UNHFan
January 11th, 2009, 12:15 AM
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — The players and coaches from Marshall said all the right things in the days leading up to Saturday's football game against the University of New Hampshire.
Underdog UNH got to save its best words for later.
For the third straight time, the Wildcats locked horns with a Division I Bowl Subdivision team and came out the winner. Quarterback Ricky Santos passed for three touchdowns and ran for another, and the 'Cats withstood a frenzied, second-half rally to escape with a 48-35 victory.
"They came out saying we were too small and too short," said center Nick Couturier. "They were heckling us. They didn't know we were too fast and too quick."
Once again, the Wildcats (1-1) are the toast of their classification. And once again, they got to trot off the field to cheers from their small cadre of fans as a big stadium emptied around them.
"Unbelievable, guys," said coach Sean McDonnell. "Unbelievable. Coming down here after watching their two games, I was a bit nervous. But as the week went on in practice I sensed some confidence brewing in our kids."
The 'Cats got outgained 562-502, picking up 213 yards on the ground. Chris Ward gained 99 on 19 carries as his offensive line imposed its undersized presence.
UNH led 24-0 at halftime, overcoming a potentially costly fumble by John Clements on the opening kickoff but doing everything else right. Then it got interesting.
With starting quarterback Bernard Morris (turf toe) inserted into the game late in the second quarter, the Thundering Herd (0-3) began moving the ball. They scored on their first three possessions of the second half, cutting the lead to 31-21 on an 80-yard pass to tight end Cody Slate, who bounced off would-be tacklers Clements and Jeff Pammer.
The 'Cats drove down for a 21-yard field goal by Tom Manning. But back came the Herd with a quick answer, capped by a 7-yard pass to Kelvin Turner from Morris (31-for-42, 417 yards) to make it 34-28 with more than 10 minutes left.
Keith LeVan fielded the ensuing kickoff at his 11, picked up some blocks down the left sideline and returned it 78 yards, his second long return of the game. He was stripped at the end, but Kaysonne Anderson fell on the fumble, setting up a Santos-to-LeVan touchdown two plays later.
"Probably should have squib-kicked the ball instead of kicking deep to them," Marshall coach Mark Snyder said. "That hurt us. That and we couldn't stop them."
After the Herd answered to make it 41-35 with 6:39 left, the 'Cats chewed up most of the rest of the clock on a 13-play drive that never left the ground. Ward, who did the heavy lifting on the march, scored from 2 yards out and the celebration could begin.
"It just feels great," said Santos, who hit on 23-of-33 passes for 289 yards and was not intercepted. "For our team, this is a game where we can prove ourselves. We might not be bigger or faster than those guys, but we can play with them."
The Wildcats struck first, driving 72 yards on their second possession and going up 7-0 when Bobby Simpson ran it in from 10 yards out. The big play was a third-down, 30-yard seam pass from Santos to tight end Scott Sicko (six catches, 78 yards) that moved the ball down to the 10.
The next time they got the ball. Santos drove the team into Marshall territory and hit Simpson out of the backfield in stride down the left sideline for a 27-yard score.
With Morris sidelined, the Herd turned to redshirt freshman Brian Anderson, who had trouble sustaining drives. His team's first nine offensive plays produced a net total of five yards.
After Manning booted a 47-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to make it 17-0, the defense held again, setting up the offense. Santos capped a drive by rolling left and hitting a leaping, twisting Mike Boyle (six catches, 75 yards) at the goal line for a 24-0 lead.
Snyder was asked is he could imagine a scenario where his team racked up 562 yards of offense and lost.
"No," he said. "Not unless we were playing Texas Tech or Hawaii."
NOTES: Attendance was 27,255. ... The 48 is the most points UNH has scored against a Bowl Subdivision team. ... LB Husain Karim led the 'Cats with 13 tackles. Kevin Peters, T.J. Taylor and Steve Young all had sacks. ...; Dino Vasso intercepted a second-quarter pass in the end zone after Clements deflected it. His 30-yard return set up the field goal that made it 17-0. ...; The Wildcats host Dartmouth College in the annual Granite Bowl next Saturday. The Big Green were 31-28 overtime losers to Colgate Saturday.
Underdog UNH got to save its best words for later.
For the third straight time, the Wildcats locked horns with a Division I Bowl Subdivision team and came out the winner. Quarterback Ricky Santos passed for three touchdowns and ran for another, and the 'Cats withstood a frenzied, second-half rally to escape with a 48-35 victory.
"They came out saying we were too small and too short," said center Nick Couturier. "They were heckling us. They didn't know we were too fast and too quick."
Once again, the Wildcats (1-1) are the toast of their classification. And once again, they got to trot off the field to cheers from their small cadre of fans as a big stadium emptied around them.
"Unbelievable, guys," said coach Sean McDonnell. "Unbelievable. Coming down here after watching their two games, I was a bit nervous. But as the week went on in practice I sensed some confidence brewing in our kids."
The 'Cats got outgained 562-502, picking up 213 yards on the ground. Chris Ward gained 99 on 19 carries as his offensive line imposed its undersized presence.
UNH led 24-0 at halftime, overcoming a potentially costly fumble by John Clements on the opening kickoff but doing everything else right. Then it got interesting.
With starting quarterback Bernard Morris (turf toe) inserted into the game late in the second quarter, the Thundering Herd (0-3) began moving the ball. They scored on their first three possessions of the second half, cutting the lead to 31-21 on an 80-yard pass to tight end Cody Slate, who bounced off would-be tacklers Clements and Jeff Pammer.
The 'Cats drove down for a 21-yard field goal by Tom Manning. But back came the Herd with a quick answer, capped by a 7-yard pass to Kelvin Turner from Morris (31-for-42, 417 yards) to make it 34-28 with more than 10 minutes left.
Keith LeVan fielded the ensuing kickoff at his 11, picked up some blocks down the left sideline and returned it 78 yards, his second long return of the game. He was stripped at the end, but Kaysonne Anderson fell on the fumble, setting up a Santos-to-LeVan touchdown two plays later.
"Probably should have squib-kicked the ball instead of kicking deep to them," Marshall coach Mark Snyder said. "That hurt us. That and we couldn't stop them."
After the Herd answered to make it 41-35 with 6:39 left, the 'Cats chewed up most of the rest of the clock on a 13-play drive that never left the ground. Ward, who did the heavy lifting on the march, scored from 2 yards out and the celebration could begin.
"It just feels great," said Santos, who hit on 23-of-33 passes for 289 yards and was not intercepted. "For our team, this is a game where we can prove ourselves. We might not be bigger or faster than those guys, but we can play with them."
The Wildcats struck first, driving 72 yards on their second possession and going up 7-0 when Bobby Simpson ran it in from 10 yards out. The big play was a third-down, 30-yard seam pass from Santos to tight end Scott Sicko (six catches, 78 yards) that moved the ball down to the 10.
The next time they got the ball. Santos drove the team into Marshall territory and hit Simpson out of the backfield in stride down the left sideline for a 27-yard score.
With Morris sidelined, the Herd turned to redshirt freshman Brian Anderson, who had trouble sustaining drives. His team's first nine offensive plays produced a net total of five yards.
After Manning booted a 47-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to make it 17-0, the defense held again, setting up the offense. Santos capped a drive by rolling left and hitting a leaping, twisting Mike Boyle (six catches, 75 yards) at the goal line for a 24-0 lead.
Snyder was asked is he could imagine a scenario where his team racked up 562 yards of offense and lost.
"No," he said. "Not unless we were playing Texas Tech or Hawaii."
NOTES: Attendance was 27,255. ... The 48 is the most points UNH has scored against a Bowl Subdivision team. ... LB Husain Karim led the 'Cats with 13 tackles. Kevin Peters, T.J. Taylor and Steve Young all had sacks. ...; Dino Vasso intercepted a second-quarter pass in the end zone after Clements deflected it. His 30-yard return set up the field goal that made it 17-0. ...; The Wildcats host Dartmouth College in the annual Granite Bowl next Saturday. The Big Green were 31-28 overtime losers to Colgate Saturday.