By: Clare Merryman
Thomas Eubank, number 32 on the field, a starting linebacker on the Marathon varsity football team, plays an important role. He is one of the Dolphins’ team captains. One of his larger responsibilities is to make sure all the players are ready and warmed up before each game and practice. More importantly, he says, “My job is to be there for all my teammates whenever they might be struggling.” Teammate Jinn Mann backs this statement up, saying of Eubank, “He is someone who puts his effort fully into the game. Even when everyone else is down, he is there to pump up the team.”
Apart from being a star on the field, Eubank has been a winning participant on Marathon’s boys weightlifting team the last three years. In the most recent season he competed in districts and placed 3rd, advancing to regionals. This upcoming season he hopes to have similar if not better results. The time and effort he’s put into becoming a bigger and stronger athlete has made him that much better of a player. The stats from the Sept. 3 game certainly show it: Eubank had a forced fumble, fumble recovery, and interception. “I’ve worked hard all offseason,” he said, “gaining physical strength, and have even worked on accomplishing 230 pounds, a new PR on bench. With that I’ve also come to understand the responsibilities of being part of a team.”
Eubank, now a junior, has been on the team for two years. He cheerfully adds how he’s more than glad that his coach, Mac Childress, encouraged him to join the team. He explains how after joining, he fell right in love with how physical the sport was. “I love hitting people!” he said. He wants to be sure to thank his coaches by saying, “You’ve driven me to be the athlete I am today, and have taught me a lot of what I know on and off the field.”
Eubank is unsure of where football will take him after high school, but said he looks forward to his last two years of dedication to the team.
Eubank assures fans that he is ready for what this season will bring, and starting the season off with a win on Sept. 3 was just what the team needed to get them geared for victories to come.
