Marshall honored a tragic moment in school history today by honoring the victims of Southern Airways Flight 932, which crashed en route from North carolina to West Virginia on November 14, 1970. On that flight were 37 members of the Marshall football team including players and coaches as well as a number of prominent boosters for the program. The crash decimated the football program at the time and put the entire program in danger of folding. But the football program, university and community rallied and today was a time to pay tribute to the victims of the crash. Marshall’s football team, on the road for a Thursday night game at Tulsa, took time out of their day to watch the campus ceremonies as a team.
Head coach Doc Hollliday joined his team in watching the Marshall memorial service from Tulsa.
Tonight the football team is wearing a special memorial helmet with the number “75” on one side of the helmet. That number represents the 75 passengers and crew of the flight killed in the crash.
Just spoke w/ Marshall’s AD Mike Hamrick told me it’s been emotional day for guys but thankful for Tulsa’s support pic.twitter.com/hqwkJZ9dro
— Martina Del Bonta (@MartinaFOX23) November 14, 2013
Marshall is off to a fast start in the game tonight. The Thundering Herd are up 14-0 midway through the first quarter. Rakeem Cato has already gone over 140 passing yards and has three touchdown passes. Former Penn State wide receiver Devon Smith, who once ran in to Joe Paterno during practice to fracture the coach’s hip, has one touchdown and 65 receiving yards thus far. A win for Marshall tonight would put the Thundering Herd in a first-place tie in the division with East Carolina.