Kolbe Blunt is averaging 138 yards per game on the ground, with per-game rushing totals of 32, 122, 110, 201 and 225 this season, despite not having more than 17 carries in any contest. Belhaven athletics photo

By Greg Thomas
D3sports.com

“We’ve got something going on, I think.”

Those were the words of Belhaven head coach Blaine McCorkle when I asked him to share with ATN what’s happening at Belhaven University. 

Indeed, there is something good going on at Belhaven. The Blazers have reached 5-0 in a season for the first time in program history. That highwater mark achieved at the conclusion of a decisive 29-3 win over perennial USA South headliner, Huntingdon on Saturday. That win puts Belhaven atop the USA South standings, level with Brevard at 3-0. 

Starting 5-0 is a long way from where the Belhaven football program was when McCorkle was hired to lead the program in 2018, inheriting a team that finished 2-8 in each of its first three seasons in Division III and lacked widespread enthusiasm from its own community. “When we came here as a staff six years ago, just to be honest, the program was in a pretty rough space. We had a lot of people at games dressed up like bleachers. There's a lot of empty seats there,” McCorkle recalled of his early seasons at Belhaven. 

Fast forward to Saturday where a raucous crowd filled Belhaven Bowl Stadium to watch their Blazers notch what is likely the biggest win, if not in program history, certainly in the program’s Division III history. “People have bought in,” McCorkle said. “We sent out some messages last week by email and social media just challenging people. Yeah, it's fall break but we’ve got a heck of a show coming to town and if you're for Belhaven, you're for Belhaven, holidays or not. People kind of answered the call and the stadium was packed and probably as loud as I've heard it in six years.”

Those fans that showed up in Jackson, Mississippi, last Saturday saw their star running back Kolbe Blunt rush for 225 yards and two touchdowns — Blunt’s 225 rushing yards was the most by a Division III running back in Week 6. Like McCorkle, Blunt has seen attendance and enthusiasm for the program grow gradually since his matriculation in 2019. “When I first started it was kind of rough. We had empty seats and stuff like that, but seeing everybody, knowing they support us and knowing that when we play well, they'll be right there supporting us, it's a joy to see,” Blunt said. “The atmosphere was great Saturday. When you see all that, you see everybody cheering and getting behind you, it just makes you play hard.”

McCorkle has built a contender at Belhaven in a short time by promoting Belhaven as not just a great Division III experience, but a great football experience. “We’re playing college football, and that's the mindset we're selling to kids when we recruit them that don't ever think you're coming here for less than because it's a D-III,” McCorkle said. “You're coming for a college football experience. That's what everybody grows up dreaming of, so we're going to give it to you.”

The strategy is paying dividends in Belhaven’s ability to develop experience and continuity within the program that is delivering on that football experience. “They buy into that and they believe and they stay. Our retention has been really good,” McCorkle said “We've got 21 seniors right now and 20 of them have already graduated, With the fifth year with COVID the kids have decided to stay because they're having a good experience.”

McCorkle also believes in a less-is-more philosophy when it comes to the size of his recruiting classes. The Blazers currently have a nearly even distribution of student-athletes across their classes. To go along with those 21 seniors and graduate students, 33 players listed on the current roster are first year student-athletes, 26 sophomores, and 24 are juniors. 

“We haven't bought into the ‘flooding your roster’ mindset. We're not going to bring in 60, 70, 80 freshmen like you see a lot of people at our level do,” McCorkle explained about his approach to roster building. “We're going to bring in kids that we know, that want to be here, want to play football and get a degree. And we keep them here and we develop them and that's worked for us.”

Belhaven’s biggest leap forward happened in 2021 when the team posted a 7-3 record in their final season as a member of the American Southwest Conference. The seven wins were a five win improvement and a four win improvement in ASC play from the previous full season in 2019. The COVID affected season in the 2020-2021 academic year taught Blunt the importance of staying ready for anything. Even the abbreviated schedule in spring 2021 was touch and go from week to week. 

After practicing through the fall, the return to competition was a big change for players. “You go into Christmas break (in winter 2020) and you’ve got to get ready and get back in season shape. On top of that, you didn't even know if you're going to be able to play or not. An outbreak might happen. So it was definitely weird,” Blunt said. “But at the same time, it allows you to be more focused. You had to be prepared for anything that may happen because you never know. You take advantage of every situation because you don't know how many more games you’ve got that season.”

For McCorkle, the COVID year gave his team a chance to coalesce and commit to pushing Belhaven football to new heights. “The COVID season I think was really good for us because even though we didn't play that fall, we practiced all that fall and, and that was a chance for us to decide, ‘hey, we're going to do this or not’,” McCorkle said. “It gave our kids a chance to really get close and to decide for themselves too, hey, are we going to do this or not, you know. In that spring season, we started off 0-2 and then we messed up and won a game,” he joked. 

Indeed in the spring 2021 season, Belhaven scored twice in the final minute and beat Louisiana College. The Blazers won their final two games that spring and have now won 23 out of their last 28 games beginning with that last minute win against Louisiana College. 

That 28 game ride has brought Belhaven to the precipice of new program benchmarks that McCorkle is eager to achieve. “I think I'm a guy, and I think our kids are players that are never satisfied. We feel like we've always got something to prove,” McCorkle said of where his team goes now that they’ve knocked off Huntingdon. “We’ve never won a conference championship. That's something we've got to get done. We've never played in the postseason in the history of the school. That's something we've got to get done. We’ve won 23 of the last 28, but we still haven't broken into the Top 25 in any poll. So we still have a lot to prove. We've still got a lot of things to accomplish.”

Some of those goals may be accomplished as early as this year. Defeating Huntingdon gives Belhaven the inside track to a USA South championship, though there is still work to do there notably with games left at Maryville and against Brevard, who currently share the conference lead with Belhaven with a 3-0 record in USA South play. The Blazers have drawn attention in the D3football.com Top 25 and are receiving votes on some ballots. That is usually a sign that a team is within striking distance of moving on to more ballots as wins accumulate. 

Some goals may not happen for Belhaven this year, but the team culture that Blunt and his fellow seniors have helped establish since 2019 will be the foundation for future Belhaven milestones. “We built a culture where everybody loves each other. Everybody plays hard. And everybody looks forward to playing with each other,” Blunt said. “We went 2-8 my freshman year, but at the same time, I don't think we ever lost sight of our goals, what we wanted to accomplish and who we thought we were.”

Blunt continued, “It's just been amazing to see how much everybody works hard, how much our coaches trust in us and it's been a wonderful thing to see everybody come together to get to the point where we're at now. “We still have so much more that we want to do, so we're not complacent with where we are now. We understand that everything now doesn't mean anything if we don't continue to work hard, continue to practice hard, continue to play hard and win the rest of our games that we have. It's been fun to see and it's been fun to be a part of.”

Region 3 enthusiasts have no doubt been watching the ascension of Belhaven over the last few seasons and may not be surprised at where Belhaven is now and what the ceiling could possibly be. If you’re being introduced to Belhaven football for the first time today, Coach McCorkle encourages people to check out Blazers football. “Watch and see. I think we've got a good product. I think we've got a great culture. We've got good players. And this is a fun program. If I would describe Belhaven football in a word, it's potential. I think there's still so much out there for us to grow and gain. So we're, we're excited about how far we've come, but we're excited about the future too.”

The Undefeated

After six weeks of play, Division III is left with 20 undefeated teams, including Belhaven. Win percentage is a primary selection and seeding criteria, so keeping those win percentages perfect can mean hosting a game in the playoffs or not. Not all of these teams will reach the end undefeated as head to head games loom down the road between currently unbeaten teams. The 20 remaining undefeated squads are: 

Of course the other end of the other end of the spectrum lie the teams grinding for their first win of the season There are 24 teams in that scenario and, like the list of undefeated teams, some will be assured to win against a currently winless team in their conference. The 24 teams waiting to break through in 2023: 

On tap 

The Division III regular season has made the turn and is officially on the back 9. Conference games that are going to impact the playoff picture are happening each and every week, with the stakes and drama ratcheting up as we work our way through October. D3football.com is covering all of those exciting races and big games. Here’s what you can watch for every week at D3football.com:

Tomorrow: Quick Hits featuring our panel’s predictions and insights into this weekend’s games

Saturday: Game day. The D3football.com Scoreboard has all of your links for stats and broadcasts. 

Sunday: New Top 25 poll 

Monday: Around The Nation podcast. Pat Coleman and Greg Thomas recap the weekend that was and preview the weekend to come in Division III football.

Tuesday/Wednesday: Team of the Week honors, features columns

Thursday: Around the Nation column

I’d Like To Thank…

Special thanks to Kolbe Blunt and Blaine McCorkle for spending time with Around The Nation this week. Additional thanks to Belhaven University Director of Athletic Communications and Sports Information Director Keneth Nash for coordinating our conversations!

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There’s nothing small about small college football. Division III is home to 241 teams, and many thousands of student-athletes and coaches. There are so many more stories out there than I can find on my own. Please share your stories that make Division III football so special for all of us! Reach out to me at greg.thomas@d3sports.com or on Twitter @wallywabash to share your stories.