Golden Bears looking to take next step - D3football

Nov 20, 2019

Western New England athletics photo

By Joe Sager
D3sports.com

Reaching the playoffs has become an annual occurrence for Western New England.

The Golden Bears want to turn it into a winning tradition.

Western New England (9-1) seeks its first playoff win since 2016 when Brockport (8-2) visits Saturday.

“It’s unbelievable to have a home playoff game. You should have seen the reaction when we found out,” WNEU senior quarterback Alec Coleman said. “I can just relate it back to my freshman year watching the selection show. It’s a really cool experience to go through it then and every year until now. I’m really thankful for all the guys to put us in this spot.”

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Golden Bears look to take next step
North Central: In playoff mode since October

There’s no doubt Golden Bear Stadium will be rocking Saturday.

“It’s a blessing to have another home playoff game. I know the whole school will be out there,” WNEU senior running back Jamyre Soberanis said. “To play in front of our friends and family is amazing. I can’t wait for Saturday.

“It’s crazy to be one of the 32 teams left in the country. We have to take advantage of every opportunity that we have.”

The Golden Bears have had some opportunities in the past. This is their sixth playoff appearance, including fifth in a row.

“We can’t let the moment get too big,” Soberanis said. “We have to feed off our home crowd. We have to play that to our advantage.”

It worked in 2016, when they toppled Husson, the champion of the ECFC, at home by a 44-27 score, for the program’s only playoff triumph. Western New England fell to Delaware Valley in 2017 and to Frostburg State last fall.

“It’s been tough, definitely. It’s something we know we’re capable of doing. It’s something we’ve known in the past that we were capable of doing, but fell short,” Coleman said. “This year is truly special with the guys on the team and the culture we have. It’s nice having a home game with our friends and family in the stands, but, with this group we have here, we feel we have a much greater chance to advance than in the past.”

“It’s nice having a home game with our friends and family in the stands, but, with this group we have here, we feel we have a much greater chance to advance than in the past.”

- Western New England quarterback Alec Coleman

The past doesn’t matter to Western New England. The team is focused on only what lies ahead.

“Our motto here is to be one better. We talk about every week how we can always get one better,” Coleman continued. “Getting one better to this program would be winning this playoff game and going one week at a time; that’s how and why we’ve found so much success over the years. Come this Saturday, nothing will change for us. We’ll be ready to execute.”

The Golden Bears have executed on offense all season. They average 40.6 points per game.

“All 11 guys that are on the field at once are extremely explosive. Our five offensive linemen grind during games and during the weeks and all of our skilled players are very explosive. Everyone is hardworking,” Coleman said. “The best thing about this team is that we have a great bond. We play for each other and that’s why we’ve found success. That’s why we’ve put points on the board.”

Coleman has passed for 1,994 yards and 16 touchdowns. Juniors Steven Fedorchak and Adam Razza are his top two targets. Fedorchak has 53 catches for 979 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Razza has 39 catches for 779 yards and five scores. Soberanis leads the squad with 929 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.

“We’re clicking on all cylinders right now. We’re playing for each other and having fun. It’s always a good time when you’re putting up points,” Soberanis said. “Everything is going real well. The coaches are preparing us every week and our O-line is doing an amazing job. It’s only right if we do our job, too, because, every snap, they are working hard for us.”

The Golden Bears know they face a challenge, though, against Brockport’s defense, which allows 13.2 points per game.

“Brockport is a great team and they have a great defense. We know we have to do the little things well,” Soberanis said. “I know the coaches will do a good job preparing us. We just have to do our jobs.”

According to coach Jason Lebeau, Western New England has not reached its peak just yet.

“We’re getting better every week and the most exciting thing is that we’re still getting better. We can still find ways to improve, which is a great place to be when it’s the postseason and you know you can still be better,” he said. “Brockport is a really good football team. They do everything well. They don’t have weaknesses. They can score and defend. We have to be the best version of ourselves we can. If our guys are at their best, we’ll be all right.”

He can sense a determination with the Golden Bears.

“After last season, we talked about how nice it is to be in the playoffs and how we might be a good team, but we’re not a great team until we win at that level,” he said. “These seniors were around in 2016 when they got past the first round. They know what it’s like and they want to be at that level again.”

Cardinals coach Jeff Thorne called the moments leading up to the bracket reveal nerve-wracking. He felt his team was good enough to be there, that this was a special group, but that didn’t mean the selection committee had the same thought in mind.

“Right away the first bracket comes out and three Pool C teams are in it, and that made it even more nerve-wracking because there were only two teams left,” Thorne said. “So when our name was called, there was an eruption.

"I didn’t hear anything after that it was so loud. The guys were pretty excited.”

Rutter was thrilled and couldn’t hold back his excitement as he celebrated the special moment of knowing this 2019 football season for the Cardinals still had a heartbeat.

He said it gives the team a new sense of hunger and new sense of focus because of how close they were to not making it. North Central opens the postseason against Wabash on Saturday.

“It was a huge relief. Everyone is excited to be in,” Rutter said. “We realize how quickly it can be taken away and we need to take advantage of this opportunity.”

And had that opportunity not been granted?

“It would have been a really tough pill to swallow to not see this group have a chance to be in the playoffs,” Thorne said.

But in many ways, the playoffs started for the Cardinals in early October after they suffered a 35-21 loss to Wheaton. North Central led three different times in that game, including at 21-14 with under five minutes to play in the third quarter. The Cardinals just didn’t do enough to finish.

“They outplayed us in the fourth quarter. They got to our quarterback and we made some mistakes on defense,” Thorne said. “We walked away from that game knowing our backs are against the wall and there is no room for error. We’ve really been playing playoff football since then. The guys have done a great job of staying focused and it’s no different this week.”

Six consecutive wins have followed, all in convincing fashion.

The Cardinals (9-1) got the streak going with a 42-14 win over Augustana and closed the regular season with a 59-32 victory over Millikin. In all six wins, the Cardinals have scored at least 42 points, hitting a high of 82 in an 82-7 win over Elmhurst in Week 9.

Rutter said the team has simply been playing on another level since stumbling against Wheaton.

“We’ve been playing with a new sense of urgency. ... It’s just been the little things. Everyone has put in the work to get better.”

- North Central quarterback Broc Rutter

“We had to be perfect and we’ve gotten better and better every day,” Rutter said. “We’ve been playing with a new sense of urgency. I wouldn’t say we made wholesale changes because we were in a position to win that game. It’s just been the little things. Everyone has put in the work to get better.”

Rutter has been instrumental in that success. Only the second quarterback in conference history to be a three-time player of the year, the senior has thrown for 3,120 yards and 41 touchdowns while getting picked off just twice.

Rutter has plenty of targets. Five receivers have caught at least 10 passes, led by Andrew Kamienski, who has 85 catches for 1,269 yards and 20 touchdown receptions.

And he has an offensive line in front of him that includes the best offensive lineman in the league in Sharmore Clarke.

“We have so many weapons. Different guys step up every week,” Rutter said. “The O-line is doing a great job of protecting me and our coaching staff does a great job of putting us in a position to succeed. I tell people all the time that my job is easy. I just have to get the ball in my guys’ hands.”

Ethan Greenfield leads a dangerous running attack, churning out 1,308 yards and 17 touchdowns for one of the nation’s best offenses.

“He’s a very good running back,” Thorne said. “He’s durable and hard to tackle. He forces defenses to account for more than just Broc.”

The defense has been solid as well, allowing more than 14 points just once during its win streak. Three opponents were held to single digits.

“We’ve done a great job of bottling up people’s running games for the most part, and save the Wheaton game, we’ve done a good job of taking away the big plays,” Thorne said. “We have a solid group of guys on our defense. We play great as a unit and rally to the ball.”

North Central is taking on a Wabash team that comes in at 7-3 on the year. The Little Giants are putting up 400 yards per game and allowing 334.

“Wabash has a very good football team,” Thorne said. “They have an exceptional running game and a dynamic quarterback. They play solid football. But we won’t change anything. We have to figure out how to attack their offense and defense and just go through our normal routine in practice this week.”

All the while keeping the same mindset it has been playing with since the loss to Wheaton.

“We’ve been playing desperate since Week 4, and it’s no different now,” Thorne said. “If we lose, we are done. We have to carry that same mindset into Saturday and hope it’s at an even higher level of awareness.”

All Rutter wanted on a stressful selection Sunday was the chance to keep playing, the chance to prove just how good of a team North Central is. The Cardinals have that chance and are determined to make the most of it.

“Everyone is 0-0 again and we have to go out and be as ready as we can be,” Rutter said. “We are happy to be in it and we want to prove how good we think we are. It’s a huge opportunity for us, especially for us seniors, and we want to play for as long as we can.”

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