Marcus’ offseason is officially underway, and there are already questions at quarterback.

    The Marauders – fresh off a 41-17 loss to Cedar Hill in the area round of the Class 5A playoffs – do not have a replacement for the graduating tandem of Brode Boyd and Brad L’Huillier, this according to head coach Bryan Erwin.

    “It’s our biggest concern,” said Erwin, who had Marcus in the playoffs for the third consecutive season and is 2-3 in those playoff games. “In my 15 years of coaching I’ve never had this big a question mark at quarterback. We just don’t have anyone right now; there isn’t a lot of depth.”

    This is a surprising revelation for a program that since its inception has churned out quarterbacks almost in assembly-line like fashion – two of the more notable being Chris Sanders and Spencer Stack. But since Erwin came on board three years ago, the Marauders switched from a pass-happy approach to a more grind-it-out, tough-nosed rushing offense – thus churning out stellar running backs one after another. Stephen Hopkins was the main horse, but was spelled by the duo of Rufus Mason and Dagan Newsome. Both will return next season to replace the graduating Hopkins.

    “And we have a sophomore that we really like as well, so while we are definitely going to miss Stephen, we have plenty of capable running backs coming back,” Erwin said. “I’m not worried at all about the running back position going forward.”

    Finding the right quarterback is of the upmost importance. Though Marcus is a run-first team, it needs a top-flight quarterback to give the team more weapons in playoffs. Last week, Brode Boyd completed 14 of his 20 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown.

    This kept the game close as Cedar Hill had a slim 17-10 lead heading into the second half. Marcus drove down the field with ease to open the third quarter but was eventually snuffed out when Boyd was hit as he dropped back to throw. The ball came loose and Cedar Hill recovered.

    “It just unraveled from there,” Erwin said. “I’m proud of the way the boys fought, we never quit. But we fumbled three times and that’s what cost us.”

    Marcus hadn’t fumbled a single time all season.

    For the game, Marcus proved to be very balanced as it rushed for 169 yards and threw for 160. But Cedar Hill was simply too much. It was the second year in a row that Marcus was eliminated by an unbeaten team. Last year, Trinity dropped Marcus in the first round.    

    “We lost four games to four quality teams, all of which are still playing right now,” Erwin said. “The kids came together and believed in one another. We don’t have any regrets.”