Daily Pilot Player of the Week, Marshall Hendricks: The Marshall

Plan

Barry Faulkner

When Marshall Hendricks transferred to Estancia from Edison midterm

last year, he said he immediately felt welcome.

Some eight months later, he has found a new place to experience the

comforts of home -- the end zone.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior, who played basketball and ran track for

the Eagles as a sophomore, exploded for 309 all-purpose yards and scored

four touchdowns in his Estancia football debut.

His effort, which included two interceptions and 26 points, the latter

matching the single-game output of Jeff Perry in 1996 which is believed

to be a school record, helped Estancia hammer Magnolia, 35-0, ending a

six-game losing streak. It also earned Hendricks Daily Pilot Football

Player of the Week recognition.

Hendricks was expected to spend the first few series on the sideline, as

punishment for missing a practice when family travel plans left him

stranded out of town. But when teammate Andy Romo broke his helmet on the

opening kickoff, Hendricks got the call and wasted little time seeking

refuge in the shadow of the goal post.

On the third play, Hendricks broke 52 yards for a touchdown and the

Eagles never looked back. He added a 4-yard scoring run and two-point

conversion later in the first period, then returned an interception 75

yards to paydirt with 1:28 left in the half.

A 43-yard TD sprint in the third quarter added to his 218 rushing yards,

on just 14 carries, and put him on the path toward some lofty goals he

has set for himself this season.

“I want to get seven interceptions and score 37 touchdowns,” Hendricks

said. “I want to be all-county and all-league and I want our team to make

the playoffs.”

Supreme quickness, vision and determination should help Hendricks

approach those lofty standards, a notion Esancia Coach Dave Perkins does

not doubt.

Perkins has compared his wingback-cornerback favorably to Manu Tanielu,

the Newport-Mesa District and Daily Pilot Pacific Coast League MVP as a

senior last fall.

“He may be better than Manu,” Perkins said during spring practice, before

the former Edison receiver had adjusted to his backfield role in Perkins’

wing T.

Hendricks is also hoping a strong senior season can lead to a college

scholarship. He is receiving recruiting interest from several schools and

Perkins said Cal and Oregon have been most vigilent in wooing the future

collegiate defensive back or receiver.

“There’s more than casual interest and that (Magnolia) game wasn’t a bad

video to send to recruiters,” Perkins said.

Hendricks said he is completely comfortable in whatever role Perkins

places him. He cites field vision as his leading attribute as a

ballcarrier.

And though he would prefer to “stay away from the big boys,” on offense,

he has shown he is not afraid to instigate collisions on defense.

“I will lay a helmet on somebody,” he said. “It’s not so much about

having the body as it is having the heart.”

Though confident in his abilities, Hendricks is also quick to share

credit with his offensive line. And though new to the team, he is not shy

about assuming a leadership role.

“I try to be a leader on and off the field,” he said. “I told the guys

not to get too pumped up with one win, because that’s how many they won

last year. We need to keep doing what we’re doing.”

For his part, Hendricks plans to continue supplying highlights on both

sides of the ball.

“(Friday) was just the beginning,” he said. “There’ll be more touchdowns,

more interceptions, more happiness.”