The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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August 31, 2008

Herd displays running back depth in win over Redbirds

By Gary Fauber

HUNTINGTON — Darius Marshall got the bulk of the carries Saturday, but the Marshall Thundering Herd’s running back depth was displayed against Illinois State.

Marshall, Chubb Small and Terrell Edwards all scored touchdowns in the Herd’s 35-10 win in its season opener. Marshall, a 5-foot-10, 193-pound sophomore, carried 20 times for 115 yards — his first career 100-yard game — as the starting back.

But it was Small’s 16-yard touchdown run that put Marshall ahead 7-0 in the first quarter. Edwards finally made his debut on the Herd’s last offensive series and scored on a 49-yard run on his second collegiate carry.

Marshall, a Conference USA all-freshman choice last season, was happy for Edwards, a redshirt freshman.

“It was a great thing for a young guy like Terrell to get in the game,” Marshall said. “He was focused. Even though the game was almost over he scored a touchdown. It’s just his attitude. He was hungry to get that touchdown. He wanted to score like everyone else.

“I think it was a great thing for him to go down and score and (for coaches) to know that if me and Chubb go down, he will be ready.”

n n n

As stagnant as the first half had been, it would have surprised no one had the Herd taken a knee when its last offensive drive of the first half began with 35 seconds on the clock.

But this is a new Herd offense with a new coordinator.

First-year coach John Shannon let redshirt freshman Mark Cann show off his arm when he went deep to senior receiver Darius Passmore on the first — and only — play of the drive. Passmore caught the perfectly placed ball and raced to the end zone for an 88-yard touchdown.

That gave Marshall a 14-7 lead at halftime and wound up being the biggest of what Redbirds coach Denver Johnson referred to as a “GAP” — game-altering plays.

“He’s a guy that can go get the football,” Cann said of Passmore. “I enjoy throwing to him. Anybody would enjoy throwing to him.”

Passmore said there was no way Marshall was going conservative.

“The offensive coordinator we have, that’s not even his mindset,” Passmore said. “He’s in attack mode all the time, no matter how many seconds are left.”

n n n

Junior defensive end Albert McClellan made his presence felt with a pair of sacks for 20 yards.

“It was good to have him back, I can tell you that,” Marshall coach Mark Snyder said. “I don’t know how many plays he made, but as you see, what is almost a sack (without McClellan), with him in there is a sack. There is a difference. Football is a fine line. It’s a game of inches, believe it or not. ... He’s got that extra little burst.”

n n n

No. 13 Wisconsin, the Herd’s opponent at noon Eastern time Saturday, ran for 404 yards in a 38-17 win over Akron, one of Marshall’s old Mid-American Conference foes.

Badgers quarterback Allan Evridge made his first start and attempted just 10 passes. He completed seven for 75 yards and one touchdown and one interception.

Evridge, a senior, is a Kansas State transfer who was on the Wildcats’ roster when they escaped Huntington with a 21-19 win over the Herd in 2005. He did not play in that game, but did play in nine games, six of them starts. He set a freshman record by throwing for 1,365 yards.

— E-mail: gfauber@

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