Marshall Democrat-News: High School Sports: Two Owls sign with Valley

Missouri Valley College has signed recent Marshall High School graduates Cody Hodges and Cory McComas to a NAIA football letters-of-intent.

Despite missing one game due to injury, Hodges -- a 5-foot-10, 185-pound linebacker -- led the Owls with 67 total tackles last season to earn all-NCMC second team honors. He also was tops on the team with 13 tackles for losses, four forced fumbles and seven stops on third- and fourth-down plays.

McComas [Order this photo]
Before junior Matt Jacobs emerged as a workhorse running back in mid-season, leading to his all-state selection, Hodges shared the load on offense with 316 yards on 56 carries -- an average of 5.6 yards per rush -- and two touchdowns. He was also second on the team with eight receptions for 112 yards and two TDs.

McComas missed his senior season because of an injury, but remained one of Marshall's leaders after starting the previous two years -- often on both the offensive and defensive lines. In eight games on defense as a junior, the 5-11, 220-pounder -- who made the all-conference team in baseball this spring -- had 36 tackles, 10 behind the line of scrimmage.

The Vikings are coming off a 7-3 campaign which saw them fall short of the NAIA playoffs, despite their preseason No. 3 ranking, after reaching the semifinal round the previous two seasons.