On a dank, rainy evening in mid-November 1970, a Southern Airways jet carrying the Marshall football team home to Huntington, West Virginia, after a disappointing 17-14 loss at East Carolina, crashed just short of Tri-State Airport. Killed were 37 players, 33 staff members, coaches and boosters, and the five-person crew of the DC-9. A team of promise was gone in an instant. relates the true and inspiring story of how Marshall and a shocked community rebounded from the tragedy. Led by coach Jack Lengyel, the Thundering Herd became the Young Herd, a group of overachievers that improbably won two games in their first season and started Marshall on its long road back to respectability. will make you weep and cheer. It's a tribute to those who sacrificed and those who persevered. But, most of all, is a story of overcoming long odds and making it to the top.