Marshall Football Recap
By Zachery McNeely, Assistant Traffic Director, FM88 Sports
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WMUL-FM) – Huntington native Zah Jackson is making noise in his hometown once again, as the Huntington High school grad intercepted Middle Tennessee State quarterback Roman Gagliano and took it all the way to the MTSU 2-yard line with less than five minutes remaining in the game. Running back, T.J. Lester carried in the touchdown that would eventually seal the game for the Herd.
Gagliano’s interception, which was the first of his collegiate career, would prove to be the momentum shift the Herd needed to pull out this close victory. Although it wouldn’t take long for the Blue Raiders to drive down the field and pull within two with a late touchdown, but the Marshall defense prevailed once again as the Blue Raiders’ two point try to tie the game was overthrown to receiver Hogan Wasson.
The Herd and the Blue Raiders went back and forth the whole game as neither team was able to expand the lead to two scores. With the win, the Herd will even its record 1-1. “Football is hard to win, and I’m never going to be disappointed with a win.” Marshall head coach Tony Gibson said after the 28-26 win.
Marshall quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson went down with an injury late in the second quarter. That wouldn’t be the only change at quarterback, as Khalil Wilkins was subbed out later in the game for senior quarterback Zion Turner, who finished the game. “We still have a lot of work to do, but what I love is the next man up mentality tonight.” said coach Gibson. “Obviously Carlos went down. Khalil came in, did some things, then I thought Zion gave us the spark we needed.”.
Even though Del Rio-Wilson went out in the second quarter, he still finished the game leading the Herd in passing with 92 yards and rushing with 43 yards. He also scored the lone passing touchdown of the game for the Herd with a 69-yard completion to Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw. Turner-Bradshaw also added a rushing touchdown after recovering a Zion Turner fumble in the endzone.
Leading the Herd in tackles was another Cabell County product in linebacker Cannon Lewis, who finished with 14 tackles. Leading the Blue Raiders in tackles was linebacker Korey Smith, with 13 tackles. Blue Raiders safety Kalen Woods recovered a fumble on the Marshall one yard line which he recovered for a scoop and score. That marked Wood’s second fumble recovery for a touchdown in as many games.
“I never thought we were out of this ball game, I mean we made a fair amount of mistakes, but at the end of the day, you saw the fight, you saw the competitive grit that this team has,” said Blue Raiders head coach Derek Mason.
With the loss, Middle Tennessee State falls to 1-1. They will be back home in Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium, where they take on the Nevada Wolfpack (1-1). Offensively for the Blue Raiders, quarterback Roman Gagliano led in rushing and passing, with 58 yards rushing and 243 yards passing, with two passing touchdowns. Cam’ron Lacy led the Blue Raiders in receptions and receiving yards, with nine catches, 72 yards and a touchdown on 16 targets.
The Herd are back on the road as it heads to Springfield, Missouri to take on the Missouri State Bears (1-1). This is the second meeting between the two programs, as last year the Herd fell to the Bears 21-20. The game is set to kick off on Sept. 19, at 6:30 p.m.