Topic: H-D: Herd kept the ball away from ECU's main weapon

[ZackUSAF82]

By ANTHONY HANSHEW
The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON -- Chris Johnson can do it all, with one notable exception.

East Carolina's senior tailback is dynamic in the open field, evidenced by last week's 301-yard rushing performance at Memphis. He's also ECU's second-leading receiver, adding four scores to his 14 rushing touchdowns. And then there are the 830 kickoff return yards Johnson boasted prior to Saturday's game at Marshall University, including a 96-yard sprint to the end zone.

Talented as Johnson is, he couldn't find his way to the end zone from the sideline Saturday evening. Marshall simply played keep-away from East Carolina's top talent, a main storyline in an impressive 26-7 upset at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The Thundering Herd (2-8, 2-4 Conference USA) enjoyed 74 offensive snaps to ECU's 57 and controlled the ball for 37:53.

"That was huge, especially when you have an offense that can score like East Carolina," Marshall head coach Mark Snyder said.

Leading 10-0 at halftime, the Thundering Herd boasted a 21:12-8:48 time of possession edge. Johnson carried just seven times for 41 yards and did not catch a pass.

"The offense gave us an opportunity to catch our wind back and come back on the field and explode," said Marshall linebacker Mario Harvey, who tied for the team lead with 13 tackles. "Big ups to the offense for keeping us off the field."

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