Marshall Fundamental football weathers tough Alpha League loss

Falling behind 34 points at halftime, the Marshall Fundamental football team knew it was in for a tough Saturday evening.

The Eagles, though, showed some defensive resilience in the second half in only allowing two touchdowns before falling, 48-0, to host Windward School in Alpha League play at Palisades High.

With the defeat, Marshall’s second in a row, the Eagles fell to 3-5 overall and 0-4 in league.

“We didn’t give up and that’s what I appreciate about the guys. They kept fighting,” Marshall first-year Coach Jim Arellanes said. “This is a young team with a lot of guys who are coming back and this is another learning lesson.”

Windward didn’t waste much time in jumping out to a big lead, as the Wildcats (4-2, 2-2) scored on three of their first four plays on offense, thanks in part to great field position.

“It wasn’t like they were all spectacular plays,” Arellanes said. “We’d go three and out and punt and then they would get the ball at 50 or 40 and score on the next play.”

Arellanes did share his disappointment in the Wildcats, who moved up from eight-man football this season, as the coach said that Windward only momentarily removed its starters from the game in the second half and still had seven of 11 starters on defense at the end of the game.

“When we got close to scoring in the third, then they put their starters back in. They also were throwing late and their last touchdown came on pass when they were already up 40,” Arellanes said. “That’s discouraging for the guys, but ultimately it’s our responsibility to make a stop.”

The good news for Marshall going forward is that the Eagles will celebrate homecoming this Thursday at 7 p.m. at Pasadena High.

The bad news is that Marshall will host small-school powerhouse Sierra Canyon (7-0, 3-0), currently top-ranked in the CIF Southern Section Mid-Valley Division.