Marquez Fields; I Just Came to Play!
It seemed like a stretch at the time.
In the pages of this publication back in the August high school football preview issue, Norview Head Coach Robert Toran was quoted as saying that, "If [his Norview team] can be 2-0 and win against Booker T. [Washington] then that will get everyone else to take notice."
It was easy to question Coach Toran's optimism then, as his Pilot's team had won only one game last season and finished second to last in the Eastern District.
But after a good summer training camp with his team, Toran remained confident going into the regular season. The Pilots won their opener at home against Kings Fork, they went on the road in week two and defeated Gloucester and came back home and knocked off Booker T. to start the season an impressive 3-0.
And just like Coach Toran predicted, everyone else began to take notice. There were articles in the newspapers. The team was locally ranked, and there just seemed to be a genuine buzz about Norview football again for the first time in a long time.
So what is the difference in 2006? What is the catalyst for such a drastic reversal of fortunes for a program that seemed left for dead only a year ago? "Everyone else" knew about Norview's stand-out tight-end Tolbert Matthews. "Everyone else" knew about last year's 2nd Team All-District wide receiver Delonte Epps.
And even though those guys are continuing to put up big numbers and help lead the team, the one guy that "everyone else" did not know about was junior running back Marquez Fields.
"It feels good," Fields, 16, says about the Pilots' solid start in 2006. "Everybody doubted us and we've come through big."
Fields, who also wrestles for Norview, spent much of last season on the bench for the varsity squad as a sophomore but is making the most of his opportunity to start this season. He was the first Pilot to go over 100 yards rushing in a single game in over two years in the week one win over Kings Fork.
Apparently once wasn't good enough for Fields as he rattled off two more 100 yard games against Gloucester and Booker T. in the following weeks and is well on his way to 1,000 rushing yards on the season, something Fields says is a personal goal. "Ever since I've been playing football, I knew I could run with it," he says, "I have a passion for [the game]."
His coach welcomes that passion. "He is a very dedicated athlete and is intense, mentally and physically tough," Toran says of his tailback. "He has the ability to score on each play."
Opponents are beginning to realize his playmaking ability as well, but Fields doesn't see the sudden attention as a source of pressure for him and his teammates. "It's a compliment to the team," he says, "People are starting to look up to us instead of saying that we are losers."
Fields knows it's a long season and that the Norview Pilots still have a lot of work to do to accomplish their team goal of making a playoff appearance, but he appears to be content with just playing football and enjoying the ride. "I just came to play," he says, "I'm laid-back and quiet, just keeping out of trouble."
He might be keeping out of trouble, but what Marquez Fields doesn't realize is the trouble that he causes for "everyone else" in the region.
