Huntington, West Virginia (AP) — Grant Wells and his Marshall teammates, born about 30 years after the worst sporting disaster in US history, are history, importance, and them.
No. 16 Marshall hosted Middle Tennessee on Saturday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the plane crash, killing 75 people, including most of the Thundering Group’s football team.
“This is the most important game we play all year round,” said Marshall coach Dock Holiday. “far cry.”
Wells, a freshman in red shirts, grew up 50 miles away in Charleston and knows everything about Marshall football’s past. It’s emotional to be a quarterback and a local kid who leads his attack in Crash’s Silver Anniversary game.
“Oh, I don’t know if it can be expressed in words,” Wells said. “I grew up around the story. I learned about it because I was able to throw the ball. On behalf of the flock, especially in this game of the 50th anniversary, it will be surreal. This team is already that I’m looking forward to the game. “
Marshall (6-0, 3-0 Conference USA) is trying to stay in focus while heading towards the potential berths of the League Championship game. However, behind quarterback Usher O’Hara, middle tennessee (2-5, 2-3) defeated the sanding group at home last year.
The 36 players who died in the crash will earn degrees in their respective fields of study from Marshall on Friday. Prior to the match on Saturday, a memorial to 75 victims was set up at Memorial Fountain on the Huntington campus.
Central Tennessee also pays homage.
Blu-ray Darth wide receiver CJ Wyndham knows everything about personal losses. His mother, Lena Wyndham, died of cancer in 2018. In her first posthumous game two days later, he caught a touchdown pass to Vanderbilt, looked up at the sky and kissed her.
Marshall’s story “has a lot of meaning to me,” Wyndham said. “When I was a kid, I watched the movie We Are Marshall many times. You can see what it meant and how important it was to the show. It’s special to me to show them on this particular day. That’s what I know. It’s something special to them.
“Of course, we stay focused and try to do what we set there.”
Other things you need to know about Thundering Herd and Blue Raiders:
Elusive O’Hara
Marshall has dealt with mobile quarterbacks so far this season, and O’Hara may be the most talented of all.
Last year he threw 261 yards and ran 76 yards against the sanding group. This season, junior 476 yards is the third largest quarterback in the country.
“That quarterback, O’Hara, he has a neck pain,” said Holiday. “He is fearless.”
Defensive priority
Marshall has the third best defense in the United States, giving up seven touchdowns throughout the season and allowing 253 yards per game (including 67 yards above ground). The average unit is 3.5 bags.
“I think they had a lot of experienced guys, a lot of starts and a lot of big situations. They understand the game,” Wyndham said.
There is no advantage
Middle Tennessee hasn’t played since October 24th, but it’s not at its own discretion.
Due to Charlotte’s COVID-19 issue, last week’s match against the Blu-ray Dars was canceled. The postponement took place the day before the match, preventing central Tennessee from getting extra work for Marshall.
“We had a good few weeks,” said MTSU coach Rick Stockstill. “It’s not an advantage because I didn’t spend extra time on Marshall … but that’s what it is. You can’t control it.”
Central Tennessee is moving 2-2, including a double overtime win at Rice three weeks ago.
Knox stop
Marshall’s veteran offense line allowed just five sack throughout the season, drilling holes to repel Brenden Knox, who has been chasing six consecutive 100-yard rush games.
DQ Thomas, a linebacker in central Tennessee, said hard-running Knox was “not afraid to run behind his pad.” “You don’t want to work on such a guy for a quarter. Putting it on him before he puts it on us, I think it’s a big deal.”
home Sweet Home
Marshall has won 83% of home games since the stadium opened in 1991. Only two schools in Alabama and Georgia Southern have won better at the stadium today.
___
Other AP College Football: https: //apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Introvert. Beer guru. Communicator. Travel fanatic. Web advocate. Certified alcohol geek. Tv buff. Subtly charming internet aficionado.
