Juanita Opens Season in Impressive Fashion Behind Marshall's Big Debut

Juanita head coach Shaun Tarantola has been trying to get Travis Marshall to come out for football for the past three years. When fall practices began, Marshall unexpectedly showed up. Friday night, he showed why he was so wanted by the coaching staff.

Marshall rushed for 113 yards and the Rebels scored four times in the game's first seven minutes to start the 2011 season with a 48-16 victory over Redmond Friday night at .

"We've been trying to get him for years," Tarantola said of Marshall. "He's a great track athlete and we knew he was going to have a big night. We've been waiting to unleash him."

Juanita is attempting to prove that last year's 10-2 record was no fluke and wasted no time in doing so, scoring four touchdowns in the first 6:30 of the game.

"That was the quickest first quarter we've had at Juanita High School," Tarantola said. "As far as the most points in the shortest amount of time to start a game, that's one of the things we really wanted to get better at."

Marshall, a senior playing his first varsity game, set the tone early, taking the second play from scrimmage 56 yards around the right side for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The track star, who decided to play football his senior year to stay in shape, ended his night with 113 yards in two quarters on just four carries, with two touchdowns. Marshall added a 61-yard touchdown in the second quarter and had another 67-yarder called back for holding away from the play.

"It felt good," Marshall said of his debut. "This is my first varsity start, I haven't played in three years, so I wanted to get after it first play."

Marshall was not the only Rebel to have a big night on the ground, as Redmond looked helpless against the Rebels' rushing attack, surrendering 243 rushing yards in the first half alone. In addition to Marshall's two long runs, Trayon McNairy rushed for two touchdowns, including a 75-yarder in the second quarter. Juanita led 28-3 after one quarter and 48-9 at halftime.

"We knew that we had potential to be a big-play offense," Tarantola said. "We've got more speed than we've ever had out here."

Sophomore quarterback Landyn Milburn was also impressive in his first start. Milburn completed six passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns in a little over two quarters worth of work.

"He's a sophomore and we've got him for three more years, so that's exciting," Tarantola said. "We feel good about our quarterback position."

The Rebels pulled much of their starting unit early in the second half, as the game slogged through the second half. Juanita gained just 40 rushing yards in the second half, as the Mustangs outscored them 7-0 in the final two quarters.

The outcome was similar to the game against Redmond in 2010. The Rebels won that one 41-7 to jumpstart their state tournament-qualifying campaign. Juanita has a young roster this year, but Tarantola said he was enthusiastic about the start.

"We're a young team, so we've got to sustain that focus for four quarters," Tarantola said. "We kind of were up and then we lost focus for a little bit, but I'm excited about the explosiveness, we've got a lot of big-play ability."

Juanita plays next at Inglemoor on Sept. 9 at 7 pm.