It was hard to upstage Marshall’s total performance Saturday night, but tailback Anthony Holmes came close. Holmes scored four touchdowns in leading top-ranked Marshall to a 47-0 victory over Edison at Northside Stadium. One couldn’t overlook the Rams defense, which held the Golden Bears to 113 total yards. Yet, there was Holmes’ 12 carries for 253 yards in just three quarters of action.
The Rams offensive line opened up gaping holes that led to 474 yards rushing on 40 carries. Then there was Holmes’ 92-yard dash to the end zone in the third quarter. Fullback Carlos Reza added a 50-yard touchdown while compiling 135 yards on 10 carries for the Rams. It all added up to a great night for Marshall overall and for some of its individual players.
Marshall coach David Visentine was understandably pleased with his offense. “I thought we executed well,” Visentine said. “Any time your running backs are doing well, the offensive line is doing a good job.” The offensive line looked really good when Holmes was running. Holmes’ 92-yard dash began with a burst through an opening in the right side of the offensive line. Holmes then made two dead stops that sent defenders running past him. The 5-foot-170 pound senior finally dashed 50 yards into the end zone untouched. “I just run,” Holmes said. “The offensive line opened up some big holes. I give all the credit I get to the offensive line.”
Visentine summed up Holmes’ run succinctly. “It was just a good Holmes-type run,” Visentine said. Holmes also had touchdown runs of 5, 14 and 35 yards before breaking the long touchdown in the third quarter. Adding to the Rams impressive running game were Jason Cox and Casey Gonzalez, who scored from 5 and 18 yards, respectively.
While the Rams offense was rolling up yardage, the defense was containing the Golden Bears. The Rams secondary allowed the Golden Bears only 77 yards passing on 7 of 22 attempts. “The defense gave us good field position,” Visentine said. “They seemed to get the big plays when we needed them.” The Rams recovered two fumbles and stopped the Golden Bears on two fourth down situations.
