Barabin, Hannum power Indians
The last time Marysville High tailback Michael Barabin was on the sidelines at War Memorial Stadium he was leaning on crutches.
After breaking his leg against Capital Christian High last season, Barabin had to watch his Indians go 3-7, a year after winning the school's first section title in 2008.
That memory was the furthest thing from the senior's mind on Friday night when he took the field for the first time since Oct. 30. The only thing he was concentrating on was crushing the Foresthill High Wildfires' defense.
After a 133-yard, three-touchdown performance, Barabin picked up right where he left off in 2009 and Marysville cruised to a 41-12 victory to begin the season.
"I wasn't concerned about my leg, I was more concerned with how our team was going to react," Barabin said. "I wondered if we would come out with intensity or flat, but everybody came out amped."
Marysville marched down the field 65 yards on its opening drive of the game, capped off by a goal-line plunge from Barabin.
The biggest play of that opening drive however came from sophomore man-child Cole Hannum, Barabin's new right-hand man.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound fullback blasted through the Foresthill defense for a 25-yard gain that set up Barabin's score.
With Hannum as a power runner to complement Barabin, the Marysville ground attack absolutely dominated Foresthill.
The Wildfires gave the Indians a bit of scare though after Travis Marshall returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown to cut Marysville's lead to 7-6.
Hannum answered right back on the next play from scrimmage with a 51-yard touchdown run to extend Marysville's lead to 14-6. He finished the night with 135 yards on 10 carries.
Marysville's defense helped tremendously by causing four turnovers, including an interception by senior Fernando Mendoza in the third quarter that set up Barabin's third rushing touchdown of the night.
"My offensive line and (Hannum) opened up great holes for me," Barabin said. "Our intensity this year is incredible. Everybody feeds off each other."
Fourth-year coach Cullen Meyer is 1-0 to begin a season for the first time in his tenure, but wasn't enthusiastic about his team's performance.
Despite the margin of victory, Marysville committed eight penalties and two turnovers. The Indians only led 7-0 at halftime after penalties pushed them backwards out of the red zone in the second quarter.
"I'm hoping we got those first-game kinks out because we had a lot of them tonight," Meyer said. "We know there is a lot we need to work on. Luckily, we have two weeks to get ready for Wheatland."
Marysville's junior varsity lost 20-7 to Foresthill.
