John’s Journal: A Day To Remember For The Marshall Tigers

For 105 high school football players from Marshall High School, spending six hours on chartered buses Thursday was a spectacular experience. Oh sure, there was a chance to catch up on sleep after a 6:45 departure from their hometown in southwest Minnesota, and more zzzzzs were captured on the ride home. But the time between those naps was filled with lifelong memories.

Their destination was Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center in Eagan, home of the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings will host the San Francisco 49ers in a preseason game Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the 49ers worked out with the Vikings on Wednesday and Thursday.

Everyone in Marshall knew what that meant: 2018 Marshall graduate Trey Lance, the second-year 49ers quarterback, would be back in his home state. The Vikings got everything rolling a week earlier by contacting Marshall coach Terry Bahlman and inviting the team to visit, with the Vikings paying the transportation costs. When Lance heard about it, he offered to cover the cost of the Tigers’ meals.

The current Marshall seniors were in seventh grade when Lance, 22, played his final year of high school football and basketball.

“The guys were cheering when we found out,” said senior quarterback Tyler Maeyaert. “It got into a group chat and everyone's just freaking out and we're like, ‘No way we're going to go see the Vikings next week and see Trey.’

“We’ve always looked up to him. And it's just amazing to see where he's at.”

During a brief and illustrious college career at North Dakota State, Lance led the Bison to a national championship as a redshirt freshman in 2019. He was the third player taken in the 2021 NFL draft and received a signing bonus of more than 22 million dollars.

He saw action in six regular-season games as a rookie last year, starting two games. This season, he is San Francisco’s No. 1 quarterback. On Thursday Lance led the 49ers’ offense against the Vikings defense, with the reverse taking place on an adjoining field as a large crowd of fans watched from bleachers. The Marshall contingent was treated like VIPs; they were allowed to stand on the field and were given vouchers by the Vikings for food and drinks at concession locations.

The Tigers’ exposure to the NFL was not limited to watching their school’s former star. They also met with former Vikings Ben Leber and Chad Greenway, both natives of South Dakota.

“Soak up these moments,” Leber told the Tigers. Greenway reminded them that “You can come from anywhere and accomplish anything. Trey is proof of that.”

Greenway also talked about his experiences as a multi-sport high school athlete, saying his memories of competing with kids he grew up with rank higher than what he did playing football in the Big Ten at the University of Iowa as well as in the NFL.

Following the two-hour practice, Lance spent time with the kids from his hometown. He hugged Bahlman and the two chatted for a few moments. “I just told him I’m proud of him for everything he does on and off the field,” Bahlman said. “And I told him to have fun.”

After hugging Bahlman’s wife, Jan, the assistant coaches and one of the bus drivers, Trey traded fist bumps with players, posed for a group photo and then signed autographs and took selfies while San Franciso reporters interviewed Bahlman.

After Lance departed, the Vikings brought in hometown Minnesotans Ben Ellefson (Hawley), C.J. Ham (Duluth) and other players to meet with the Tigers.

It was a lot.

“It was unbelievable,” said senior wide receiver Omar Abdi. “I didn't know if it was true or not. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's really fun.”

Senior running back Chidi Nwakama said, “It's almost unbelievable. I never really thought it would happen. But it did happen. Anything can happen.”

Bahlman said he didn’t know what to expect. “It was first class from the Vikings all the way through. Getting Trey and some Vikings to come over to our kids and get autographs and pictures; a lot of our kids wouldn’t normally get the chance to do anything like this.

“There’s nothing to compare it to. For an NFL team to reach out and do something like this for us, it’s really special. It’s something our kids will remember forever.”

After boarding their buses, the Tigers made the short drive to Eagan High School for a practice. Bahlman knew everyone would be too worn out to practice by the time they arrived home, 12 hours after leaving.

“The practice was not as focused as usual but we got some work in,” he said with a smile.

Football parents ordered pizzas for the traveling party, to be picked up in Glencoe with costs covered by the 49ers’ young quarterback. And for the rest of the ride home? “They’ll be sleeping,” Bahlman said.

The kids from Marshall will be back on their own practice field at 8 a.m. Friday.

Sleep well, Tigers.

--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at [email protected]