“20 plus years in the NFL, I’ve met so many people, especially coaches in Oklahoma and Texas and Stuff. And they say ‘oh, where are you from?’ and you say Wichita Falls,” said former Hirschi standout Marvin Allen. “And they ask, ‘did you go to Rider or Old High?’ and I’m like, no I went to Hirschi.” 

While Hirschi is sometimes overlooked, playing for the Huskies was a dream for Allen, and being back at Memorial Stadium took him on a walk down memory lane.

“When I was little league for the Wolverines, this is where they played the Toy Bowl at,” Allen said. “So, this was the dream to just make it to this stadium, everybody wanted to play. And then when I got to junior high, we played here on through high school. So, you almost feel like you’re apart of the stadium.” 

While at Hirschi from 1980-84, Allen lettered in all four sports, while serving as senior class president. But his heart was in football, where he lead the district in rushing yards and tackles in his junior and senior seasons.

“I think my 8th grade year, they were 3-8 or 2-9 or something, then when I became a freshman, that was the first senior class that went 10-0. And I think for the next 15 years, Hirschi didn’t lose in district.” 

His fondest memory…

“Some people may not like this, but it had to be being a 4A school beating Rider and Old High. And I think my senior year, we made it all the way to 4th in the state. That was good because it was guys that I went to elementary and junior high and to come up and us have a really good team was really good.” 

Allen received a scholarship to play at Tulane University, in New Orleans and was drafted in the 11th round to the New England Patriots, where he spent 4 seasons.

Today he’s an NFL scout for the Buffalo Bills, but in between his busy schedule he finds time to come back to cheer on his Huskies.

“I think I was doing a Texas Tech/Oklahoma State game that Saturday. It was a long drive, but I had to make sure I was here to watch Hirschi play. Coach asked me to speak to the team and I just wanted those kids to know that it’s a lot of people that went to Hirschi, that hey we watch.” 

“Sometimes, you think you’re playing and nobody’s really watching or the kids don’t realize that people that played at this school 10,15, 20 years ago are still watching and still keep up with it. I live in Houston now and I know a lot of people keep up with the Houston schools, and I’m always like well you know we play good ball up in North Texas, too.” 

Now he has his eyes set on doing more than just watching.

“When I first got to Hirschi, the weight room we had was brand new. It was so small, it’s just a locker room now. So, things and times have changed.” 

“So, I said it’s a few alumni, that have played either basketball or football at Hirschi that really care about the program. So hey, let’s get together and see if we can raise some money and hopefully we can get it done.” 

Allen wants to give back to the school he says made him into the man he is today and the place that helped kick off a two decades long career working on and off the football field.

Allen said he hopes the Hirschi Huskies will have a new weight room in the coming months.