Marshall Band in hot water after Houston game...

[Pheud]

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – The Cougars have been tempting the fates for the past few weeks, but on Tuesday they finally dug themselves a hole they couldn’t climb out of.

No, this time Marshall buried them, running away with a 37-23 victory before 20,716 shivering fans at Joan C. Edwards Stadium, the Herd’s highest-scoring game of the season.

While temperatures plunged into the 30s, nothing was colder than the Cougars’ offense, which played yet another lethargic first half, digging themselves yet another deep, deep hole. But this time there would be no barrage of second-half points. No last-second plays to pull out the seemingly impossible win.

But the loss, their first in Conference USA play, wasn’t the worst the worst thing to happen to the Cougars on this night.

Indeed, even worse than the scoreboard was the Cougars’ injury report – they first lost tackle Josh Bell, himself a replacement for starter SirVincent Rogers, to a torn Achilles tendon, and they later lost Patrick Edwards, an impact wide receiver, to a horrible incident in the third quarter.

Edwards, running out of the end zone as he tried to track down a long pass from Blake Joseph, ran into a band equipment cart that for reasons that remain unclear were parked just beyond the out-of-bounds line. The impact, captured by ESPN’s cameras, caused a compound fracture of Edwards’ right leg.

Cougars’ coach Kevin Sumlin said that while he had “his opinions” on the subject, he would offer no comment on such a dangerous situation. University of Houston athletics director Dave Maggard said he will pursue the subject with Marshall officials.

“It was duly noted and I think we’ll save the conversation for another day,” Maggard said. “I don’t think there is any question that it is a problem. We all noticed it, and we want to find out why something like that would occur. It was a serious injury, no question about it.”

So,what happened is, we had our steel carts behind the endzone that transports our guard equiptment...we've had it like this for atleast two seasons without incident until tonight.Basically the quaterback overthrows the receiver and he runs into the carts full speed...pretty bad.I'm putting a video of it on here.Any opionions would be greatly appreciated.Theirs already rumbles about MU getting sued,along with the band,and the firing of the staff.I dunno how far it will go,but it'd be nice to get others viewpoints.Thanks!

DISCLAIMER: NOT FOR THE WEAK HEARTED!

[NinjaBaker]

my honest opinion?
Those carts should not have been parked there. Its an accident waiting to happen.
that stuff should have been well clear of the field.

[Tales From Band Camp]

IMO those carts shouldn't have been there. They are way too big and take up too much room.

Something similar happened to a high school football player in South Georgia a few weeks ago.

The incident happened Friday night during the Winnersville Classic, a big rivalry game between the Valdosta Wildcats and the Lowndes County Vikings. About four minutes before half-time, number 24 for the Wildcats, Johnathan Mitchell, was trying to tackle number 24 for the Vikings when he fell into the temporary metal fencing along the sidelines. That fencing was a prop used by the Lowndes County band, who was preparing for their half time show.

Mitchell's helmet got caught in the fencing and first responders had to cut his face mask off. Mitchell was complaining of numbness and was taken to South Georgia Medical Center. Doctors there say he suffered spinal cord bruising. He has been treated and released from the hospital. Valdosta school officials say Mitchell is up and walking around.

WCTV hasn't been able to reach Mitchell just yet to find out how this will effect his football career. Local residents are very concerned. Some say the sidelines were overcrowded and the props should have not been there. School officials say they plan to review those concerns.

www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/30891679.html

Supposedly the fencing was very sharp (barbwire type) and pretty dangerous if someone ran into them full speed. I'm a supporter of band programs (duh!), but at the same time, until halftime starts, the football field should be clear of anything extraneous that's not a part of the game itself that could injure the players.

I could see where the school could be sued for not making sure the playing environment was safe.

[Pheud]

The thing about all of this though, is this is where the atheletic department wants us to park our stuff so it will not clutter up the rest of the stadium. I'm not trying to defend, because they shouldn't have been there, but just trying to provide some more insight.

[Tales From Band Camp]

I guess after thinking about it a little more, it would depend if there are NCAA rules in place that specify how far away from the field of play that must be clear of possible hazards. I don't know if that is the case or not, but I would think it would be the responsibility of the athletic department to make sure that has been done for each game.

Personally, I don't think anyone should be fired for something like this. It was an accident and no one intended for the Houston player to be hurt. I could see there being a deal between the two universities to pay for medical costs, etc. to avoid a lawsuit.

[Pheud]

Just a little update guys

Patrick Edwards, the guy who fractured his leg on the band carts, is pursuing legal action against Marshall University. He is still contemplating on whether or not he should file a lawsuit against the band aswell.