Chance Marsh was a strong contributor to the Newton Falls football program on both sides of the ball as a senior in 2011.
The 5-foot-9, 185-pounder led the Tigers in rushing and also topped them with 87 tackles as an outside linebacker. His efforts earned him recognition on the All-American Conference Blue team as well as all-Trumbull County.
Marsh will continue his athletic and academic careers on the collegiate level as he has elected to attend Walsh University, a NAIA Division II school in Canton.
"I really narrowed it down to Walsh and John Carroll," said Marsh, who was also being recruited by Baldwin-Wallace, Capital and Allegheny. "On my visits to each school Walsh felt like a perfect fit. The team and coaching staff were a good fit for me."
"Chance is a blue-collar player," said former Newton Falls coach Greg Lazzari. "He was an overachiever for us. He played linebacker and fullback. In our triple option he took a beating but he stayed in play after play. He did a good job for us."
Marsh said he plans to play linebacker for Walsh.
"I've always liked the defensive side of the ball more," he said.
Both Lazzari and Marsh picked the same game when they were asked to select Marsh's best performance.
"My senior year homecoming game against LaBrae (on Oct. 7)," Marsh said. "I had a touchdown that tied the game (in the fourth quarter), I had an interception, and I scored a touchdown in overtime that led to the game-winning 2-point conversion (in a 28-27 victory)."
"When we played Champion he was a big factor in the win there," Lazzari said. "As a junior he was a tremendous running threat throughout the season. In overtime against LaBrae he really stood out. He had a touchdown that put us into overtime."
Marsh's performance helped the Tigers achieve one of their two victories last season.
"I think he'll be successful because he's coachable," Lazzari said. "He has got a great work ethic and he's a kid that in a couple years will be a good player for them."
Marsh said he plans on majoring in pharmacy at Walsh.
"I plan to go to medical school because I want to be a pharmacist," he said. "I want to thank my coaching staff for helping me and pushing to toward Walsh."
