Marana
Fast Company: Marana Finishes Career Among the Greats
An early cup of coffee found Lee Marana a quiet, unassuming, and team-focused student-athlete. He was on the cusp of finishing both his football and academic careers, but he wanted to win the last game of the year over Findlay, finishing a six-game winning streak and sending the Huskies into 2007 without him but with momentum.
Tech would win that final game, and Marana would finish just five yards shy of becoming Tech's all-time leading rusher.
On this day, he was well aware of the Huskies whose company he is now keeping, having met both Jim VanWagner and Larry Ras, the 1970s legends. (VanWagner's son, Mike, is a sophomore defenseman for the Hockey Huskies.) Jeremy Monroe, from the 1990s, is now third on the all-time list, behind Marana and ahead of Ras.
But, his focus remained the 2006 season. "It was tough right away," he said of the 0-4 start. "We didn't play sixty minutes, didn't finish games. But we stuck in there, we were better in practice, and we turned it around."
And the new quarterback, Steve Short, didn't hurt either. After he took the helm, the Huskies were undefeated, and Marana credited Short's consistency, among other features. "He doesn't make many mistakes, he's fast on the draws and rollouts," he said.
The defense was also consistent, especially in the last weeks. They were tough in the red zone; they bent but didn't break. The offense helped by controlling the ball and giving the defense a rest. And the new head coach helped, too.
"Coach Kearly is one of the best coaches I've had," Marana said of the former offensive coordinator. "He's also a disciplinarian, but he's open-minded. He's been great."
Legends of the Fall
Lee Marana finished second in Michigan Tech's career rushing yardage behind Jim VanWagner (1973-76), far left; and ahead of Jeremy Monroe (1990-93), center; and Larry Ras (1968-71), right.
The feeling is mutual.
"As good as he is as a player, he's a better young man," Kearly says. "He had an unbelievable work ethic, a real lunch-box mentality. He put the chinstrap on every day, never complained. He was a feature back, a workhorse."
Both Kearly and Marana credited the offensive line, too. "They were obviously playing well," Kearly said. "They wanted him to get the record."
Beating Northern
When former coach Bernie Anderson returned to Houghton with the Northern Michigan football team, emotions were running high. Anderson took the Huskies to the GLIAC championship in 2004 and coached the Huskies for nineteen years, becoming Tech's winningest coach.
Marana's thoughts about the 42-14 Tech victory? "It felt good," he said. "We thought we could run the ball, but we dominated. It was nothing personal. I wanted to talk to Coach Anderson afterwards, but the whole team kind of jetted off."
It is one of his favorite memories, along with defeating teams "that said they don't have scholarship money for you." He also fondly recalled playing Northwood at home in the snow. "It was a blizzard," he said. "Lots of turnovers. It was intense! And we scored 54 points on them [to their 7]."
Overall, he "can't believe it's over," he said, adding that he had no regrets. "I've had great teammates and coaches throughout my career."
And what about choosing Tech over Northern, since he was from Ishpeming, and his cousin coached at Northern? "First I thought Tech was all engineering, but when I visited, it was great, very professional," he said. "I sat down with my advisor, Brad Wagner (of the School of Business and Economics), and decided I liked it overall."
His favorite professors included Joel Tuoriniemi, lecturer in business law and accounting, and Marie Buche, assistant professor, who taught most of his information systems classes. He has no career plans yet, other than interning next summer and finishing next fall.
Returning to football thoughts, he discussed the Tech backs with whom he now was ranked. Ras was the wide-open end-runner, and VanWagner was more like Marana, "north and south running, the way Coach Kearly wanted it," he said. "No dancing, just running." Monroe was a little of both, a speedster who could also go up the middle.
He was surprised, however, when told that, when VanWagner finished his career, he ranked in the national stratosphere of total yardage with the likes of Heisman Trophy winners Archie Griffin and Tony Dorsett.
And even though he finished close to VanWagner for all-time rushing leader, odds are he'll remain where he's most comfortable: on the ground, with or without a ball in his hands.