HUNTINGTON — Cam Fancher threw two touchdown passes to help the Marshall Thundering Herd beat the Appalachian State Mountaineers 28-21 on Saturday at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Khalan Laborn opened up the scoring with a one-yard plunge to give the Herd an early 7-0 lead 8:09 in the opening quarter. The score capped off a 15-play drive that covered 80 yards and nearly taking seven minutes off the clock.
Marshall (6-4, 3-3 Sun Belt Conference) would extend their lead to 14-points when Fancher tossed a five-yard pass to Jayden Harrison midway through the second quarter.
Appalachian State (5-5, 2-4) would cut the Herd's lead in half when Daetrich Harrington scored from one-yard out on a fourth-and-goal play with 1:00 left in the half.
The Herd would get a special teams score in the third quarter, as Dainsus Miller recovered a blocked punt in the end zone to give Marshall a 21-7 lead with 11:00.
But the Mountaineers would get a big special teams play of their own as Milan Tucker returned the ensuing kickoff 96-yards for a touchdown and cut Marshall's lead back down to seven.
Fancher and the Herd responded, driving 82-yards in eight plays, with the final play being a 19-yard touchdown pass to Corey Gammage from Fancher. Rece Verhoff added the extra point to give Marshall a 28-14 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Mountaineers would close the gap on the first play of the final quarter, as quarterback Chase Brice tossed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Henry Pearson to make the score 28-21.
The Herd defense stood tall on the final two drives by Appalachian State, stuffing Brice for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-1 at the Marshall 16-yard line with about five minutes remaining. The Mountaineers's final possession saw them drive to the Marshall 45 with 36 seconds left, but Brice threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-6 to secure the win for the Herd.
Fancher was 16 of 28 for 225 yards passing for Marshall. Charles Montgomery had five receptions for 109 yards receiving. Gammage finished the night with six catches for 91 yards.
Brice finished the game 15-of-34 passing for 177 yards to go along with his one passing score.
Marshall will be back in action next Saturday as they face Georgia Southern. Kickoff is at 6:00pm.
Appalachian St. 0 7 7 7 = 21
Marshall 7 7 14 0 = 28
First Quarter
MRSH—Khalan Laborn 1 run (Rece Verhoff kick), 8:09.
Second Quarter
MRSH—Jayden Harrison 5 pass from Cam Fancher (Rece Verhoff kick), 7:12.
APP—Daetrich Harrington 1 run (Michael Hughes kick), 1:00.
Third Quarter
MRSH—Dainsus Miller 0 punt return (Rece Verhoff kick), 11:00.
APP—Milan Tucker 96 kickoff return (Michael Hughes kick), 10:47.
MRSH—Corey Gammage 19 pass from Cam Fancher (Rece Verhoff kick), 7:57.
Fourth Quarter
APP—Henry Pearson 14 pass from Chase Brice (Michael Hughes kick), 14:55.
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APP MRSH
First downs 17 17
Total Net Yards 293 341
Rushes-yards 40-116 37-121
Passing 177 220
Punt Returns 1-2 2-11
Kickoff Returns 3-134 3-57
Interceptions Ret. 1-0 1-0
Comp-Att-Int 15-34-1 17-28-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 2-8 1-16
Punts 6-29.0 6-38.5
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 6-65 8-86
Time of Possession 31:55 28:05
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Appalachian St., Noel 19-75, Peoples 7-18, Brice 7-13, D.Harrington 6-6, Wells 1-4. Marshall, Laborn 18-53, Fancher 12-37, E.Payne 6-32, (Team) 1-(minus 1).
PASSING—Appalachian St., Brice 15-34-1-177. Marshall, Fancher 16-27-1-225, Colombi 1-1-0-(minus 5).
RECEIVING—Appalachian St., Horn 4-66, Pearson 3-29, Noel 3-12, D.Harrington 1-26, Page 1-17, Robinson 1-12, D.Davis 1-10, Stroman 1-5. Marshall, Gammage 6-91, C.Montgomery 5-109, Ahmed 1-6, E.Horton 1-6, J.Harrison 1-5, Laborn 1-5, McMillan 1-3, Turner 1-(minus 5).
MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.
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