Things looked even worse for the Herd when Trojans tailback Tyler Perry, who finished with 105 yards on four receptions, broke free for a 54-yard touchdown reception from QB Clay Cummings. Travis Schoenberger's kick knotted things at 14-14.
About a minute later, Herd running back Thomas Malinich ran through a huge hole opened up by the Herd offensive line for a 65-yard touchdown. Kicker David Dukes, who connected on five of six extra point attempts, put the Herd back up for good.
"The kids kept their heads (after the tie) and didn't panic as much as the coaches did," Herd coach Brent Stroh said.
In the second half, the Herd simply manhandled the Trojans by scoring on its first, second and third series. The mercy rule went into effect in the fourth quarter.
Carlisle finished with 423 yards of total offense, much of it coming from the ground courtesy of the solid play of Malinich, who had 104 rushing yards on 10 carries.
The Herd defense continues to struggle with consistency, missed tackles, which could have been more costly if Chambersburg capitalized on the miscues.
Costly dropped passes, fumbles and an inability to move up the field reduced the Trojans' total offense to 274 yards for the night.
"It's been our curse," Chambersburg coach Shawn Kimple said. "We put together good drives and good plays, but the turnovers came back to bite us. We have a team full of great athletes, but we have to put together a mistake-free football game."
Back to Marshall's injury, he played a few minutes in the second quarter but came out in the second half in a sweat suit and leaning on crutches. Stroh said he expects Marshall to be ready for next week's game against Hollidaysburg and Marshall said he will be back.
But if some reason Marshall isn't 100 percent by next Friday, senior running back Cleo Williams is very willing to take the load. Williams, who battled with an injury the beginning of the season, looked strong against Chambersburg and now he wants more. "I've been waiting and I've been so anxious," Williams said about getting the ball. "(Marshall) is doing really good and they have decided to run with him. Hopefully tonight I showed enough and hopefully I can touch the ball a little more. Tonight (nine carries for 54 yards) wasn't even half of what I can do. I am willing to accept the load and I will do whatever they want, if they call my name I will be ready to go."
Alicia Johnson is a staff writer for The Carlisle Sentinel. For more Mid-Penn Conference football coverage, please visit The Sentinel's Web site at www.cumberlink.com
