By Clyde Hughes
D3sports.com
Few people knew about Carthage quarterback Evan Jones before this season started and his name was barely mentioned in the Redmen's preseason outlook, but all of that has changed over the last nine games.
Jones, the sophomore quarterback who leads the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in passing yards and total offense this season, is the now the face of Carthage football.
Bouncing back from a knee injury that kept him out of the bulk of last season, Jones has seized this year with a vengeance as one of the nation's pass yardage leaders (293.2 yards per game) and total offense leaders (298.2 yards per game.)
"I think when our guys look at Evan, they see a guy who is very determined," said Carthage coach Tim Rucks. "He was determined to come back after the injury and when he's been back, he's been determined to do well. I think what our guys get from Evan is a sense of determination."
Rucks said it hasn't been easy for Jones. First of all, Carthage went to a spread, one-back offense last year and Jones's injury cost him valuable time learning that system. Coming from Graylake, Illinois, as a wishbone quarterback, some wondered just how quickly he could make the transition. Rucks said he never worried.
"Some people have asked, 'How can a wishbone quarterback do what he's doing,' " Rucks said. "Our offense is about making good decisions. The wishbone is about making good decisions, but instead of handing it off you're trying to throw it to the right guy. He's a tough kid and he's taken some hard shots all year long, but he just gets right back up and keeps going. He's thrown more interceptions than he and I would like but he doesn't get down on himself. I think his best attribute is his inner strength."
Jones has thrown 18 interceptions this season against 25 touchdown passes, but Rucks said he believes Jones will only get better.
"He really hasn't scratched the surface of what he can do in this offense and he's still learning it," Rucks said. "That's a good kind of scary when you look at his numbers in really his first full season of college football. When he learns all the reads and get comfortable with them and nuances of the offense, he's going to be so much better."
Rucks said Jones is a part of a young Carthage teams that he believes can make its presence felt in the CCIW next season. He said, though, the Redmen would like to win one more big game this season against formally nationally ranked Wheaton at home on Saturday.
The Redmen took No. 2-ranked North Central to the final moments before the Cardinals scored a touchdown with less than two minutes left to pull out a 31-24 victory on Oct. 18.
'We have a really young team and we've been close a lot of times," Rucks said. "The North Central game should have gone into overtime. You don't want to look ahead right now but I think when our kids do they see, with Evan, a lot of great opportunities for our team."
Fans hope to see part of that future as the 2008 season wraps up against Wheaton.
Northern Athletics Conference title on line
The inaugural title of the Northern Athletic Conference has come down to Aurora (8-1, 6-0 in the NAthC) and Lakeland (5-4, 5-1). The home team, Aurora, is the surprise team this year after going 5-5 the past two seasons and is trying to complete a run that would give its seniors its only conference title of their careers.
Lakeland was co-champions of the old Illini-Badger Conference in 2007, where most of the new NAthC teams come from. Lakeland was picked to finish second to Concordia (Wis.) in the preseason.
For Muskies' coach Kevin Doherty, every game has been a mini playoff game for them after they loss to Concordia (Ill.) 35-32 on Oct. 18.
"We knew if we lost one more game we could have been out of the running," Doherty said. "The good thing was that we were still controlled our own destiny. Now we need more win to fulfill it."
Doherty, a former offensive coordinator at Aurora and an alumnus, said he knows how big of game it is for the Spartans and expects nothing less than a dogfight to the end.
"We beat them last year (34-3 at Lakeland), but those kids are a year older and stronger," Doherty said. "It's Senior Day for them and they know it would be a nice feather in their hat to keep that tradition of winning football at Aurora going. It's going to be a tough game."
Aurora coach Rich Duncan said he credits his leaders for holding on to the vision of the conference title even when the Spartans were not the favorites going into the season.
"This game is the game of the season for us, because victory would mean that we have earned the right to call ourselves Northern Athletics Conference champions," Duncan said. "That is the goal of every player in August, and we have put ourselves in a position to control that outcome in the final game of the season."
Duncan said the playoff season actually starts for both teams on Saturday because the winner keeps playing and the loser will have to hang up their shoulder pads.
"I think that the significance of this game is magnified for many reasons," Duncan said. "Primarily the significance is because this is the inaugural football champion crowned in the NAC. This should have the atmosphere of a playoff game because essentially it is."
Midwest teams already in
No. 2-ranked North Central (9-0, 6-0) has already clinched the CCIW title going into its regular-season finale at Elmhurst on Saturday. The Cardinals are expected to be one of the top seeds in the playoffs with home field for its first playoff game.
No. 20-ranked Franklin (8-1, 6-0 in HCAC) will be representing the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference in the playoffs by virtue of its win over Manchester coupled with Rose-Hulman's loss to Anderson last week. The Grizzlies close out the season against rival Hanover for the Victory Bell.
No. 22-ranked Monmouth (10-0, 9-0) will get a week of rest after wrapping up the Midwest Conference title and will await word on Sunday who the Fighting Scots will take on in the first round of the playoffs.
