keebler645
Special Teams
Posts: 544
Joined: Jun 2004
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I Root For: Marshall
Location: Huntington, WV |
20 Years Ago Tomorrow: Marshall VS. MTSU
I was going to post this tomorrow, but I'll be too busy between work and going to the Marshall/WVU basketball game.
This is an excerpt from one of my favorite possessions, a book titled "Won For All" which is a recap of Marshall's first I-AA National Championship team in 1992. On December 5, they played MTSU in a quarterfinal game at Huntington.
I'm almost certain it was the last time the two teams played...hope some of you find it interesting.
Quote:"The celebration [for the 1st round win over EKU] had to be short. Preparations began the next day for a home game with OVC champion Middle Tennessee State, a team that not only had smashed EKU 38-7, but that easily had whipped Appalachian State 35-10 a week earlier in improving to 10-2. It was a team that had beaten I-A foe Northern Illinois. [Marshall coach Jim] Donnan still had plenty of confidence in his team, but the Blue Raiders concerned Herd coaches, especially after Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore told Donnan and his staff that Middle Tennessee was faster and quicker than any team in the Southern Conference.
"Jim asked him if they thought we could win the game, and (Jerry) said no," Herd defensive coordinator Mickey Matthews said. "And in all honesty, after we looked at them on film, we couldn't say he wasn't going to be right."
Middle Tennessee ran the ball 75 percent of the time, but Kelly Holcomb was a dangerous passer who had thrown for 1,409 yards and nine touchdowns with only six interceptions. Running backs Walter Dunson, Brigham Lyons, Kippy Bayless, and Walt Crowder were as fast a set as any Marshall had faced, and they ran behind All-American tackle Steve McAdoo. The Blue Raiders' defense was the only team all season to play Marshall man-to-man coverage in the secondary.
"In my mind, this game is the two best teams in I-AA football playing each other," Donnan said. "That Middle handled Appalachian so easily shows you what kind of team they have."
Middle Tennessee coach Boots Donnelly was equally as complimentary toward Marshall. He reminded everyone that Marshall still had all-americans in [Troy] Brown, [Phil] Ratliff, tight end Mike Bartrum, and of course, [quarterback Walter] Payton. What Donnelly didn't know was that the Herd wouldn't have Payton for long. Just a little over seven minutes into the game, the star quarterback went down with a twisted knee. He had staked the Herd to a 7-0 lead with a 6-yard touchdown run on the game's first drive, but he was useless to the Herd now. The sight of him being taken off the field, his left leg limp, silenced the crowd of 14,011 and left MU fans wondering if the team's championship hopes were going off with him.
Middle Tennessee took advantage of the stunned Herd and tied the game on an 81-yard run by Lyons, who blew through Marshall's defense and raced untouched into the end zone.
Marshall needed someone to rally around. On came sophomore Todd Donnan, the Herd's second-team quarterback and the son of the Herd's head coach. His first full series was not promising - three plays and out. Middle countered with a nine-play drive and had a chance to take the lead, but Garth Petrilli's 45-yard field goal attempt was short. Marshall took over at its own 28 and on the next play Donnan showed that the game wasn't over just because Payton was out. Despite good coverage by Jamie Redmond, Donnan threw a perfect pass to Brown for a 42-yard gain. On the seventh play of the drive he hit Bartrum for a 12-yard gain for a first down at the Blue Raiders' 7-yard line. Two plays later, [Glenn] Pedro leaped into the end zone to the give the Herd a 14-7 lead.
The Donnan-led score gave the Herd confidence and got the crowd back into the game. The defense, which intercepted three passes on the day, started flying around with renewed enthusiasm that frustrated the hiccup-quick Blue Raiders as Marshall took over on its own 48 with 5:44 left in the second period. Donnan hit Brown for a 15-yard gain. Pedro picked up seven yards, then came the play that changed the game. Donnan floated a pass 40 yards downfield and Brown leaped between Adrian Owens and Eric McBroom to make the catch and run the last five yards into the end zone to make it 21-7 at halftime.
Marshall smelled blood and not even Joel Alsobrook's punt that buried the Herd at its own 2-yard line could deter it. Donnan went to work. MU offensive coordinator Greg Briner wasn't about to get conservative. He called for passes and Donnan executed. The young quarterback hit Brown over the middle for a 25-yard gain, then passed 24 yards to Carter to move Marshall to the 49. After two running plays, Donnan picked up a blitz and threw 34 yards to Brown, who followed with a 13-yard touchdown reception. More scoring followed, but for all purposes Middle was done.
"I thought those were really good calls by Briner, coming out there and throwing it deep when everybody probably thought we'd try to sit on it," Jim Donnan said. "We ran our regular game plan and it was surprising we ran by the guys like we did."
The Blue Raiders pulled within 28-13, but Donnan threw a 5-yard TD pass to Brown, who took the ball away from McBroom to make it 35-13 with six minutes left. Dunson's touchdown to set the final score was meaningless.
Donnan, who before the season was being considered a red-shirt candidate, completed 13 of 23 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns in saving the day. "I considered it a challenge because I wanted to give the seniors another chance to play," Donnan said of his heroics. "I went out and played the best I could. For me not to play well would have been a real downer for this team."
With the play of Donnan and Brown, who caught eight passes for 189 yards, the play of Pedro was overshadowed. The junior from Staten Island, N.Y., ran 24 times for 116 yards. "They taught us a great deal," Donnelly said. "If you handle it up front offensively and defensively, speed doesn't count a great deal. The score was not even remotely indicative of how well they controlled our team. They manhandled us and beat us in every phase of the game."
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