LaGrange turning the corner
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Sure the Panthers have started this season 4-1 and are one of the most pleasant surprises in Division III football this season, but after speaking with Mooney you get the feeling it's been more a matter of planning and commitment from the program's players, coaches and administrators.
"To us, I don't look at it as a turnaround," Mooney said. "I look at it as turning the corner.
The program, which started its first season in 2006, made an effort to bring in freshman and let them develop rather than seeking out transfers.
"We are very fortunate at LaGrange to have a great administration that wanted to make sure that we took the time to bring the right type of student-athlete here." Mooney said. "We knew that it was going to be tough for a year or two, but that once we got a nucleus of committed kids, that understood just exactly what this took that we'd be okay down the road."
This season, the Panthers have been more than just okay. In their first season in the Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, they are contenders for the conference crown after victories over Blackburn and MacMurray. They've also defeated non conference foes Birmingham Southern and Maryville, who won seven games last season. Their only loss was to NAIA Shorter.
"What's happening right now is due to a lot of hard work by some great assistant coaches and very, very committed young players," Mooney added.
Mooney doesn't point to one particular moment when his team turned the corner. It appears it has been a matter of experience gained in hard times and plain old hard work.
"We were close in a couple of games last year and didn't get there," he said. "It was something we had to learn from.
"I think it really gave us a lot of momentum going into the spring. Our guys worked very hard in the weight room and carried it through to the summer. There was a difference in their attitude when the came back in August. It was obvious they were a different group of people."
Currently, the Panther offense is averaging more than 360 yards and 41 points a game. The catalyst of the unit has been running back Mario Wallace. The junior, who put up over 1000 all-purpose yards in each of his first two seasons, has already posted 938 this season. The native of Dectaur, Ga., has scored in three different ways this season, five times on the ground, and with one pass reception and 63-yard punt return.
"He is not a big person (at 5-9 and 165 pounds,)" Mooney said. "He has very good feet and vision and when gets out in the open field and can break way from some people."
Mooney also credits the job that his offensive line has done not just in opening holes for Wallace but in protecting quarterback Drew Carter. Carter, a sophomore is his second season as the starter, is averaging 225 yards a game while passing for 11 touchdowns.
The defense and special teams have also been markedly improved. Last year, the Panthers allowed more than 30 points a game. However this season they have surrendered just 21 and an impressive 269 yards allowed per contest. A plus-two turnover margin per game hasn't hurt either.
"We've done a pretty good job offensively but the scoring has not been just that unit," Mooney said. "We scored quite a few times on defense as well as special teams.
"We've been able to get in the end zone in three different phases and that's helped us a lot."
The program has also benefited from being the only Division III program in the state of Georgia. The program has been able mine the fertile recruiting areas around Atlanta (only an hour away) and down into Florida.
Now, granted the Panthers toughest games lay ahead. They will host conference contenders Greenville (1-1 SLIAC) and Westminster (2-0 SLIAC) each of the next two weeks. But, they host four of their last five contests, including the season finale against SLIAC favorite Huntingdon. Last season, the Hawks, who reside just an hour and a half down I-85 in Montgomery, stomped the Panthers 43-0.
Has LaGrange turned the corner enough to make a run at a conference title and possible Pool B bid?
"We really haven't talked about that," Mooney said. "When we started the program in 2006, our goal week in and week out was to go out and try to win that week.
"If that didn't happen then we knew we had things that we had to fix. That hasn't changed this year either. We really haven't focused the what-ifs and what's down the road. I don't think that we can afford to do anything else right now."
The Panthers may not have talked about it, but you never know what's just around the corner.
Quick hits
• Elsewhere in the SLIAC, Huntingdon stayed unbeaten and picked up its second conference win by topping Greenville on the road 28-12. The Hawks jumped out to a 28-0 lead by late in the second quarter. After that, Greenville (2-3, 1-1) held them scoreless in the second half, in part due to a couple of short missed field goals. The Panthers turned the ball over on downs three times and were intercepted once in the second half, but were able to close the gap to within 16.
• Freshman quarterback Tyler Osterman helped keep Centre's SCAC title hopes alive after starter Grant Conliffe went down with an injury. Osterman ran for 106 yards and also completed 18-of-29 passes for 239 yards as Colonels (3-2, 2-1 SCAC) defeated Sewanee 28-16. After the Tigers had pulled to within 21-16, Ned McCaster sealed the victory with am 88-yard kickoff return for touchdown. This week, the Colonels host Millsaps. Last season, Centre trailed just 9-7 entering the fourth quarter until the Majors exploded for three late touchdowns to win 29-7.
• One week after being embarrassed at home by Millsaps 49-2, Rhodes (2-2, 0-1 SCAC) rebounded to defeat previously unbeaten Washington University 28-10. Quarterback Brett Stoots threw for 244 yards on just eight completions. Two of the completions were 60-yard-plus touchdowns. Linebacker Desmond Hendricks had a record setting day tying the SCAC record for sacks in a game with 4.5. He also forced two fumbles and has 13 tackles including three other tackles for losses. Rhodes will be playing its third straight undefeated team when it travels to Trinity on Saturday.
• Trinity (4-0, 1-0 SCAC) stayed unbeaten by topping Birmingham-Southern 48-20 in Alabama. BSC hung tough in the first half staying within seven most of the first half, but the Tigers dominated the second by allowing just 45 yards and forcing three turnovers. The Trinity offense got big days from running back Chris Baer (19 carries for 141 yards) and quarterback Bryant Wilson (17-of-23 for 219 yards.) Baer rushed for two scores and caught a third, while Wilson tossed three TD passes and ran for another.
Big game recaps
In last Saturday's two big games in the region, there were vastly different outcomes. American Southwest heavyweights Mary Hardin-Baylor and Hardin-Simmons slugged it out until the final seconds with the Crusaders walking away with a 20-18 victory. While Millsaps (5-0, 3-0 SCAC) left no doubt by rolling past previously unbeaten DePauw, 55-13.
The Majors turned in a dominating performance, scoring three touchdowns in the last 9:44 of the second quarter to lead 35-7 at the half while racking up over 450 total yards. In five games, quarterback Juan Joseph has completed nearly 65 percent of his passes for 1322 yards with 16 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Oh by the way, he also leads the Majors in rushing with 188 yards and two touchdowns. It doesn't appear that the Majors will have a huge challenge until they face Trinity on Nov. 1.
The Crusader/Cowboy match was full of great individual performances. UMHB quarterback Josh Saenz ran for 162 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
It's not surprising that the Crusaders passed the ball only six times. Running the football is what they do best. They had been averaging 19 passes a game through the first few weeks, but when I looked back at the play-by-play of the game I saw a lot of third down and short to mediums (five or less) against the Cowboys. Those are run downs for the Crusaders and they appeared to grind them out.
The only time that I saw them in third and long (8 or more yards) was late in the third quarter. Saenz threw to Pi'Dadro Davis for 34 yards only to have it called back for holding. No matter, Saenz hit Davis for 20 on the next play on third-and-18. That set up their final touchdown. The thing missing from the UMHB offense was the big play. They had no runs longer than 14 yards. Do you think they're missing the breakaway speed of Quincy Daniels?
As for Hardin-Simmons, they gained a lot of respect in defeat. They were playing their fifth straight tough opponent. Missing a pair of extra-points will always kill you in a tight game.
Safety Matt Warnasch recorded 23 tackles and blocked a field goal. Three other Cowboys had double-digit tackles. This looks good on a stat sheet but is not necessarily a good thing. It means the other team is running a lot of plays (The Cru ran 79) and has the ball for a long time (UMHB held the ball for nearly 40 minutes.)
At any rate, it was a gutsy comeback by the Cowboys even though it fell short. They will have to bounce back from quickly as they host a hungry East Texas Baptist (3-1) team this Saturday.
Around the South Top Five
1. Millsaps (5-0, 3-0 SCAC) Beat DePauw 55-13
2. Mary Hardin-Baylor (4-0, 3-0 ASC) Beat HSU 20-18
3. Hardin-Simmons (4-1, 2-1 ASC) Lost to UMHB 20-18
4. Trinity (4-0, 1-0 SCAC) Beat BSC 48-20
5. East Texas Baptist (3-1, 3-0 ASC) Beat McMurry 31-7
On the radar: DePauw (3-1, 2-1 SCAC), Huntingdon (4-0, 2-0 SLIAC), LaGrange (4-1, 2-0 SLIAC)
Moving Millsaps into the No. 1 spot may ruffle some feathers and I admit it's been a while since a top SCAC beat a top ASC school. But comparing scores, which is never an exact science, I gave the Majors a slight edge. Plus, I figured it will generate some conversation. (I had the Cowboy fans mad at me last week, so in the interest on fairness I figured I'd tick off some Cru fans.) Is Millsaps better than the Crusaders this year? I don't know, but it's a game I'd sure like to watch.
Here are some other things to consider:
• Is the Cru down at bit after last year or has Hardin-Simmons closed the gap?
• Does Millsaps 42-6 domination of Mississippi College in the opening week mean anything when compared to the Choctaws eight-point loss to the Cowboys a week ago?
• Who would deserve the South Region's No. 1 seed if the playoffs started this week? Would you prefer Millsaps, the Cru or one of those undefeated eastern teams: Washington & Jefferson, Muhlenberg or Hampden-Sydney?
• Is East Texas Baptist for real? The Tigers are off to their best start since 2005. Can they steal the ASC's automatic bid from UMHB and HSC like they did in 2003? They'll take on the Cowboys on Saturday.
• What are the odds of a Huntingdon or LaGrange stealing one of the Pool B bids?
Let me know what you think. It was great to get all those emails last week from Cowboy fans. (COWBOYS, not Tigers!) It's nice to know that people are reading. I share your passion for Division III football.
I spent late Saturday afternoon after my radio work of the Wesley/Frostburg State game riding down I-68 in Western Maryland in a van following the Cowboys comeback fall short on my laptop.
Thank god for Air Cards, broadband service and an understanding wife who supports my travels all fall. This week, I will be outside of New York City, as Wesley travels to take on Division I FCS opponent Iona in New Rochelle. Send me your comments at jcbowen@lf.k12.de.us.