2008 Weekly Recaps

DeAndre Reed was tough for Marshall's defenders to find Friday night. And when they did find him, the speedy tailback was tough for them to bring down.

Reed rushed for 246 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries, leading Monroe (La.) Neville to a 42-13 gashing of Marshall at Maverick Stadium.

The loss was the Mavericks (3-1) first of the year.

"I was just trying to hold onto the ball and get as many yards as I could," said Reed, who helped the eighth-ranked Tigers (3-1) to their third straight win. "We already knew we were coming in here to play a good team. We really got the momentum in that second quarter."

Neville forced six turnovers, turning three of them into touchdowns, to run away for the win. Four of those turnovers came in the first half, allowing the Tigers to reel off 29 unanswered points in the second quarter.

"They came out ready in the first half and we didn't," said Marshall head coach Thedrick Harris. "Neville is too good of a team to spot 29 points and then come back and win. We weren't ready to play in the first half and it cost us a victory."

Marshall pulled to within 29-13 late in the third on a K.D. Johnson 4-yard bulldoze into the end zone but a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions sealed the Mavs' fate.

After trimming the deficit to two possessions, the Mavs forced the Tigers to punt on their ensuing possession and then advanced to Neville's 24-yard line as the third quarter expired.

Hagan Lawrence intercepted a Brandon Fitzgerald pass on the first play of the fourth, though, returning it 43 yards to set Neville up at Marshall's 35. Seven plays later, Rico Pollard found the end zone to extend his team's lead to 35-13.

"We had an opportunity to cut the lead to 12 (points) but we didn't take advantage," Harris said.

Reed dove in from two yards out on Neville's following possession for his third score of the night and then Andreveus Brandon put the icing on the cake, intercepting a Fitzgerald pass to close the door for good.

"In the second half, we came out and it looked like we sat on our lead," said Neville head coach Mickey McCarty. "They helped us out with some turnovers and we were able to take advantage of them."

Marshall also forced three turnovers, but only one led to points, when a Brandon Richardson interception midway through the third set up Johnson's touchdown run.

That came on the heels of a blocked punt that set up the Mavericks' first score, a 55-yard strike on a slant from Fitzgerald to Denzel Williams.

FIRST HALF

The Tigers forced four fumbles, turning two into touchdowns, to blow the game open with a 29-point second quarter.

Reed dashed in from 10 yards out at the 10:09 point of the second, turning Marshall's second fumble into a 14-0 lead.

The Mavericks' couldn't handle the snap on their next play from scrimmage, allowing Neville's Charles Blade to fall on the loose ball to set up the Tigers with a short field from Marshall's 38-yard line.

That ignited a seven-play drive that was capped by a 7-yard scoring burst by Reed, providing a 21-0 lead with 7:08 left in the second.

After forcing the Mavs into a four-and-out, Neville then ripped off its longest drive of the night, a 9-play, 75-yard march that concluded with Josh Ellis diving into the end zone from two yards out.

Foster Jones, Des Collins and Duke Guillory each recovered fumbles for Neville.

Marshall also forced two turnovers in the first half, both of which came from Glenn McKnight (a fumble recovery and an interception).

The Tigers shut down Marshall's offense in the first half, allowing only 23 yards and one first down on 19 plays. By comparison, Neville piled up 297 total yards and 10 first downs during that time.

Neville's Taylor Burch opened the game's scoring with a 14-yard quarterback keeper up the middle on the first play of the second.

STATS & STUFF

Neville racked up 428 total yards, including 368 rushing yards, to Marshall's 194 total yards ... Ellis rushed for 50 yards on nine totes and Rico Pollard finished with 38 yards on seven carries ... Fitzgerald led Marshall with 39 yards on five carries ... The junior, playing in his first extensive role of the season, also completed 8-of-19 passes for 129 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions ... Jaquan Kelly led Marshall with 10 tackles ... Foster Jones had two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for Neville.

For the first time in almost a month, Marshall had a completely healthy backfield. It showed from start to finish Friday night.

Marshall pounded its way to a 41-21 win over cross-county rival Hallsville, averaging just over nine yards per carry as the Mavericks had four backs combine for 377 yards and six touchdowns.

The win helped Marshall (4-1, 1-0) get off on the right track in its District 13-4A schedule, while it also snapped a three-game winning streak for the Bobcats (4-2, 1-1), who now enter into their open week.

"We were healthy enough to do what we've been wanting to do all season," said Marshall head coach Thedrick Harris, whose team has battled injures to its backfield for the past three weeks, including its top two running backs.

"It allowed us to spread some people out," Harris continued. "(Hallsville) couldn't load up on one phase of our offense. They never could get a solid adjustment and I thought that kept them off balance."

K.D. Johnson paved the way for Marshall, carrying 14 times for 150 yards and four touchdowns, including a sequence of three straight carries that went for scores.

Johnson capped Marshall's first drive of the second half with a 4-yard score, pushing the Mavericks lead to 27-7 early in the third.

Johnson then scored from 13 yards out later in the game, after Hallsville had cut the deficit to 27-14, to help Marshall move its lead back to 20 points.

Jamal Anderson (nine carries, 98 yards, one touchdown), J.C. Haigwood (nine carries, 78 yards, one touchdown) and Darius Jones (three carries, 51 yards) also routinely glided past Hallsville's defense, which came into the game as the most stingy unit in the district but surrendered the most points it had all season.

"Physically, (Marshall) whipped us," said Hallsville head coach David Plunk. "They were big up front and we couldn't hold up."

A.J. Jones, who turned in 176 yards on 31 carries, kept the Bobcats in it late in the third, capping a nine-play, 68-yard drive with a 14-yard scoring run to trim the lead to 27-14.

It didn't stay there long, though.

The Mavs responded on their next possession, which ended in Johnson's third score, much like it did all night. Marshall punted only once, scoring six touchdowns on its eight possessions.

FIRST HALF

The Mavericks scored on three of its four possessions to jump out to a 21-7 lead at the break.

Hallsville cut the lead to 14-7 midway through the second when A.J. Jones powered in for a 4-yard score, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive.

Marshall quickly responded, though, with its longest drive of the night, an 80-yard march that took only five plays, all of which were runs.

Anderson took three of those runs, including the last carry, which was a 12-yard dart around the right end to give the Mavs' their 21-7 lead.

The Bobcats moved to Marshall's 24-yard line on their next possession but were unable to score any points.

Tom Lee Hutchinson found Kenneth Smith near the right corner of the end zone with almost a minute remaining in the half, but Smith was ruled out of bounds as he knocked over the front pylon while making an over-the-shoulder reception.

Plunk said that was the turning point of the game.

After both teams fumbled on their opening possessions, Marshall quickly built a 14-point lead with a pair of eight-play scoring drives.

Haigwood punctuated the first drive with a 3-yard scoring tote and Johnson finished off the next with a 5-yard brush into the end zone.

Hutchinson completed 11-of-21 passes for 142 yards, including a 38-yard scoring connection to Tristin Crayton with 3:06 left in the fourth that pulled the score to 34-21.

LONGVIEW — K.D. Johnson rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns Friday night, leading a punishing Marshall rushing attack that helped the Mavericks to a 58-7 rout of District 13-4A rival Pine Tree on Friday at Pine Tree Stadium.

Johnson scored on his final two touches, the first of which was a 15-yard run that ignited a 35-point third quarter for Marshall (5-1, 2-0), helping it to pull away for the landslide win, which sets up a clash for first place in District 13-4A later this week when sixth-ranked Longview travels to Marshall. The Lobos dropped Mount Pleasant, 51-7, to move to 3-0 in league play Friday.

"We had a couple of miscues in the first half so we made some adjustments at halftime," said Marshall head coach Thedrick Harris. "The offense really stepped back and did a great job (in the second half) like we wanted it to. I was proud of their focus."

After forcing the Pirates (2-5, 0-3) into a turnover on downs on their next possession, Johnson then ripped off a 29-yard scoring run at the 6:44 mark of the third, giving the Mavs a 31-0 cushion and finishing the evening for their senior running back, who became the first Marshall player this season to rush for more than 100 yards in two straight games.

The Mavericks — who averaged more than nine yards per carry as a team for the second straight week — finished off the third by pouring on three touchdowns in the final 5:24, helping it pull out to a comfortable 52-7 margin by the end of the frame.

That also led to a continuously running clock in the fourth.

"We just expected to go out and perform well," said Harris, whose Marshall team registered its biggest win over an opponent since a 51-0 blanking of Pine Tree in 2004. "We were able to get some fumbles and a punt return and those kinds of things in the second half that set up a lot of our scores."

Marshall's Darius Jones returned a kick 84 yards to Pine Tree's 8-yard line, setting up a 1-yard scoring run by J.C. Haigwood that pushed the lead to 38-7.

Jones finished with 98 yards on six carries, including a 73-yard scoring run with 8:20 remaining in the second that gave Marshall a 14-0 advantage. He also completed 3-of-5 passes for 37 yards.

Brandon Fitzgerald, who started at quarterback for the second straight game, then capped the Mavs' next possession with a 6-yard score on a quarterback keeper, his first tally of the season.

B.B. Richardson finally finished off the quarter's scoring with a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown, during which he broke through multiple tackles early before busting into the open field.

As the fourth quarter opened, Marshall's dominance continued when Nick Mollice intercepted a Tyler Kids pass and returned it 27 yards to Pine Tree's 18-yard line.

Dimeon Timmons eventually found the end zone, scoring from four yards out for his first touchdown of the season. The Mavs then took a knee on the extra point.

Pine Tree's Kids and Matt Hamer combined to go 0-for-11 passing with an interception.

The Pirates' lone score came on an 86-yard run on a deep pitch by Jacques Pollard.

Outside of that play, Marshall's defense allowed only 63 yards on 39 plays.

Pollard led Pine Tree with 89 yards on eight carries.

Marshall's Jamal Anderson, Haigwood, Fitzgerald and Timmons combined for 108 yards on 19 carries