Scots go out winners in last game

As Macalester embarks on its new experiment in building competitive football, we bring you a weekly look inside the program from one of the 37 student-athletes in uniform.

By Adam Johnson 
(posted Nov. 11, 2002)

Just after a two-a-days session in 2000, I was talking about the upcoming season with a fellow student at a sophomore transfer meeting. He asked how the team was going to be at Macalester, but before I could respond, this knock-out blonde who had obviously been eavesdropping from the row in front of us turned around and asked, "Why would you come to Macalester to play football?"

Now, I had been at Mac for just over two weeks but I had realized in that short amount of time that there was not an abundance of beautiful blondes on campus. So I wondered how it was that the hottest one I had seen so far was taunting me for being a football player at Mac.

I acknowledged the fact that the team had been bad, but assured her that there was a bunch of good new players and the current talent was young. But in my heart, I wasn't really sure why I had come to Mac to play football.

Fast forward to the 2002 season, past the close call on contraction and the nine wins in four years and ask me that question again. I'll tell you without batting an eye why I played football at Mac.

But first, I thought I'd put my teammates first — something every senior on this team has done this season — and let you read why they played football at Mac. (scroll down)

Macalester seniors with The Book of Knowledge. Back: Nick Kraemer, Andrew Porter, Brandon Dixon, Eric Chapin, Barb Gnagy, Coach Czech, Emily Anderson; Front: Marshall Mullenbach, Ivan London, Clark Boyeson, Clark Wohlferd, Adam Johnson, Ben Dickinson

Captain Nick Kraemer chose Mac for the same reasons as many of us. He says, "I started playing with the same intentions that anyone has entering a program, winning." Although as the losses piled up he realized it was about something much more important than wins and losses. "I played, because at any point I can turn to a teammate and have the usual locker room talk or discuss serious political issues. We are a very tight group of strange guys from all walks of life who enjoy making some hits on Saturdays."

Last year, junior Ivan London watched a struggling football team from the stands that was outnumbered and overpowered. Surprisingly, he did what many others were afraid to do — he joined our team. He says, "I joined the team in search of a new adventure, a different kind of challenge. Along the way I rediscovered the camaraderie and new friendships that come along with being a part of something greater than any individual: a team with a common goal." I know Coach Czech has appreciated his commitment and only wishes he had made it three years earlier.

Much like Ivan, Marshall Mullenbach was excited by the challenge. "The way I saw it was as an opportunity to be a part of something special," he says. "If I could be a part of the turn around of Macalester football then I felt that I would be a part of something really meaningful. I mean, I wanted the satisfaction of being able to say, 'Hey look what we accomplished. We turned a losing program into a winner.' That is something worth working for. I think it is something that we have achieved, or at least started, this year as a class."

After the Bethel game our sophomore year, Brett Cramer went to the hospital with a blood clot in his right wrist. It threatened his playing career as doctors advised him not to play. Cramer didn't take the advice and came back last year to be a defensive leader on the team after offering to replace our ineligible quarterback. He went abroad this season but the three years he gave to the program helped get it to where it's at today. Cramer says he played "to experience the friendship and camaraderie that can only be developed by a sport that requires one's full trust to be placed in his teammates, and the combined individual efforts of each player for a sole team purpose." I know he's dying to hear the stories of the season and he has a lot of friends back home waiting to hear his stories from a semester at Oxford.

Captain Eric Chapin listened to the doctor's recommendation that he never play again after a knee injury his sophomore year but was reluctant to take it. He took the advice for one season as he joined the coaching staff last year. However, it was going to take more than a doctor's recommendation to keep him off the field for his senior season. Chapin came to Mac to turn the program into a winner as we all hoped to, but now that he is done he plans to look back on it with a smile on his face. He says, "When I look back at this season in 40 years when the arthritis in my knees force me to live in Arizona where the frigid temperatures won't bother them, I'll look back and wonder if it was worth it. And if I can still remember things by then, I won't remember each game or any specific plays, but I will remember the guys on the team, and that's the part that has made it more than worth it."

If there is one name that sticks out among the few that make up our team it is probably Andrew Porter. He is the only player on the team to attend NFL combines or have preseason All-American honors bestowed upon him. He is by far the strongest 21-year-old I know and will be the only one of us seniors who has a chance to continue playing. Ironically, he didn't come to Mac to break defensive records, to be an All-American, or in hopes of going to the next level. Looking back on four years Porter says, "I played football at Mac because the guys on the team are like family to me." The past four years weren't about personal accomplishments for any of us. They were about feeling like a family with the group of guys we went to battle with every Saturday.

Clark Boyeson traveled the farthest, from Oregon, to play football at Mac after being recruited by Coach Czech. He was looking for a college to play football and baseball at and he found the perfect fit at Mac. As a 5-8, 195 pound linebacker Clark knew he would not dominate games but what he lacked in size he more than made up for in heart. Looking back on his four years Clark says, "I played here for my teammates and my friends the chance to tell my grandkids that I played college athletics."

After missing last season while abroad in Australia, Ben Dickinson decided that his fifth year of college would not be complete without returning to the football team. He played at Mac because he truly loves the game and wasn't ready to be done after a successful high school career.

When he heard the pop last season, there was a chance that Clark Wohlferd had played his last game. The MRI exam results were not good and surgery was on the immediate horizon. Wohlferd, with unparalleled devotion and determination, battled through rehab and a bout with mono over the summer to be ready for his senior year. Never one to give a short quote, Captain Wohlferd played football at Mac for three reasons. He says, "First, I played for my parents, because every Saturday I got to see the pride in their eyes after each game — regardless of wins or losses. Second, I played for my teammates because being a football player at Mac means I have 34 more brothers — all of whom I would walk through fire with. Lastly, I played for myself, because playing college football is not easy and college would not have been as hard if I hadn't played, but not playing football would have meant that college would have been a lot less fulfilling."

Cornerback Brandon Dixon has faced some of the best quarterbacks in Division III in his four years at Mac and he hasn't backed down from any of them. Football was a major part of his four years here, but all along he knew he was here to get a great education. He says, "I decided to attend Macalester College and play football because I felt that it was an opportunity that I could not pass up. Macalester is a top-tier school and I am getting a high-level education that will allow me to pursue many avenues later in life; and playing football was just an added bonus. It was a situation that allowed me to contribute and play right away, and I don't regret my decision in the least."

This season also marked the end for senior student-managers and student trainers who were a big part of our 5-5 season. Student-managers Emily Anderson and Barb Gnagy fixed helmets, distributed jerseys and kept track of the small things that made the program run smoothly. Their contributions have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Three senior student-trainers worked their last game on Saturday as well. Scotty Bell, Sarah Hesch and Tiffany Hultgren went through numerous rolls of tape on our ankles and wrists, prepared ice bags and kept the team loose with their sense of humor. I know I'll miss my personal spat job from Sarah Hesch every Saturday.

As for me, I played for what everyone has mentioned above. I didn't want to look back in 10 years and say, "Man, I wish I would have come back and played football my senior year." I played to prove to myself that I could return to the field after an injury and be a leader on this team. I will always cherish the friendships I developed with this group of guys. We may not have won a lot of games but we had a lot of fun and that is what football is all about.

Our final game against Carleton at Laird Stadium on Saturday was also what football is all about. This game was a three-hour summary of our collegiate careers-emotional, exciting, combative, and memorable. As academically focused colleges, we share a very similar football history with Carleton College. Neither program wins a lot but we play our hearts out every week in hopes that we'll be in a position to win at the end of the game. If we win, we hope that victory will lead to another one and eventually the program will have a winning season and become a contender. To recognize this special battle between "smart schools," we compete for the Book of Knowledge — the traveling trophy, created by Coach Czech in his first year at Mac in 1998, that is retained by the winner each year.

Eighteen seniors from both sides gave it all they had for 60 minutes on Saturday and it was unfortunate that we all couldn't come away victorious. It was the classic football battle-lead changes, fumble recoveries, interceptions, knock-out hits, heated confrontations, big plays and touchdowns. The crowd of 400, which felt like 4,000 cheered wildly all game long as some parents watched their sons play for the last time. Much like I will always remember my last high school game, the memories of this game will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Among the parents, alumni and friends in the crowd was that knock-out blonde, who three years earlier, wondered why anyone would come to Mac to play football. She's my girlfriend now, an incredible three sport athlete and a big time fan of Mac football. On Saturday, she watched first hand, for three hours, why student-athletes come to play football at Mac or Carleton. It's for the thrill and satisfaction of being the group of players who turn the program into a winner. We have done it this year by posting the best record since 1986, and I know with twenty-seven solid freshman the Knights will become a winning program again soon.

In four years, this group of seniors went 9-31 and suffered through some embarrassing losses and difficult defeats to handle. The ironic part is that we won our first game in 1999 and we've won our last — everything in between doesn't matter. We dedicated ourselves to this program and on Saturday we walked away victorious with our heads held high.

I want to say thank you to the players, coaches, referees, mothers, fathers, Macalester alumni, and fans who emailed me this season to say how much they have enjoyed reading this column. I want you to know that just as I love football I love being able to put this season into words. I hope you have all learned something about the group of guys who play football at Macalester because I know after what we've been through in four years, we have all learned a lot about ourselves.

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