The Centralia Orphans (IÂ’m not making up the team name) went 1-8 last year during the high school football season. But earlier this week, several members of the team proved themselves to be winners of a different sort.

Eleven members of the Centralia High School varsity football team are being credited with saving a mechanic's life by lifting a pickup that had crushed him after it slid off a hydraulic lift.

The injured mechanic, Ed Marsh, 33, was in serious condition Tuesday at St. Louis University Hospital, where doctors had placed him in a coma to treat his injuries.

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Marsh, a married father of three, had been working Saturday morning at ExpertTire in Centralia when the Ford F-150 pickup slipped off the lift.

At the time, 11 Centralia football players were collecting used tires on ExpertTire's rear parking lot as part of a community cleanup.

Travis Patten, 16, one of the players, said: "We were throwing tires into the back of a semi when some guy came running over from the Sonic (restaurant) next door. He said, 'We need all you guys to help us. There's a guy trapped underneath a truck.'"

Without hesitation, the boys sprinted around to the front of the garage. In one of the bays, they saw several tire company employees straining to keep as much of the truck's weight as possible off of Marsh. The back half of the truck was still resting on the hydraulic lift.

All that could be seen of Marsh were his legs.

"I grabbed under the driver's tire," said Patten, who stands 5 feet 9 and weighs 135 pounds. "The rest of the players grabbed all around the front.

"We got it up, and they were able to scoot him out."

The other team members involved in the rescue were Jarren Baker, Tyler McAbee, Kyle Pender, Darren Whitelow, Travis Arnold, Lucas Waters, Marquise Shackleford, Nathan Berry, Marcus Currie and T.J. Erlinger.

Well done, men – this is the sort of victory that transcends any you might win on the playing field.

Posted by: Greg at 12:53 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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