Marshall loses 2OT heartbreaker at Louisiana
By Marshall Sports,
LAFAYETTE, La. – Marshall put up 503 yards of offense, but was unable to secure its first SBC win as Louisiana rallied for a 54-51 double-overtime victory over the Thundering Herd in front of 20,125 fans at Cajun Field on Saturday.
With the loss, Marshall falls to 2-3 on the season and 0-1 in Sun Belt Conference play.
“I’m really proud of our offense, but defensively tonight, we didn’t get it done,” Marshall head coach Tony Gibson said following the loss. “If you score 50-some points and lose a football game, that’s unacceptable. We’ve got a lot of stuff we have to get fixed. We’re going to keep fighting.”
Marshall took a 41-34 lead with 1:01 left in regulation on a 27-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Lacey, but the Ragin’ Cajuns rallied to score with just 16 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
After the teams traded touchdowns in the extra session, Marshall got a 46-yard field goal from Lorcan Quinn to go up 51-48, but Louisiana backup quarterback Lunch Winfield scored on a 10-yard run to give the Ragin’ Cajuns the comeback win.
The loss spoiled a day in which the Herd offense achieved great balance with Del Rio-Wilson going 24 of 31 through the air for 258 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another 81 yards.
Michael Allen led the rushing attack with 138 yards and two touchdowns while Lacey continued his strong play with 13 catches for 146 yards and two scores.
Allen jumpstarted a third-quarter juncture in which the Herd used his 68-yard touchdown run and a pair of defensive turnovers – one of which was a Paul Hutson III interception returned for a score – to take a 34-17 lead.
The third-quarter scoring barrage came after Marshall seized momentum late in the first half when Del Rio-Wilson connected with Lacey for a 32-yard score in which Lacey broke three tackles to knot the game at 17 with just 23 seconds before halftime.
Quinn finished with three field goals in the game with kicks of 53, 30 and 46.
Defensively, Javae Gilmore led the Herd with nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
Marshall now has a week off before facing Old Dominion at Joan C. Edwards Stadium on Oct. 11. That game-time will be announced on Monday.
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—HerdZone.com—
