MILITARY BOWL

QB Cato brings thunder for Herd

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland had just marched 99 yards to take a fourth-quarter lead, and it was up to Marshall to either respond or succumb.

“These kids never flinched,” Coach Doc Holliday said. “The one thing I like about this group is that it didn’t matter.”

With standout quarterback Rakeem Cato leading the way, the Thundering Herd scored two touchdowns in the final 12 minutes to pull out a 31-20 victory Friday.

Cato completed 28 for 44 passes for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. The most notable part about his performance was that he saved the best for last.

Marshall (10-4) trailed 20-17 before Cato brought them back. After directing a 63-yard drive to put Marshall up 24-20 with 12:05 left, Cato clinched it with an 8-yard touchdown throw to Gator Hoskins with 3:42 to play.

Cato had a brilliant season before this game, throwing for 3,579 yards and 36 touchdowns. But this performance — on a national stage against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent — served as the perfect finish.

“I tell the guys all the time: Big-time players make big-time plays in a big-time game,” Cato said. “And this was a big-time game.”

He had plenty of help. Hoskins had 6 catches for 104 yards and 2 scores, Tommy Shuler caught 9 passes for 68 yards and 1 touchdown, punter Tyler Williams pinned the Terrapins inside the 10 four times, and Marshall’s under appreciated defense played a huge role.

Maryland (7-6) scored only one touchdown after halftime, and A.J. Leggett followed Cato’s final touchdown pass with an interception to set off a celebration among the huge gathering of Marshall fans among the crowd of 30,163.

“It’s a great way to send the seniors out,” Holliday said. Making its first bowl appearance under Coach Randy Edsall, Maryland closed out its association with the ACC by falling to the runner-up in Conference USA. The Terrapins will join the Big Ten next year.

Despite the loss, Maryland had its first winning season since 2010 and finished with more victories than in Edsall’s first two years combined.

Brandon Ross rushed for 116 yards for Maryland, and C.J. Brown completed 14 of 24 passes for 197 yards. Although the Terrapins amassed 391 yards, they converted only 2 of 14 third-down tries.

After a whirlwind first half that produced 30 points and 24 first downs, the teams settled into a defensive struggle in the third quarter. Each of the first four possessions ended in punts, but on the last one Marshall pinned the Terrapins on their own 1. In the same situation earlier in the game, Maryland ran three times for 2 yards and punted. This time, the Terrapins put together a 17-play drive that included a pair of fourth-down conversions and lasted for 7 minutes, 44 seconds. The 99-yard drive ended with a 2-yard pass from Brown to tight end Dave Stinebaugh, giving Maryland a 20-17 lead with 14:56 left.

Marshall was quick to respond. Cato completed two third-down passes, and Essray Taliaferro ran in from the 7 to make it 24-20.

Brown subsequently came up short on a third-and-5 bootleg, providing Cato the opportunity to put away the game. Although the Terrapins came up with the stop they needed, Cato came up big during the next series.

Sports, Pages 26 on 12/28/2013

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