Flower Mound Marcus was one win away from entering the postseason and it would have been in stellar fashion if they would have beat a storied and outstanding Euless Trinity program in the regular season finale.
Unfortunately, Marcus came up a hair short and missed out on a postseason berth and will not only have to revamp for 2017 but also deal with the loss of their head coach Gerry Stanford, who has been tabbed as the new head coach at Texas High.
Marcus was 20-12 under Stanford including a 10-2 season in 2015, so it remains to be seen what exactly Marcus will look like from a coaching staff standpoint as the search for the right candidate begins to draw to a close, but Marcus will have some key players back to hopefully match the success from two seasons ago and help them get over the hump.
Key Losses
QB Michael Henry, DB Matt Hankins, DL Hawkins Taylor
Between senior quarterbacks Michael Henry and Reed Osborn there were over 1,000 yards passing and nine touchdowns so the quarterback position is wide open and will be one component that will need to be addressed.
Marcus also loses two All-District selections in Hankins and Taylor which will hopefully be replaced with the returners on defense.
Key Returners
RB Justin Dinka, WR Blake Covin, DL John Brand
Running back Justin Dinka will be heading into his junior season after posting 1,711 rushing yards and twenty touchdowns. He will definitely alleviate the offensive side of the ball as his presence and growth are going to be essential to this offense. Covin will be taking on a leadership role lining up as a receiver and will look to increase his numbers from his three touchdowns and 333 receiving yards last year.
John Brand will be a key component on the defensive line as he will be looked at to set the tone of the defense.
The Verdict
Marcus has its work cut out for them in trying to find a head coach and looking to replace players lost to graduation. It can be expected that there will be a few bumps in the road but Marcus is the type of program that can still compete even when there are still many questions to be answered. Marcus should still be a contender but perhaps not at the success level seen in 2015. They will definitely have a chip on their shoulder after coming up one-win shy of the playoffs last year. Marcus is sure to be an intriguing storyline in the 5-6A District and are far from being a struggling team in 2017, so expect the other teams to be cautious in approaching them.
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