HUNTINGTON - Martin Ward and Terrell Edwards-Maye combined for 47 mostly successful carries in Marshall's last game, a 34-31 win Saturday over Southern Methodist.

They substituted for Darius Marshall, who was held out with a high ankle sprain. Marshall, who has logged his second 1,000-yard season in just nine games, hasn't had 47 carries in a game, but he has logged a career high of 32 this year against Alabama-Birmingham.

After Ward and Edwards-Maye combined to slice through the Mustangs for 249 yards, they reached new career highs and new levels of elation. But they also had a new respect for how much a workhorse Marshall has been the last two seasons.

"I told him this spring, I really appreciate how you do that," Ward said. "Everybody wants to be the guy; everybody can't really take that load. And for him to make it look so easy, I was like, 'I really have an appreciation for that, because I know what it takes.' For me to go out there and split time with Terrell, and get mine here and there, I took advantage of it. But it also made me appreciate Darius even more, because he sometimes does it on his own.

"His adrenaline, his drive to want to do more, he takes care of himself, and he shows it."

The Thundering Herd is attempting to get Marshall back into action for its regular-season finale at Texas-El Paso. Kickoff Saturday is at 3 p.m. EST, and the game will air on WSAZ, Channel 3 in Charleston-Huntington.

Marshall, who has run for his 1,054 yards on 207 carries, returned to the Herd's "shells" practice Tuesday.

"I think he will be ready to go. We will know more after [Tuesday's] practice," said Herd coach Mark Snyder. "We will rotate guys, though. It depends on who has the hot hand."

Marshall's return will be most welcome, yes, but the Herd showed it can function without him, if need be, last week against SMU.

Ward ran for 136 yards on 25 carries, with Edwards-Maye going for 113 yards on 22 attempts. Ward cranked out a 37-yard run and Edwards-Maye had a 25-yarder, both in the fourth quarter.

What a coincidence - that's the quarter Marshall has often appeared to run at his strongest. The two backs pretty much split their time, sort of developing their own substitution system.

"When he was tired, or just needed a breath, I'd go in," Ward said. "And when I needed a rest, he'd go in. We just knew. We're weren't holding out and wasting a play."

When Edwards-Maye reeled off his long run, that created the Herd's first 100-yard tandem since Bernard Morris and Ahmad Bradshaw did it against Hofstra in 2006, and the first such feat against a major-college foe since the final game of 2003, when Earl Charles and Butchie Wallace did it against Ohio.

More important than that, it did a lot more for Edwards-Maye's confidence.

"It was very exciting, and also helped reassure the team that hey, we got the first down we needed, so we can hold onto the ball longer and run more time off the clock," he said. "And that's always exciting to make a big run, especially with [Aaron] Dobson coming behind you to score a touchdown."

Needless to say, both backs performed better than they did in the season opener against Southern Illinois, when they combined for just 82 yards on 29 carries.

"You can't read too much into their performance against SIU. It was the first game of the year," said Snyder. "The offensive line had not jelled yet. That's where bowl practice comes in and helps. I have said over and over again, this team has gotten better throughout the entire year, in a lot of aspects. Lot's of guys are playing with a lot of confidence, and that is what happens."

Reach Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.