The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

College Sports

November 14, 2012

Injuries plague Marshall seniors

By Gary Fauber Assistant Sports Editor

Eight seniors will be honored prior to kickoff of Marshall’s home finale at noon Saturday against Houston.

Whether they will actually play is the question.

It will be the final game at Joan C. Edwards Stadium for wide receivers Aaron Dobson, Antavious Wilson and Andre Snipes-Booker, linebacker Devin Arrington, offensive lineman John Bruhin, running back Martin Ward and safeties Dominick LeGrande and Okechukwu Okoroha. But Dobson, Snipes-Booker and Arrington all are injured and may not be able to play.

That may somewhat skew their memories down the road, but the disappointment would be softened a little if Marshall is able to win its last two games and get that magical sixth win.

For the second year in a row, the Thundering Herd is 4-6 (3-3 Conference USA) and faces a must-win scenario in order to even be considered for a lower-tier bowl game.

“I think our kids understand what is at stake,” third-year Marshall coach Doc Holliday said. “They have to go play extremely well. It is the same scenario we had at Memphis a year ago, too. We found a way to go win last year and that is what this team has to go do.”

Marshall, with fingers crossed and prayers numerous that quarterback Rakeem Cato would not get hurt, escaped two-win Memphis last November with a 23-22 win. An overtime win over East Carolina in the season finale made the Herd bowl-eligible.

The road will be slightly more difficult this time around.

Houston (4-6, 3-3 C-USA), while down, will present more of a challenge than did Memphis last season.

David Piland is no Case Keenum, the Cougars’ former NCAA record-setting quarterback, but he is capable of leading Houston up and down the James F. Edwards Field turf.

Piland has completed 57 percent (255 of 447) of his passes for 2,942 yards and 16 touchdowns, although he has thrown 12 interceptions.

“He’s a quarterback that likes to throw on a rhythm,” Holliday said. “He’s really accurate with the quick-outs, bubble screens and those things that they do when he can stay in a rhythm. People that have put pressure on him have created issues for them. It’s going to be important that we try to get that done. We have to try to get him out of that rhythm and force him to hang on to the ball a little bit.”

Then, should the Herd be fortunate enough to beat the Cougars, they face a road game against ECU the day after Thanksgiving. The Pirates will be looking for revenge after last year’s 34-27 overtime loss that kept them home for the holidays.

“It’s going to be important that we go out this week and we get better as a football team,” Holliday said. “We’re glad to be back home. We’re going to run our eight seniors out there on Saturday. We’re looking forward to coming out and playing hard for those eight guys.”

— E-mail: gfauber@register-herald.com

Text Only
College Sports
  • 052513 luck ‘I always thought the university was missing an opportunity’

    West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck has been on plenty of tours around the state. Now approaching his fourth year as AD, the former Mountaineer quarterback is used to fielding questions during the spring and summer months about the approaching football season and even a few about basketball.

    May 24, 2013 1 Photo

  • WVU baseball tops TCU, stays alive in Big 12 tournament

    In its second game of pool play at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, the West Virginia University baseball team trumped TCU, 10-3.

    May 24, 2013

  • Miners' roster has proven producers

    While the entire West Virginia Miners roster will be new — except for pitcher Kolin Stanley, whose arrival will be later than expected because of a bout with tendinitis — the players are definitely no strangers to high-caliber baseball.

    May 24, 2013

  • Howley considered best all-around WVU athlete

    Chuck Howley’s greatest fame came in football at West Virginia University and then with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

    May 24, 2013

  • Mountaineers drop Big 12 Tournament opener

    In its first game of pool play against Kansas at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, the West Virginia University baseball team was defeated, 7-2.

    May 24, 2013

  • Months of waiting ends: Weeks signs with Marshall

    Adam Weeks probably could have helped usher in a historic first season for the Mountain East Conference at any member school he wanted. Instead, he waited — and waited — for the offer he really wanted.

    May 24, 2013

  • 052413 huggs WVU coaches looking for talent inside state’s borders

    At the West Virginia University Coaches Caravan Thursday at The Resort at Glade Springs, both head football coach Dana Holgorsen and men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins spoke about the Mountain State’s love for the state’s flagship university and its athletic teams.

    May 23, 2013 2 Photos

  • Six Concord baseball players selected for honors

    Six Concord University baseballplayers were recently honored with All-Atlantic Region accolades by either the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) or the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).

    May 23, 2013

  • WVU baseball changes up pitching lineup for Big 12 Championship

    Randy Mazey’s attention has been on everything but baseball in recent days, as the West Virginia University coach has been out in front of his team’s effort to help the tornado victims in Oklahoma, where his team has been this week preparing for the Big 12 Baseball Championships, which begin today at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla.

    May 22, 2013

  • 1MUSGRAVE1.jpg Musgrave, WVU teammates see tornado devastation up close

    West Virginia University pitcher Harrison Musgrave has spent his entire life in the hills of West Virginia. He didn’t know what a tornado siren was — let alone the damage that can be done by swirling winds.
    “I didn’t even know that they were going off,” Musgrave said. “I didn’t even know that they had sirens. I know I feel like a total idiot, but I heard them go off and I just thought it was an alarm going off.”

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo 6 Stories