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| Coach Doug Illing starts practice with sprints. The War Eagles host a four-team scrimmage Friday at 6:30. - Photo by James Barringer |
Fredericksburg is between Washington, D.C., and Richmond. Massaponax High, where Marshall went to school as a freshman and sophomore, is 302 miles from Davie High. The estimated drive is four hours, 57 minutes.
“My mom found a house in Advance,” Marshall said. “I asked her what school I was going to, I looked up the football team (on the Internet) and I just came here to practice.”
Did you know anything about Davie’s championship tradition - and wide-open offense - before you moved to Advance?
“No, until I looked on the Internet,” he said. “I saw that they passed the ball. I saw they had a quarterback throwing for thousands of yards and all that. I saw a receiver catching for a thousand yards. Four years consecutive (conference) champs. I’m really happy because I know I can catch the ball. My last team, we didn’t throw the ball much.”
Marshall started football in eighth grade. He’s played “everywhere,” but receiver is his favorite spot.
“They would put me at running back or quarterback,” he said. “But I always wanted to be a receiver.”
Marshall comes from a dominating program. The Massaponax Panthers went 41-8 from 2002-05, and haven’t suffered a losing season since 2000. Last year they slipped to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the district. That Marshall called 5-5 “terrible” is a positive sign. If he thought 5-5 was OK, he’d be in trouble at Davie. The War Eagles are 101-43 the past 11 years.
“(In 2005) we were district champs (at 12-1, 10-0),” he said. “Then we lost all our seniors, and you know how that goes.”
Marshall is the second receiver move-in. Derek Smith - Watauga’s top target in 2006, when the Pioneers went 12-3 and made the 4-AA final four - moved to Mocksville for his senior year.
Marshall’s sticky hands made a terrific impression the first two practices.
“That guy can catch,” offensive coordinator Barry Whitlock said.
“I know he’s going to step up because he looks like he’s got some quick feet,” senior cornerback/receiver Quinton Faulkner said.
“I’m not that fast,” the low-key Marshall said. “My 40 time was 4.8, but ... subscribe to the Davie County Enterprise Record, P.O. Box 99, Mocksville, N.C. 27028.