback. Coastal needed a score to keep the game competitive, but the Marshall defense had other plans. On the first play of the drive, Ethan Vasko was sacked for a loss of 8 yards by Mike Green. Green forced Vasko to fumble, giving defensive lineman Chris Thomas Jr. a chance to scoop the ball up and run it to the Coastal 2-yard line. The Herd would take advantage of the defense’s turnover; Braylon Braxton would throw a short pass to tight end Toby Payne in the endzone, securing a touchdown. After a successful extra point, the score read 31-10, a commanding Marshall lead.
Coastal’s offense would again take the field in survival mode. The Chanticleers took no time, scoring in just three plays on a 47-yard bomb from Ethan Vasko to wide receiver Jameson Tucker for a touchdown. With a successful extra point, the Chanticleers made the score 31-17.
Despite Coastal’s late touchdown score, a successful onside kick, and a surprise safety making the score 31-19, the Chanticleers could not mount a late comeback. A sack by Mike Green for a loss of 11 yards, a turnover on downs and an interception by safety Josh Moten helped seal the deal for the Herd.
In a true 75-game performance, Marshall’s defense played with an intensity and fire unmatched in Saturday’s slate of games. With an offense that got it done when needed, the Herd’s 6th home victory of the season was never in doubt. Marshall’s Mike Green tallied 8 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, to go alongside a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Green now leads the country in sacks (15) and tackles for loss (20), highlighting elite skills and physicality all season. Marshall did not skimp on the offense either; quarterback Braylon Braxton threw for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns, while also putting up 30 yards on the ground.
After the win, Marshall now sits at 7-3, 5-1 in conference play, and jumped to 1st place in the Sun Belt Conference Eastern division. The Herd controls their own destiny, and with two more conference games on the schedule winning out and making the conference championship game is a real possibility. Next week Marshall will travel to Norfolk, Virginia, to take on the Old Dominion Monarchs at 7:30 p.m.