/notables/1999/still-looking-up-at-no-1

Still looking up at No. 1

More news about: Trinity (Texas)

Trinity University head coach Steve Mohr thinks he might have figured out which coach is the only voter rating his team No. 1 in the weekly American Football Coaches Association poll.

Trinity quarterback Micharl Burton "My guess is that it’s (three-time defending national champion) Mount Union," said Mohr with a light-hearted chuckle. "Knowing (coach) Larry Kehres, he wouldn’t vote for himself because he is a class guy. He wouldn’t vote for himself. That's just a guess though."

The Tigers' play may change the minds of some of the 44 other voters. Trinity, of San Antonio, is cruising at 4-0 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference after a 44-0 win against DePauw on Saturday, which made Mohr the program’s all-time winningest coach. This follows a 12-1 campaign that concluded with a hard-fought 34-29 loss to Mount Union in the national semifinals.

"We are a target every place we go," Mohr said of his squad’s reputation, "and we’re just hitting our stride now."

Anyone who thinks the run-and-shoot offense is dead should come to E.M. Stevens Field in San Antonio, where the Tigers' air attack is one of the most dynamic in college football. Taught by offensive coordinator Stew Krisch, the system has made the program a success. It’s made easy by having 20 returning starters, including the 1998 Melberger Award winner Michael Burton (pictured) in his senior season at quarterback. Burton’s regular season record as a starter is 32-1, with the one defeat coming in the last game of a 9-1 freshman campaign. He holds virtually every school passing record and could match his numbers from last season -- 3,031 yards and 32 touchdowns. The no-huddle offense has been impossible for teams to stop.

"We do have a lot of lofty goals this season," said Burton, who threw the ball less than 10 times per game for La Jolla High in San Diego, but now routinely throws 30 to 40 per game. "I’m glad that we've gotten national respect. Ultimately, we want to win the national championship, but we realize we’ve got to take it one game at a time."

Even when Burton has a bad game, good things seem to happen. He was 13-for 33 in the DePauw game, but ran for two scores and still tossed for 295 yards.

The primary targets are wideouts Bo Edwards and Canaan Factor, both of whom have played with Burton since they were all freshmen. When the Tigers run, Damond Garza gets the ball and averages close to 100 yards per game.

"We want to run more this year," Mohr said, "to take some of the pressure off Mike and the receivers."

There is plenty of support from the offensive line. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that Burton (with some assistance) cooks them dinner before every game.

On defense, the unit is led by three all-conference linebackers -- Ryan Deck, J.P. Visosky and Jeremy Day. That the team allowed 124 points last season gets lost in the offensive dominance. So does the fact that it travels by plane three to four times a year, as much as any Division III team in the nation.

Keep in mind that this is a smart team too. The average GPA is a 3.1. Most of the players want to be doctors, lawyers or accountants.

So coach, how come you’re voting for Mount Union as the No. 1 team in the nation?

"Because," Mohr said with another laugh, "we’ve played against those guys."

Dec. 15: All times Eastern
Final
Cortland 38, at North Central (Ill.) 37
@ Salem, Virginia
Video Box Score Recap Photos
Dec. 9: All times Eastern
Final
North Central (Ill.) 34, at Wartburg 27
Box Score Recap
Final
Cortland 49, at Randolph-Macon 14
Box Score Recap Recap Recap Photos
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