Ex-Tiger may not be down for long
Sidelines: Joe DavisHUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marietta High School assistant football coach Ben Schenkel always has been true to his school, but he knows in the high-pressure world of NCAA Division I sports that loyalty doesn't always extend both ways.
Schenkel was among 60 or so individuals, family and friends of ex-MHS standout kicker Justin Estes, that ventured into Joan C. Edwards Stadium Saturday for the Conference USA matchup between Southern Mississippi and Marshall University. Although the USM Golden Eagles became bowl eligible by posting their sixth win of the season, it wasn't particularly a happy homecoming for Estes with Marshall's facility being the closest venue to Marietta that he'll play in while in college.
At the beginning of November, Estes appeared to be on quite a roll. The junior had been named to ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA All-Academic District 6 first team, based on his performance in the classroom and on the field. Estes had maintained a 3.53 cumulative grade point average in marketing while leading the Golden Eagles in scoring with 58 points after converting 10-of-13 field goals attempts and 28-of-33 extra points tries in USM's first nine games.
Yet, all was not quite right in Hattiesburg, Miss. An uneven outing by Estes - two missed PATs and a 23-yard field goal attempt which was blocked- in a 43-6 rout of Tulane on Oct. 24 served as a red flag. And, when an Estes' extra point attempt was blocked less than two minutes into what ended up being 50-43 loss to Houston, the Conference USA West Division leader, USM head coach Larry Fedora felt it was time for a change.
Thus, sophomore Daniel Hrapmann was handed a greater percentage of the place-kicking duties and Estes' role was reduced to watching from the bench area.
Still, despite not getting into action Saturday, Estes currently is the third most productive kicker in Conference USA behind UAB's Josh Zahn and UTEP's Logan Barrett.
Afterward Saturday's game ended, Estes met with those who had made the trip to Huntington in hopes of seeing him in action. Schenkel sensed Estes was genuinely humbled by the recent reversal of roles and didn't press him on the issue.
"He's frustrated with not playing, but, with the school and everything else, Justin absolutely loves it," Schenkel said. "He likes the (Gulf of Mexico) beaches and the sun down there, and I don't see him coming back up here after he graduates."
Schenkel said he appreciated Estes taking time to talk with and sign the tickets of with four pre-teen fans from Marietta.
"In true Justin fashion, he reminded them to keep their grades up," Schenkel said. "That's the type of kid he is."
Estes' banishment to the sidelines may be only temporary as Hrapmann also experienced some snags. A 46-yard field goal attempt by Hrapmann went wide left early in the third quarter, while his third PAT attempt was blocked by MU's Michael Janac.
As for the status at kicker as it currently stands, Fedora remained non-committal.
"That'll be determined this week," the second-year USM head coach said. "It's an ongoing process of those guys competing."
Fedora seemed relieved to have escaped Huntington with the win, considering the Thundering Herd was able to generate 363 yards in total offense with junior quarterback completing 29-of-52 pass attempts for the bulk of it (337 yards).
Perhaps he was just relieved as the game included a fair amount of strangeness in the waning moments.
There was an inadvertent referee's whistle that erased a disjointed 69-yard punt return by Marshall's DeQuan Bembry inside the final four minutes. Ultimately, it appeared that Bembry adjusted his helmet with his left hand before fielding the punt, which was taken as a "fair catch" signal.
Ultimately, it took, not one, but two interceptions by USM's Justin Wilson in the final 97 seconds to secure the win.
Earlier in the game, USM's Tracy Lampley turned the momentum with a 93-yard kickoff return.
The Golden Eagles (6-4 overall, 4-3 in Conference USA) also capitalized with a pair of timely TD strikes, including the game-winning grab by DeAndre Brown on a post pattern covering 36 yards from QB Martevious Young with 6:54 remaining to play.
Earlier, Brown had acted as a decoy to create an open lane underneath for USM senior standout Damion Fletcher on an equally-important touchdown pass play covering 39 yards.
"It's something that we have had in the game plan now for about five weeks but had not been in the situation to get it called," Fedora said of the well-executed play-action pass play with Young first faking a handoff to Fletcher before rolling out to his left. As the play developed, Brown read that Fletcher was left uncovered for an easy score.
"It's one of those plays that you work over and over and over," Fedora added. "You wait for the situation and we got it right there. Obviously, when No. 5 (Brown) is out there, he draws a lot of attention. I'm pretty sure two guys jumped him as he went down the field and that left Fletcher wide open."
Joe Davis is a Marietta Times sports writer, and can be reached at jdavis@mariettatimes.com
