Isaiah Fry (l) and Davon Matthews (r) By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor It would be really easy to lose faith if you have to adjust to a new coach and you lose your first three games by a combined total of 134-12. In the first two, the Eagles fell to Duarte and Campbell Hall by […]
Isaiah Fry (l) and Davon Matthews (r)
By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor
It would be really easy to lose faith if you have to adjust to a new coach and you lose your first three games by a combined total of 134-12.
In the first two, the Eagles fell to Duarte and Campbell Hall by a margin of 93-0.
But they say character is the way you react to your failures, not when things are going well.
For Isaiah Fry and Davon Matthews, they showed some serious courage and mettle by the way they not only handled defeat(s), but also for leading this rebuilding program to a victory Thursday night.
Fry had 10 carries for 62 yards and scored two touchdowns.
He also had five tackles on defense.
Matthews completed 6 of 12 passes for 98 yards, which included a TD pass.
Matthews also carried the ball 5 times for 36 yards.
He added 6 tackles to his night, including two for loss.
Marshall handled Sotomayor of Los Angeles, 20-0, on Thursday evening.
First year coach Jeff Cole deserves a lot of credit too.
Cole never lost faith in his staff or players, and while things will be a struggle for a while. there is a glimmer of hope and even some smiles in the Marshall locker room.
Marshall will travel to Rosemead for a Mission Valley League contest this Friday at 7.
Quotable:
Marshall coach Jeff Cole: “The victory was well deserved. We’re a young team that needed to learn how to finish drives and start trusting each other. This past Thursday was just that. Now that we have our first win we look forward to starting our league this week versus Rosemead. They’re going to be very hungry for their first win of the season. We must remain focused on staying on schedule on offense and on defense. We need to tackle. pressure the quarterback and get 3-and-outs.
We preach one game at a time. After our losses, it was stressful because I see the potential. We had the best week of practice since I’ve been at Marshall since late May. We worked on situational football and it paid off. The boys are young and have the drive to get better. The look on their faces after our loss to San Gabriel was one of belief like guys if we cut out the mental mistakes and the shock and awe of the Friday night lights, we will be fine. Our whole team is playing new positions this year, so it’s a process. Patience is the key. We look forward on building our experience with our young guys.
It felt great getting my first win as a head coach First of many. Go Eagles!”
