The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Sports Front

October 16, 2011

MU’s Curry plays with heavy heart

AROUND THE HORN: By Gary Fauber Assistant Sports Editor

HUNTINGTON — Really, it looked like the kind of performance Vinny Curry has put forth all season.

The final stats certainly had a ring of familiarity. Curry had 3 1/2 sacks, four tackles for loss, nine stops overall, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Sure sounds like an award-winning week.

But a deeper look makes Curry’s effort in Saturday’s 24-20 win over Rice look even more inspiring.

Curry was playing with the heaviest of hearts. His mother passed away early in the week after a battle with cancer. Curry spent most of the week with his family in Neptune, N.J., and didn’t get back to Huntington until Friday night.

He was comforted Friday by his football family and had support in the crowd from his mother’s sister.

“I was trying to get the game ball for (my mother),” Curry said. “For my auntie to come out here and support me, with everything that is going on ... That’s her sister. She’s going through this, too.”

It’s tough to imagine being able to play football under those circumstances. But Curry found the strength from the source he can always go to.

“Before the game, I asked God to send me a sign and let me know if my mom made it there safely,” Curry said. “If that was the answer, then praise God. I just wanted to help my team as much as possible. It’s affected those guys (his teammates), too, in practice. But they uplifted me every day. They are my brothers. They gave me a shoulder to lean on.”

What Curry was able to do was not lost on Marshall head coach Doc Holliday.

“He means so much to his teammates and coaches,” Holliday said. “He didn’t practice all week. He flew in here, and (defensive line coach) Fred (Tate) spent time with him, explaining to him what has been going on. All he did was go out there and get 3 1/2 sacks, four tackles for loss and nine tackles.

“That’s Vinny Curry.”

Curry made a believer of another opposing coach.

“Curry is an unbelievable defensive player,” Rice’s David Bailiff said.

Curry is well on his way to being named Conference USA’s Defensive Player of the Year. But his motivation comes not from awards, but from doing right by his mom.

“There’s nobody in this world that was stronger than my mother,” Curry said. “I just tried to stay strong and stay positive and show everybody the young man that she created. I know she’s proud of me, and she doesn’t want me to be sad.”

 

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