By NICK YAMASHITA
The Progress
“Respect. Honor. Service.”
This sub-motto of the Merchant Marines is expressed proudly in Moapa Valley High School 2020 alumnus Hayden Redd, who currently is playing football for the Division III team.
The former 2019 All-State Defensive End and 2020 2nd All-State fullback for the Pirates has become an integral part of the option play of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). Redd has retained his old high school position of fullback for the Mariners.
“It is so good to be able to play football again,” said Redd, who is one of several runningbacks taking handoffs for the Mariners in their triple option offense.
In the 2020-21 season, the USMMA only played one game against their rival, The United States Coast Guard Academy, which they won 24-14 on November 14, 2020. The Mariners had two 100 yard rushers in the game as they secured the victory of the Secretaries Cup.
“It is nice to be more in a regular football season,” said Redd. “It is different and unique, especially with the military lifestyle. Much more difficult, especially in classes.”
The USMMA is known to be a top college in academics, matching up academically with such schools as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and others. The USMMA is known as a federal service academy that trains students to be vital for the security and safety of U.S. ships as fully licensed Merchant Marine Officers and commissioned officers in the Armed Forces.
“I originally applied for the US Coast Guard since my older brother was in the Coast Guard,” said Redd. “I applied here as a back-up plan. I got accepted here, did a school visit as well as the coaches helped me with the whole process and I absolutely enjoyed it. That is how I ended up here in Kings Point in the Long Island area.”
So far this season, Redd has rushed the ball 9 times for 51 yards as fullback with 1 assisted tackle on defense, helping the Mariners to be undefeated so far this season at 5-0, with crushing defeats of FDU-Florham (49-27), SUNY Maritime (56-7), Kean (56-7), and Norwich (49-14) with a close victory over WPI (31-28).
The Mariners have four games left. The next one is against MIT (1-2), then Catholic (4-2) followed by Springfield (2-3) with the big regular season-ending match against the US Coast Guard Academy (2-4) for the Secretaries Cup on November 13 during the Veteran’s Day Weekend. That game will be streamed on ESPN3.
Hayden Redd is the son of John and Amanda Redd of Logandale. He is the one of the middle boys of 6 boys; JR, Bo, Gunnar, Tyson, Brody, and himself.
“With 2 older brothers and 3 younger brothers, I grew up fighting, wrestling, playing sports, being super competitive, and we were always taught to be prepared,” said Hayden. “This really helped me adjust to this new military life in New York and playing college ball.”
Hayden is gearing up to be a Marine Engineer and aims to accomplish his goals of passing all of his classes and continue helping his team however he can and improve while doing so.
He also expressed thanks to his parents and his coaches, especially Ryan Anderson. Hayden gave a special shout-out to his younger brother Gunner, a current Pirate player, to keep up the hard work. In the end he gave some words of advice to the younger generation of athletes.
“Keep working hard and thrust everything you got in to get things done and to be successful in life,” he said. “But never forget the ones who helped lead the way for your success.”
