George C Marshall High School - Columbian Yearbook (Falls Church, VA)

Page 116 text:

James Madison defenders stop running back inches short of the goal line. i ( St . the first week of ..October, reached a climax in the Langley game, Coach Ed Henry's preseason prediction as Marshall's toughest district rival. An early score by Langley shockec the Statesmen, but it was soon matched by a 40-yard touchdown run by Marshall. Each team battled fiercely for the remainder of the game, yet both failed to score, leaving the Statesmen with a frustrating tie. The tie inflicted by Langley was the final blemish on the score books for Marshall as they proceeded to regain their momentum. The Statesmen beat Falls Church and McLean, each by a touchdown, to set up the district showdown with W-L. Emotions heightened with the necessity fora victory. Marshal]! defense forced several turnovers and the offense took full advantage of each with a score. The

Page 115 text:

 Marshall Law Proclaimed!, Marshall The Team to Beat!, G.C.M. Favorite to Take it All! These and similar headlines began appearing in August in many of the local newspapers. Remembering the perennial promenance of Ed Henry coached teams, the papers tended to overrate the Statesmen. This was a tough challenge for the team to accept, but they seemed prepared. Then, almost as if by plague, injuries began to rob the team of experienced talent. Crippled by this, Marshall proceeded to drop their opener to West Springfield. The team began experiencing internal unrest and dissention and were beaten again, by Mount Vernon. Fortunately these were non-district games, and after capturing their first victory by smoking Yorktown, and then sinking Herndon, the Statesmen came alive and took strong control over their district.

Page 117 text:

 Statesmen held off the district's toughest opposition and yere left to ponder fading hopes of a regional playoff berth. This hope appeared to be their primary concern as Marshall launched devestat-ing routs over Oakton and Madison, with scores of 28-0 and 41-6. The year was also highlighted by brilliant individual efforts, the more outstanding being Paul Gural's school record of five interceptions and Mark Jones' school record for career rushing yardage. Both of these players, along with offensive tackle Bob Brill, were selected to the All-Regional team. The importance of. the two early losses became clear as the season went on, and were ultimately the cause of losing a playoff berth. Nonetheless, Marshall's district prominence was left unquestioned by it strong first place finish. N cJufl g C h rv