Marshall dodges Ohio rally

DETROIT – Martin Ward’s tackle-breaking run and powerful plunge along with a punt return gave Marshall a big lead over Ohio in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

Did Ward think it was going to be easy?

“Yeah, pretty much,” he said.

Not quite.

The Bobcats (9-5) rallied to pull within four points late in the third quarter and had chances to complete the comeback in the fourth, missing a wide-open receiver on a trick play and failing to take advantage of their last two drives before losing 21-17 to Marshall on Saturday.

DeQuan Bembry’s interception with 40 seconds left sealed the victory for the Thundering Herd (7-6).

“It was just a relief,” Bembry said.

Ohio rallied with Shannon Ballard’s 75-yard return off a fumble in the second quarter, Terrence McCrae’s TD catch and Matt Weller’s field goal.

“Our players played hard throughout the course of the second half,” said Ohio coach Frank Solich, the former Nebraska coach. “But for whatever reason, we were not ready to go at the beginning of the game.”

The game looked like it was going to be a rout when Ward’s 2-yard run put Marshall ahead 21-0 with 7:21 left in the first half. He scored on a 12-yard run through several defenders and Andre Booker had 58-yard punt return for a touchdown at the end of the quarter.

Just when it appeared to be over, Ballard returned a fumble 75 yards to give Ohio a much-needed spark. The Bobcats carried the momentum into the second half, when Theo Scott connected with McCrae on an 8-yard pass midway through the third quarter.

Weller’s 46-yard field goal made it 21-17 with 4:38 left in the third.

Ohio drove to the Marshall 12 – taking advantage of two late-hit penalties against the Herd – but stalled and missed a field goal that would’ve pulled the Bobcats within a point early in the fourth quarter.

During the drive, wide receiver LaVon Brazill badly overthrew Taylor Price on a play that fooled the Herd.