After trailing by just three points at halftime, Marshall Football took the loss against the Virginia Tech Hokies with a score of 31-14 on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia, falling to 1-1 on the season.
“Hats off to Virginia Tech; it’s a good football team,” head coach Charles Huff said after the game. “They played well. When you play a good team and you stop them on defense, you have got to move the ball on offense. I’m proud of the way our guys fought, and there’s some positives to build off of, and hats off to Virginia Tech for making plays when they needed to.”
Marshall’s Christian Fitzpatrick made some highlight reels on social media from a one-handed catch in the second half of the game.
“Really proud of the way our guys fought, really proud of the way our guys battled, really proud of the way we stuck together – just didn’t make enough plays to beat a really good football team,” Huff said.
The Thundering Herd only trailed by three points at halftime 10-7. However, the Hokies shut the door on the Herd, scoring three more touchdowns in the second half while the Herd only scored one.
“We had too many missed opportunities at the beginning of the game that could have changed the outcome,” Huff said. “We have got to get better. We’ve got to make catches, get guys on the ground, not turn the ball over and special teams were back and forth.”
Virginia Tech struck first at the end of the first quarter when Jaylin Lane ran back a punt for 58 yards for the Hokies’ first score.
After a field goal scored by the Hokies making the score 10-0, the Herd’s Ahmere Foster blocked a punt, downing the ball at the three-yard line. Ethan Payne then scored on a two-yard run making the score 10-7.
The third quarter featured the most scoring for both teams. Virginia Tech started the scoring about halfway through the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown.
Marshall responded with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Stone Earle to Fitzpatrick which brought them back to 17-14 early in the third quarter.
Virginia Tech scored a three-yard run on their next drive, making the score 24-14.
The Hokies were the only team to score in the fourth quarter, with a five-yard touchdown, sealing the loss for the Herd.
HerdZone reported an attendance of 65,632 people at the game.
Marshall continues its season on the road when it faces the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, Sept. 21, with the game starting at noon.
Nate Harrah can be contacted at [email protected]
