HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Ahmad Hardy rushed for 207 yards and became the first ULM football player to eclipse the 200-yard mark since 2016, but the ULM football team (5-3, 3-2) came up just short on the road at Marshall (5-3, 3-1) on Saturday (Nov. 2) at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, W.Va.
 
The Warhawks outrushed the Thundering Herd by 41 yards and averaged 5.3 yards per rush on 45 attempts. ULM generated 388 yards of total offense while Marshall had 364 yards of offense.
 
Hardy broke free for his longest rush of the season on an 80-yard score to give ULM a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. The freshman from Monticello, Miss. averaged 8.3 yards per rush on 25 carries and was the first Warhawk since Thomas Khoufi tallied 201 yards on the ground at Georgia State on Nov. 12, 2016.
 
Aidan Armenta completed nine of 13 pass attempts for 149 yards and two touchdowns. James Jones caught two passes for 43 yards, including a 41-yard scoring reception while Artis Cole hauled in a 26-yard touchdown reception.
 
Defensively, Travor Randle and Kevontay Wells both led ULM in tackles with nine. Billy Pullen recorded a sack that forced a turnover on downs and made eight total tackles. Wells and Jaeden Calender teamed up for half a sack.
 
On the first drive of the game, Marshall advanced the football as far as ULM's 10-yard line. Calender and Wells picked up half a sack and dropped Marshall for a loss of five yards. Marshall's kicker Rece Verhoff missed a 33-yard field goal attempt and the Warhawks took over. After Hardy picked up a first down, Armenta's pass was intercepted by Josh Moten. Marshall took advantage of the favorable field position and A.J. Turner cashed in on a six-yard score for the first points of the day. The Warhawks answered when Jones secured a tipped pass and carried it 41 yards to the end zone to even the score, 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Marshall moved the football into ULM's red zone at the start of the second quarter. The Warhawk defense held the Thundering Herd out of the end zone and Verhoff missed a 37-yard field goal try that would have put Marshall in the lead. After the missed field goal, Hardy bolted through Marshall's defense for an 80-yard score, his longest touchdown rush of the season, and the Warhawks led 14-7 with less than 10 minutes to go in the half.
 
After both teams went three-and-out on their next drives, Marshall's Ethan Payne punched in a one-yard touchdown rush to tie the game, 14-14, with 3:52 on the clock. The Warhawks faced a 4^th and 1 at the ULM 34-yard line and converted the fourth down on a Julian Nixon rush up the middle to take it to the two-minute timeout. Armenta connected with Davon Wells and picked up a first down before the clock expired with the score tied, 14-14.
 
On ULM's opening drive of the second half, the Warhawks went on a 13-play, 39-yard drive that lasted 8:36 of game time that ended with Max Larson narrowly missing a 54-yard field goal try. Marshall entered ULM territory and faced a 4^th and 6 at the Warhawks' 35-yard line. Pullen dipped under a Marshall blocker and sacked the quarterback for a huge stop and the score remained tied. Hardy rushed for 34 yards to put the Warhawks at Marshall's two-yard line heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Thundering Herd kept the Warhawks out of the end zone and Larson split the uprights on a 29-yard field goal that put ULM back in front, 17-14. Marshall responded with two big plays after a 45-yard Jordan Houston rush and a 33-yard Braylon Braxton completion to Christian Fitzpatcik to reclaim the lead.
 
Following two scoreless ULM drives, Marshall increased its lead to 28-17 when Payne crossed the goal line on an eight-yard rush. With just one timeout, ULM quickly drove down the field and Armenta hit Cole for a 26-yard touchdown completion that trimmed the deficit to 28-23 with less than two minutes remaining. The Warhawks were unable to recover the onside kick. On 2^nd and 8, Houston picked up 10 yards to seal the victory for the Thundering Herd.
 
The ULM football team returns to Malone Stadium next Saturday (Nov. 9) for a matchup on ESPNU versus Texas State. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.