By Keith McMillan
D3sports.com
Before they kicked off in the first of their 14 victories this season, Trinity coach Steve Mohr told his defensive players that games would be won with their play. He kept telling them, but it was hard for them to believe when the nation's most prolific offense is on their sideline and final scores kept coming up 66-14 and 55-23.
But it happened two weeks ago, in the same state where the Tigers will take on Mount Union in Stagg Bowl XXX, Trinity's first-ever appearance in Division III's national championship game.
Bridgewater pulled to 38-32 with eight minutes left in their national quarterfinal on Dec. 7, and was driving the field with less than two minutes to go. The Eagles ended the Tigers' season in the same round one year earlier with a touchdown pass in the final minute. In this game, Bridgewater's Robbie Jenkins fired a pass toward the end zone with less than a minute left, but cornerback Cory Kuchinsky's interception at the 5-yard line with 49 seconds left sealed the Tigers victory.
Earlier in the fourth period, Kuchinsky put some distance between the two teams by returning a fumble 15 yards for a touchdown and a 38-26 lead. After the Eagles cut the lead to six, defensive tackle Michael Perez snuffed Bridgewater's fourth-and-3 fake punt with 3:31 left.
"In the past, when the defense has had to step up, we really haven't come through," said junior defensive end Jarrod Smith. "In the Bridgewater game, when our offense was sputtering, we were able to make the plays that turned the game around."
For once Trinity's offense, whose 47 points and 540 yards per game are PlayStation2-ish totals, didn't have all the answers. No team can go this far on offense alone.
"We're under extreme pressure, especially the deeper and deeper you go in the playoffs," junior cornerback Kenny Brunette said. "Coach Mohr, even with the No. 1 offense in the nation, stresses that defense wins championships. He told us there's going to be a time, in a big game, where we're going to have to make a big stop, and we can't depend on our offense."
"Actually, he does tell us that a lot," said Smith. "Like most coaches say, defense wins championships."
With that championship so close — and yet so far with mighty Mount Union, the six-time champions, as the final obstacle — Trinity's defenders realize that it will take a holy effort to bring the title back to San Antonio.
Of course, it's nice to have an offense that averages an 8-yard gain each time it snaps the football. And frankly, none of the defenders seem to mind if they hog all the shine.
"We're definitely a no-name defense," said Brunette. "We don't have a lot of stars. But we're fine playing in the shadow of our offense. They do some unbelievable things."
At the beginning of the season, what was hard to fathom was how much talent the Tigers had back. Seven starters, including three each along the defensive line and in the defensive backfield, returned. Senior linebacker and captain Jason Leshikar returned to lead the "Black Flag defense," along with David Southerland, Derek Hivnor and Smith on the line and Kuchinsky, Brunette and safety Matt Woodchick in the secondary.
All seven of those starters remained healthy through last week's 41-34 semifinal win against St. John's. Only one other opening day starter, linebacker Chris Courtright started against the Johnnies. Perez, Jason Terrell and Spencer Chase did not start on opening day, but have since assumed starting roles.
The lineup shuffling shows defensive depth. Returning virtually the same cast from the year before meant Tiger defenders went from being young, inexperienced and not totally clear on game plans to being confident and comfortable with each other.
"I think it really helped that we brought back everybody," Smith said. "Last year, we were a lot younger and really inexperienced. This year I think we gelled real well."
"I've never been part of a closer-knit group of players," Brunette said. "Not in all the sports I've played growing up, even little league with my friends. It makes for a comfortable atmosphere."
"We work well as a defensive unit," said Leshikar. "One of the things I never really realized until this year — being a captain I look at things from a different perspective — is how important [chemistry] is. We depend more on each other. We've definitely grown together."
Last Saturday, the Tigers started six juniors, four seniors and a sophomore. They're still growing.
Smith, who has 15 tackles for losses among his 47 stops and leads the Tigers in sacks, is realizing just how important the line is to the rest of the defense, and vice versa. The pressure the line gets on opposing quarterbacks helps the defensive backs cover better, and so on.
Against the Purple Raiders' mammoth offensive line, Trinity will have to play to its strengths. On the defensive line, that's quickness.
"Our D-line, we're not real big guys," Smith said. "We really try to get pressure on the quarterback, and just be disruptive."
The 10-time Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference champion Tigers, who land in Salem on Thursday, are excited to be in the biggest game possible. But they're no Tigers-come-lately.
Trinity exited against eventual champions Mount Union in 1998 and Pacific Lutheran in 1999. In 2000 against Texas rival Hardin-Simmons and last year against Stagg Bowl participant Bridgewater, the Tigers were beaten in the final minute.
In the time the current Tiger seniors have been on the team, they'd bowed out in the second round, quarterfinals and semifinals.
"Every loss we've taken in the playoffs, they've all been heartbreaking," Leshikar said.
The worst part, he said, was seeing the seniors' careers conclude on a sour note. "It was hard to see it end like that," he said.
As part of a senior class who has gone 47-6 (not quite Mount Union seniors' 52-1), Leshikar said he definitely would not be happy just to get to the Stagg Bowl. No one wants to lose after his parents make a 22-hour drive to Salem.
But the Tigers know what they're up against.
"Mount Union is on everyone's map," Brunette said. "You've got to respect a team like that. They're where we want to be. We know we have to play the game of our lives."
Though Brunette says some even on his own campus don't give them a chance to win, Smith and Leshikar said people in Texas have been supportive. Aside from followers of the SCAC, those in Texas and die-hard Division III followers, it's possible that many people who will be in Salem Stadium on Saturday haven't even heard of Trinity.
Leshikar said he feels that way about some of the playoff teams the Tigers have faced, up until he finds out a little about the history of those teams. It's just the nature of Division III.
Truth is, the three of them don't think it much matters who thinks they can win. They're not in awe, and they're confident that they can seal a victory if it comes to that.
Ideally, they said, the national championship would come down to the Mount Union offense driving for a game-winning score against the Trinity defense.
"For it to be up to us, that would be a memory we'd remember for the rest of our lives," Smith said. "To make a defensive stop against Mount Union, you can't ask for anything more than that."
"I'd love for it to be a close game," said Brunette. "For it to come down to a defensive stop would be great since the offense has got the headlines all year."
Roy's rough time
Those that had never heard of Trinity probably made the acquaintance on Monday, when news of the arrest of Tiger quarterback Roy Hampton spread on news wires across the country. After the win over St. John's, Hampton was arrested along San Antonio's River Walk and charged with public intoxication.
As of Tuesday evening, it had not been determined whether Hampton will be punished by the school, which says it is investigating the matter. It was also not clear how much Hampton would play in the Stagg Bowl, if at all. Dan Desplaines, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior, is expected to play if Hampton does not.
Tiger players, who said they had not discussed the matter as a team, seemed to be preparing for the worst. Or rather, preparing for Mount Union.
"I really haven't concerned myself with the situation," said Leshikar. "I try not to pay attention to it, I'm not reading the articles in the paper. It really doesn't affect what I have to go out and do. That's how I feel about the situation."
If Hampton were absent, one would think that places more pressure on the Trinity defense.
"Not necessarily," said Leshikar. "Our team's going to do real well regardless."
"Whether or not Roy's there, we've got a game to play," said Brunette.
Brunette said there can't really be any extra pressure during Stagg Bowl week.
To an extent, he's right. There already is pressure: to win it all, to perform on national TV, to beat Mount Union. There already are distractions: increased media attention, worrying about family and friends making travel arrangements, luncheons and awards presentations, interviews with the television and radio crews working the game, and all the normal temptations that go along with road trips.
The players I talked to seemed not to care. Staying focused when they get to town was clearly their focus.
"Before you can think about winning, you have to prepare to win," Smith said.
Leshikar said he visualizes the different things that might happen in a game just prior to one.
These were two guys who will have a hard time waiting for the opportunity to play on Saturday.
"I guess I'm looking forward to all the pregame stuff," Smith said. "But I'm anxious for the game to start. I guess [there] is nothing like Saturday afternoon."
Indeed. Which is why I imagine now would be a tough time to be Roy Hampton. A career full of accolades, and we may only remember his most ill timed mistake.
No doubt there are those who think Hampton, 23, committed no crime, figuratively speaking. What college campus doesn't have drinking on or near it? He should be allowed to play, they'll say.
Some will say the law will take care of enforcing the law, and the school and its football team should stay out of it. He's been embarrassed already, and that's punishment enough.
Many who feel that way will be Trinity fans who think the Tigers need Hampton to win.
Some will say kick Hampton off the team. Sit him for a quarter or a series. How can a school simply ignore its star player getting arrested before the big game? If we look away now, wouldn't we be forgetting why our schools are Division III and not Division I-A?
I can't decide who is right or what I think Trinity should do, if anything. What I do know is that it's the second consecutive year in which we head into the Stagg Bowl with a black eye on Division III's most visible game. Last year, it was the Bridgewater clock error that took away from what little we are able to see and read about the game in the mainstream and national media.
It sounds like Hampton isn't quite being embraced right now, but will end up playing in the Stagg Bowl. How Hampton affects this game, by being on the field or by not being on it, will likely be debated by fans long after the final second ticks away on Saturday.
Hopefully, given how he's embarrassed and disappointed his teammates, the longest lasting effect from the incident is how Hampton and others remember this mistake and use it to keep from making more like it.
They disagree with the plea
In last week's "a plea for a little parity," I went out on a limb and gave a half-serious pep talk to John Carroll, in hopes that they might restore some suspense to the Division III playoffs by beating Mount Union. The Blue Streaks struck out, 57-19.
Anyone that wants to rib me for that, I'm game. It's only fair. I can take my medicine (although one reader cleverly pointed out that a few Around the Nations ago I pledged not to pick against Mount Union until they lose, and technically, I didn't).
The response to the column was, understandably, all over the board.
Some laughed, some (from John Carroll) loved it, and some threatened to write letters to Mount Union alumni encouraging them to never visit the site again. I got called a half-ass journalist and a jerk.
Oh how quickly we forget. Why, it was just Oct. 24 when I gushed over Mount Union being incredible. And we gush at the end of each Stagg Bowl. No one thought I was a jerk then. And, interestingly, no one from, say, Widener or Willamette e-mailed to say how inappropriate they felt the column was.
Can't I have more than one perspective on Mount Union? The announcers and reporters writing game stories should be balanced and unbiased, columnists are supposed to have an opinion and a point.
Sometimes I love Mount Union and think they're great for Division III.
Sometimes, like many outside of Alliance, I'm beginning to think of the Purple Raiders like I do the Yankees, Lakers or Michael Jordan's Bulls. That's a compliment. But at the same time, the championship would be so much more fun to watch — for those who are not die-hard fans of the dynasty team — if viewers didn't already know who was going to win.
Which brings us to this Saturday. Trinity, with its explosive offense, is no pushover, but the Purple Raiders are overwhelming favorites. Either way, I certainly won't be rooting from the booth, where we'll be webcasting the game. I hope you'll join us.
Without a doubt, I do not love or hate any Division III team, save for a rival or two from my playing days. I thought the column was an opportunity to try something different, to allow people to see things from a different perspective. Looking at it closely, I see it could be taken several ways, from tongue-in-cheek to 'man, this guy really crossed the line.'
I respect anyone's right to agree or disagree, to like or dislike my work. That's part of our reader-writer relationship. I do ask the irate among you to accept the good with the bad. There have been, and surely will be, many times when we've focused on the good things Mount Union has accomplished on the football field.
I am sorry for inadvertently shifting the focus from the kids playing the games to me. I've had my time on the field, and I wouldn't change a moment of it. Games in 2002 aren't about me, they're about the people in them, and I hope all the players, coaches, fans and others involved can say they wouldn't change a moment either. After all, it's the people and the moments we share on and around the football field that have brought us all together in the first place.
