— By David Walsh
Explanations from Marshall coach Tony Gibson and Middle Tennessee quarterback Nicholas Vattiato summed up how the Thundering Herd went from a 28-21 deficit to scoring three times in the fourth quarter while shutting down the Blue Raiders to prevail, 42-28, Saturday night, spoiling homecoming at Floyd Stadium.
The final non-conference game for both teams turned into a long evening with Marshall holding a 7-0 lead when action stopped due to a lightning delay. It would be 2 hours and 12 minutes before the matchup resumed.
“It was a long night. We’re out of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, crackers, all those good things,” Gibson said. “I’m very proud of our football team and what we had to overcome We got it done. Finish the game 21-0 in the fourth quarter is what you like to see. Very proud of our performance in that quarter. Still a lot of stuff to get fixed.”
For Vattiato, the difference came after the Blue Raiders rallied to lead 28-21 with 5:54 left in the third period. In the fourth, their offense mustered just 25 total yards to 21 unanswered points and 157 total yards from the visitors.
“Guys did a good job staying up,” Vattiato said. “When we come out, we made an impact right away. Did some good things. When we go up 28-21 at that point we never put the dagger in, never took the opportunity to score more points. It’s kind of like what they did to us. Didn’t take the opportunity to put it out of reach. Plenty of opportunities to score points. We didn’t do our job.”
Marshall’s Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, making his second start at quarterback, proved to be a difference maker. The transfer from Syracuse threw for 261 yards, four scores and ran for a TD.
Following the delay, Marshall scored a pair of quick touchdowns, one from Toby Payne via pass from Del Rio-Wilson and a 2-yard rush from Del Rio-Wilson. The Blue Raiders also accounted for two scores to stay close. Jacob Hathaway booted field goals of 50 and 38 yards to cut the deficit to 21-20 at halftime. The 50-yarder is his career long.
Vattiato finished with 299 yards, two scores and a rushing TD, but the Herd defense kept the Blue Raiders in check the final 15 minutes.
“We jumped out 7-0, we’re juiced up, everything is good, then we’ve got to come in,” Gibson said. “The kids and coaches did a great job. We come out and they broke that big run on the first play. I didn’t like that. We stayed focused. We had a lot to overcome.
“Carlos … unbelievable. He kept telling me, ‘I got you coach. I got you coach.’ He put the team on his back and had a tremendous football game. Big-time throws. He’s just a tough, competitive kid. Michael (Allen) improved with him. Ran hard. Antwan Roberts comes in, rips off big runs and sets up the last score. Coach (defensive coordinator Shannon Morrison) dialed in on them. The whole defense played well in the fourth quarter. That’s complimentary football.
“We knew the kids wouldn’t quit. Guys come off, great job offense, great job defense. We’re starting to see what team is all about. You could tell on the sidelines. Not a lot of energy in the stadium because of all the delays. You want to see, as a coach, these guys start to come together.”
Middle Tennessee coach Derek Mason praised the effort turned in by the opponent.
“Hats off to Marshall. They played hard. They gave themselves a chance,” Mason said. “When momentum changes, we have to be a smarter team. That penalty on the punt on fourth down. Ridiculous. That’s a tough lesson we have to learn. We have to understand penalties kill drives. Defense we played early became diving tackles, we start to derail. Late we not have the opportunities go get off the field. Marshall did a good job of playing four quarters. This team is capable. We have enough players.”
Marshall begins Sun Belt Conference play this Saturday against Louisiana at Cajun Field at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium in Lafayette, La. Start time is 8 p.m. The Herd beat the Ragin’ Cajuns on their field last December to win the Sun Belt Championship. Louisiana is 1-3 after a last-second loss last Saturday to Eastern Michigan.
“This is a big one,” Gibson said. “Have a great week, correct mistakes and see what we’ve got when we go down to Louisiana.”