Huntington, WV (SportsNetwork.com) – Marshall’s bid for a perfect season went
by the wayside Friday when Brandon Doughty’s two-point conversion pass to
Willie McNeal in overtime gave Western Kentucky a 67-66 victory over the 19th-
ranked Thundering Herd.
Marshall trailed throughout the majority of the defensively challenged
contest, falling behind 14-0 early and trailing by 21 in the second quarter.
The Thundering Herd, though, rallied for 10 points in the final 5 1/2 minutes
of regulation to force overtime and went ahead for the first time all day on
the second play of the extra period when Rakeem Cato hit Hyleck Foster with a
25-yard touchdown pass.
It took just two plays for Western Kentucky to answer, as Doughty found Jared
Dangerfield in the back of the end zone from 25 yards away. The Hilltoppers
decided to go for the victory and Doughty easily hit McNeal in the right front
corner of the end zone.
Doughty threw for 491 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions for
Western Kentucky (7-5, 4-4 C-USA), which won its final four games of the
regular season. Leon Allen ran for 237 yards with a touchdown on 33 carries
for the Hilltoppers.
Cato also lit it up with 417 yards passing and seven touchdowns, but he was
intercepted four times in defeat. Steward Butler rushed for 233 yards with two
touchdowns for the Thundering Herd (11-1, 7-1), who will still play for the
Conference USA championship next weekend.
