HUNTINGTON, W. VA. —
After throwing for more than 400 yards last week, Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato decided he wanted to provide an encore.
Cato threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns to lead Marshall over NCAA FCS team Western Carolina 52-24 on Saturday night.
Cato went 32 of 42 and led the Marshall offense to 37 first downs in the game.
But most importantly to Marshall coach Doc Holliday, his sophomore quarterback had zero interceptions.
“I think the kid’s done a tremendous job,” Holliday said of Cato. “I think he’s matured and really grown up from year one to year two.
“He needs to grow up more still, but for being a true sophomore and done what he’s done the past couple of games he’s only going to get better.”
Cato’s top targets were senior receivers Antavious Wilson, six catches for 98 yards, and Aaron Dobson, nine catches for 81 yards.
Marshall’s offense moved the ball, totaling 615 yards of total offense.
But the Thundering Herd didn’t score its first touchdown until the second quarter, which is when Holliday thought his team finally settled down.
“I thought the first quarter we were moving the ball pretty well,” he said. “We just didn’t finish. I thought after the first quarter Cato settled down and made good decisions and helped us move the ball well.”
While Marshall (1-1) moved the ball well through the air, the Herd used five different running backs to gain 185 yards on 48 carries.
Leading the way was Steward Butler who had eight rushes for 60 yards and touchdown, and freshman Kevin Grooms who had 47 yards on 12 carries.
Holliday said it’s good to get younger guys, four freshmen and a sophomore, some time carrying the ball.
“The thing that’s great about it is if the guy’s not getting it done they can come sit by me and watch,” Holliday said. “We’ve got four or five guys who can play, and if they’re not practicing extremely hard, they get to watch because we’ve got plenty of guys who can go.”
The last time Marshall and Western Carolina played was in 1996, but the Thundering Herd was playing against a familiar foe.
Catamounts quarterback Eddie Sullivan played at Marshall the past two seasons, and made the start in front of 25,317 fans at his old home stadium.
Sullivan finished 19 of 40 for 191 yards and one touchdown with one interception and had 57 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground.
For going up against his old team, Western Carolina head coach Mark Speir thought Sullivan did well.
“We dropped more balls than the entire preseason,” Speir said. “Eddie is a competitor and he played hard. He wanted to win for obvious reasons, but I thought he did a nice job.”
Coming up next week for Marshall is a rivalry game with undefeated Ohio.
And Holliday said the message for his team was simple: enjoy the win but be ready to work this week.
“We have an excellent football team coming in here Saturday,” Holliday said. “They have a quarterback as good as anyone in the country and we’ll have our work cut out for us.”
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Cato guides Marshall past Western Carolina
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