The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Breaking News

Sports

November 27, 2009

Marshall’s running game in good shape

By Gary Fauber

Darius Marshall insisted he was ready to play last Saturday against SMU. So convincing was his argument that Marshall head coach Mark Snyder labeled his availability as a “game-time decision.”

Ultimately, Snyder decided not to play his star running back, one week after he left against Southern Miss with a left ankle injury.

Of course, the Thundering Herd did well without him. Martin Ward and Terrell Edwards-Maye both went over 100 yards in a 34-31 win.

“I just pulled (Marshall) out and made sure that he’s a little better next week,” Snyder said after the game. “We feel pretty good with what we’ve got going. If he’s back, great. If he’s not back, great, too.”

It looks like Marshall will be able to play Saturday when the Herd (6-5, 4-3) visits UTEP in its regular season finale. The team is bowl-eligible, but a seventh win would solidify that.

Marshall remains in the top 20 nationally in rushing, averaging 117.1 yards per game. He has 1,054 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“I think he will be ready to go,” Snyder said. “We will rotate guys, though. It depends on who has the hot hand.”

If recent trends continue, Snyder may have a three-headed monster at running back.

Marshall will get the bulk of the carries if healthy, but Ward and Edwards-Maye looked like capable complements against the Mustangs.

“It is all about confidence,” Snyder said. “We would have liked to put them in as the year has gone along. You have to go with the guy who has the experience. And at times you have to force-feed yourself. The opportunity arose where we had to force-feed these guys, and they performed.”

Ward ran for 136 yards and a touchdown against SMU, while Edwards-Maye finished with 113 and a score. That’s a far cry from their performance in the season opener against Southern Illinois. Edwards-Maye, making his first career start, rushed for just 28 yards, and Ward added 54.

Snyder said not much can be read into that game.

“It was the first game of the year,” he said. “You can’t just say, ‘They didn’t play well.’ It was the first game of the season. They had jitters. The line wasn’t all there yet, and we were playing a pretty decent defense. So there are a lot of things that go into that.

“But seeing them in practice, I was excited to go see them play. I knew they had fresh legs and that helps at this time of the year.”

— E-mail: gfauber@

register-herald.com

Text Only
Sports
  • Woodrow holds off Huntington

     It took Woodrow Wilson’s boys basketball team nearly three quarters to figure out that the backside lob was open in Huntington High’s zone.

    January 10, 2012

  • MSU hosts Rio Grande

    For the first time since 1995, Mountain State stands a little past the half-way point at the season with five losses.

    January 10, 2012

  • OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE - WVU to join Big 12 Conference

    The Big 12 Conference Board of Directors have voted unanimously to accept West Virginia University as a full conference member effective July 1, 2012.  The Mountaineers will begin competing in the Big 12 beginning with the 2012-13 athletic season.

    October 28, 2011

  • Friday update: Big East notified WVU leaving for Big 12

    The Big East says it has been notified that West Virginia is leaving the conference and joining the Big 12.

    October 28, 2011

  • Cardinals force Game 7 in World Series

    After one of the greatest games in baseball history, a 10-9, 11-inning victory over Texas in Game 6 in which the Cardinals were twice within one strike of elimination.

    October 28, 2011

  • Schiano sings WVU’s praises

    It hasn’t been the year that Rutgers coach Greg Schiano envisioned.
    Not close.

    December 1, 2010

  • BNI will usher in mat season

    This time around, the Beckley Newspapers Invitational will have a decidedly more local flavor.

    December 1, 2010

  • Huggs likes looks of young Noreen

    Perhaps it was the season. Whatever it was, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins went straight to the pie.
    Well, the figurative pie.
    Huggins had just watched his team beat Virginia Military Institute 82-66 in front of 12,367 fans at the Charleston Civic Center Saturday.

    December 1, 2010

  • Oak Hill places 3 on AA

    Whether it was opposing defenses or illness, nothing stopped Charleston Catholic’s Tom Trupo for long.

    December 1, 2010

  • Spartans open with victory

    Turnovers produce points and the Greenbrier East girls basketball team collected plenty of each en route to an 81-43 season-opening victory against Bluefield on Tuesday night.

    December 1, 2010