Osbourn senior Marcus Hyde took it all in, wide-eyed and with a smile that lit up the field at Freedom High on Saturday afternoon.
As his teammates celebrated their convincing 42-20 victory over Chantilly in the Virginia Group AAA Division 6 state final, the whole thing felt unreal. The Gatorade dumped on Osbourn coach Steve Schultze.
The chant of “state champs” reigning down from the thousands who made the cross-county trip from Manassas.
Finally hoisting the championship trophy with his teammates.
It was a scene thought so far-fetched a couple of years ago that Hyde had never even bothered to visualize what it would be like.
Why waste the time?
“I never saw any of this coming. Never dreamed of it,” Hyde said. “I still remember when we won three games [in 2004] and it was actually considered a big improvement.”
Hyde saw firsthand how down Osbourn’s program was when older brother Gary quit the team rather than endure the misery of back-to-back 0-10 seasons in 2000 and 2001. After moving to Manassas from Miami with his family in fourth grade, everything Hyde knew about Osbourn football was bad.
“Then we started winning,” Hyde said, “and that all changed for us.”
The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder was understandably overshadowed by teammate Brandon Hogan (West Virginia). But make no mistake, the Eagles could not have won the school’s first state title without him. Hyde was one of the most versatile players in Northern Virginia. Osbourn used him as a pass-rushing defensive end, linebacker, and even wide receiver early in the season. By season’s end he was a vicious blocking back for Hogan.
“All Marcus wants to do is hit people,” Hogan said. “He doesn’t care if it’s the biggest, baddest person out there. He’ll smack them in the mouth every time.”
Hyde and seek
» Osbourn senior LB/RB Marcus Hyde was named the Northwest Region defensive player of the year.
» Hyde has drawn recruiting interest from high Division I schools like Virginia, Virginia Tech, Stanford and Navy, along with a host of Division I-AA programs. None have come through with a scholarship offer yet, although Osbourn coach Steve Schultze believes one will soon.
» Hyde sacked Chantilly QB Nate Worek three times in the state final victory and twice forced a fumble. Both turnovers led to Osbourn TDs. Hyde also tipped a pass that was intercepted.
