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When the High School Football season started two weeks ago, we were cautiously optimistic about Marshall’s hopes for winning a game. It was the first time in 4 years that the Eagles football team had a coach return for a consecutive season. A 31-game losing streak can really take its toll. Imagine what the players felt when their fellow Marshall students jeered them for being part of a losing tradition. It was almost a joke. The school didn’t even have enough players on the JV team to play in the first week, which meant that Marshall forfeited the game. We’ve been going to Marshall Football games (home and away) for each of Steven’s four years at Marshall, and sometimes, we were the only ones in the stands.

After last week’s 34-0 loss to Salesion, it certainly looked like history was going to repeat itself. The boys’ confidence that showed a glimmer of light at the beginning of the season was all but extinguished. The only bright side to the week was one JV student’s efforts to recruit five new players to the JV team, just enough to play in this week’s game- not that they had any hope to win, but all the kids really wanted to do was play.

And play they did! On a hot Thursday afternoon on Marshall’s pathetic excuse for a football field, Marshall’s JV team stepped up to the proverbial plate and played their hearts out against Poly Technic. By no means was it a pretty game- Marshall didn’t score one point on offense. But it was the defense that kept them in the game. Not only did they hold Poly to only one touchdown, but Marshall’s defense picked up a fumble and ran the ball in for a touchdown, putting 6 points on the board- a welcome sight after so many games going scoreless. Late in the game, Marshall also forced a safety, which added 2 more points and putting them up for good by one point. Mark was part of that experience- playing offense, defense, and special teams. Being his first football game ever, he showed confidence and heart- making key tackles and blocks, earning him defensive player-of-the-game accolades from the coaching staff.

Now that JV won, with the Varsity team watching and celebrating with them, the pressure was mounting for the Varsity team to take care of business on Friday afternoon. After JV’s game, all of the Varsity players were chanting to each other- Win, or Die… Win, or Die. They certainly didn’t want to hear it for the rest of the year that JV is better than Varsity.

Friday’s Varsity game was also at Marshall vs. Poly Technic. The cheerleaders were out in force, and the marching band played their hearts out in the beating sun- the two groups constituting more than half of the crowd gathered to watch the game.

The game started in familiar fashion. Marshall coughing up a fumble on the opening drive, putting Poly in a position to score on the very next play. Just like that, it was 7-0. Before long, it was 10-0, and you could see the players start to doubt themselves on the field and on the sideline. But soon enough, things turned around. Marshall was moving the ball, and making stops on defense, preventing Poly from getting in scoring range on several possessions. Marshall’s first touchdown was a beauty. On fourth and goal from the 3 yardline with less than 10 seconds left in the half, Marshall’s quarterback plunged toward the goalline only to be stopped short by about a yard and a half. But the rest of the team refused to allow him to go down and they formed a wave of muscle, fat, sweat, and utter determination to push him forward over the goalline for a touchdown.

That was just the beginning. Marshall racked up 23 more points before Poly was able to score again late in the fourth quarter. The two teams traded a couple more touchdowns before the dust settled, and the final score read 36-24. Marshall Wins! Marshall WINS!! MARSHALL WINS!!! The crowd went wild, and the players jumped, danced and embraced each other as if they won the Superbowl. As they should. Yes, it was only one win, but a win that was 4 years in the making. A win that I personally have been wanting to see every time we went to the game- every week for four years. I can’t imagine how the boys feel. I am just so proud of my two boys that were able to be a part of it, and for the rest of the boys that deserve to know how it feels to win. I just hope the rest of the school appreciates how hard they worked for the spirit of the school. They endured the effort, pain, and heartache for far too long to not reap the benefits of victory. The school should be proud, the Eagles are soaring again- even if it is for only one game- the glory will last a lifetime for these young men.

GO EAGLES!!!

Shamir Merino

The week one game for Marshall Varsity Football was at Salesion in Los Angeles on September 11th. The game started out very competitive with Marshall only trailing 0-3 going into the second quarter. Marshall’s defense looked very strong as they were able to stop Salesion’s arsenal of offensive attacks. Steven played a key role on Marshall’s defense as safety by preventing two scoring attacks- one by deflecting a pass as it hit Salesion’s receiver inside the 10-yard line, and another by knocking their star running back off his feet as he penetrated the 5 yard line, causing a fumble that was recovered by Jesse Wright in the end zone for a Marshall touch back:

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Marshall’s offense, on the other hand, was another story. The offensive line let the floodgates open as Salesion defenders penetrated to the quarterback at will, not giving him enough time to even blink, much less find an open receiver.

The fact that Marshall has less than 25 players didn’t help as many played on offense and defense throughout the game. by the end of the second quarter, fatigue definitely played a role in Salesion starting their scoring run. By halftime, the score was 0-17. The halftime show fittingly consisted of a parade of police cars, fire engines, and ambulances- as if to predict the oncoming slaughter.

Needless to say, the rest of the game was fairly pathetic. Marshall failed to score, and failed to stop Salesion from scoring at will. The Eagles were exhausted and Salesion was able to rotate players from the sidelines on every play, giving them fresh players on each drive.

Final Score: Salesion 34, Marshall 0

Photo of the game:

As school begins, so do all of the extracurricular activities. Since this is Steven’s Senior year at Marshall Fundamental, his role on the varsity football team increases to starting positions on offense, defense, and special teams. Of course, this is how things go at Marshall because there aren’t enough players to form separate squads like other schools who have 50-80 kids on their football teams.

This year, not only do we get to enjoy Steven tearing up the turf, Mark has also joined the ranks and is playing on Marshall’s JV football team, also pulling full duty playing on offense, defense, and special teams.

This year, we’re hoping to see some victories. Marshall is currently on one of the worst losing streaks in history. Varsity hasn’t won a game in 4 years, JV hasn’t won in 3 years. As pathetic as it sounds, the kids are all proud to be Eagles and boldly walk the halls with their jerseys accepting the abuse from their peers- because one day they are going to win, and the celebrations will be well worth the wait.

Stay tuned for weekly updates from the games.