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Marshall duo propels Tigers to best start in the state

By Trevor Squire, SportsEngine, 09/28/17, 1:45PM CDT

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Jefferson Lee V and Trey Lance led Marshall to the state's most dominant start, outscoring competition 257-0 through four games.


Jefferson Lee V (15) and Trey Lance (9) have led Marshall to two state tournaments since their sophomore year and aim to reach the state title game this fall. Photo courtesy of Roger Schroeder/photoagape.com

Marshall quarterback Trey Lance and running back Jefferson Lee V first met through football, but the Tigers’ talented backfield tandem happened to be on opposite sides of the field.

Lance and Lee's sixth-grade teams played in a ceremonial third-place game at old Mattke Field, where Southwest Minnesota State’s football team played from 1971-2008 before a new stadium was built on campus.

Lee's team won on a last-second play, but any chances of animosity evaporated quickly when they played together in middle school and went undefeated for the next three seasons. 

"They've played together since at least seventh grade. Neither of them have a big ego," Marshall coach Terry Bahlmann said of Lee and Lance.

Six years later, the senior duo’s dominance has remained true. Lee and Lance carried the southwestern Minnesota program to back-to-back Class 4A state tournaments since its only other appearance in 1991 and have never lost at home since both players started on offense.

Marshall, ranked second in the Class 4A Associated Press poll, has run roughshod through the South Central Red subdistrict through the first four weeks of the regular season. The Tigers are the highest-scoring team in the state, averaging 64.3 points per game. Even more impressive, the Tigers have yet to surrender a single point this season.

Lee’s been one of the most electrifying athletes in Minnesota since his sophomore year. He's led the state in regular-season rushing touchdowns the past two seasons and has 85 total touchdowns in his career.

Breakneck speed is something he’s always relied on, but this offseason, he put on 20 pounds and has focused on developing his pass-catching skills. Now standing 5-foot-8 and pushing 200 pounds, defenders’ past fears of being left in a cloud of dust along the sidelines have evolved to nightmares of being run over and dragged down the middle of the field in his relentless pursuit for the end zone.

“Having [Lee] in the backfield, we can run something we need 5 yards for and it can go 80 really fast,” Lance said.

That was evident in Marshall’s 70-0 season-opening win over Albert Lea, where Lee took both his catches for touchdowns and added two more TDs on the ground. Lee has thrived in the team's Slot-T offense, but Lance’s emergence has expanded Bahlmann’s playbook. 

A 6-foot-2, 180-pound dual-threat quarterback who’s committed to North Dakota State, Lance has transformed a once one-dimensional team into a schematic enigma.

Marshall running back Jefferson Lee V has been the state's top scoring rusher the past two seasons and aims to bring the Tigers to a third straight state tournament Photo by Drew Herron, SportsEngine

Marshall running back Jefferson Lee V has been the state's top scoring rusher the past two seasons and aims to bring the Tigers to a third straight state tournament. Photo by Drew Herron, SportsEngine

The quest continues

Lance's father, Carlton, is a former defensive back that played in the Canadian Football League and World League before serving as defensive coordinator for Southwest Minnesota State University in the early 2000s. A proponent of the “defensive back mentality,” Lance's father has coached him to view the game on both sides of the ball as not just the team's starting quarterback, but as a starting safety as well.

"We need to be the playmakers on the field. I need to have that mentality that I need to do everything I can being the last line on defense," Lance said.

His heightened football IQ has allowed the Tigers to spread opposing defenses out. This season, Lance has thrown for 745 yards and nine touchdowns and has yet to throw an interception. However, his poise in the pocket didn’t happen overnight.

Against Belle Plaine in the 2015 regular season finale, Lance was thrown into the game after starting quarterback, Thomas Fischer, dislocated his elbow in the fourth quarter. Lance drove the team down the field and into scoring territory, but threw an interception that lost the game.

Through 31 regular season games the Tigers have played dating back to 2013, the Belle Plaine game was the only Marshall loss.

“I threw a slant and it got picked off and we lost the game because of that play,” Lance said. “Coming in as a sophomore and all the seniors, of course they're going to say 'it's okay, it's not your fault,' but you know that's something you never want to feel again.”

Lance overcame that disappointment in the postseason, leading Marshall to its first section championship in 24 years before being the Tigers were overwhelmed and fell to Stewartville 35-7. Lance threw two interceptions in the loss.

The next year, Lance grew four inches and matured as a leader, taking the Tigers to U.S. Bank Stadium where Marshall fell in the state semifinals.

“We're hungry. We were close last year—tied with Benilde at the half,” Lance said, mentioning the Tigers’ 44-34 loss to eventual Class 4A state champion, Benilde-St. Margaret’s.  “Now we need to take that next step."


Dual-threat quarterback Trey Lance committed to North Dakota State over the offseason. Photo by Drew Herron, SportsEngine

Rested and one step ahead

Bahlmann's biggest concern this offseason was the Tigers defense, which returned only three starters from last year. Marshall put those worries to rest quickly in Week 2's 58-0 win over Belle Plaine.

Lee was surprised he barely saw the second quarter of the game, given his team was up 21-0 after the first frame.

The offense ran just two plays, a short touchdown run by Lee and a passing touchdown from Lance to Nick Klaith 16 seconds later following a three-and-out by Belle Plaine. The defense stayed on the field the rest of the quarter which saw Lance return a blocked field goal attempt for a touchdown and Klaith take a punt return 62 yards for a TD.

The defense has forced 13 turnovers so far this season.

While Lee hasn't had the same jaw-dropping stat lines given he's played only the first half of most games, he's enjoyed getting rest and watching reserve players take over in the second half of games and see equal success.

"Not only are we getting a break, but everyone else is getting reps and that's how our program builds and stays strong," Lee said. "Young players getting in and playing the game. So we have someone experienced beyond 22 guys."

Marshall faces its toughest test of the regular season this weekend when it goes against No. 7-4A Waseca, which also plays in Class 4A, Section 2.

Often discredited for playing smaller schools through the regular season, the meeting with the Bluejays at home is a game the Tigers (4-0, 4-0) have waited for because of its reminisce of the playoffs where the stadium has been packed with crowds up to 5,000 people.

A win could secure a top seed in sections and potentially a home field advantage in the section title game.

"We have to keep doing what we’ve been doing. You see scores from our game, those portray what we’re capable of," Lee said. "We have to get better and adapt to different situations."

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