A WEEKEND AT LENOIR RHYNE UNIVERSITY

The reporter in me says, I should just stick to the facts, do the standard inverted triangle theory of writing and let the reader know how the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears football team did this weekend in their homecoming football game against Wingate. The writer in me says, that's not the right approach because this weekend was so much more than just a game of who won and who lost and it would not reflect what actually took place. It was about what it takes to get ready for a football game, the emotions that a group of young men go through, the thoughts, prayers and dreams they have, the highs and lows of game day and the joy they bring to a small university in Hickory, NC. It was much more than a final score.



The emotions that I witnessed on Saturday were raw and honest. In the world of being a "grown-up" we are very rarely afforded the opportunity to experience or are allowed to show the emotions that were on display Saturday afternoon. It didn't matter to these young men that this is just Division II college football, it was about being a student athlete in college and making their coaches, alumni and classmates proud on homecoming.


As adults, me included, we tend to forget that in the college football world these are just young men playing this game. We forget about all the hard work they put in to lineup on Saturday and have the privilege of playing college football on any level. For the most part they understand that they are the small minority of high school players that get to continue on their football careers in college.


"I came here to get and education and continue to play football." red shirt freshman and defensive lineman Brandon Martin of Spartanburg, SC said , "I enjoyed my visit here and its not that far from home. It's also special playing for Coach Goldsmith who has coached at Division I because we get to hear a lot about the experiences"


"Most of the kids that come and visit here we get to come and play football here, Mark Houston the defensive coordinator said, "It's the same game they play at Division I, the practices are just as hard, the plays are the same and the field is the same size. The only difference is the stadium is smaller.

Just over 6,000 people strolled into Moretz Stadium on Saturday afternoon to watch the Bears battle the Wingate Bulldogs in what may have been one of the most entertaining football games I have ever seen. The scores came quick and often. There were fumbles returned for touchdowns, kickoff returns returned for touchdowns, long pass plays and longer running plays that all produced touchdowns. There was even a 61 yard missed field goal that decided the out come of the game.

The weekend started for me on Friday at the football offices with Coach Fred Goldsmith, I sat and watched the players stroll in all give me that look of, who the hell is this guy and why does he have his notebook in hand. The first player I spoke with on Friday was freshman defensive back Doug Ellis from Atlanta, GA . Ellis was all alone in the weight room when I arrived. He had the look of a fish out of water even though LR is six games into their season. I had spoken to Coach Goldsmith about some of the the toughest things about coaching at a division II school and he let me know that one of those things was getting the players to stick it out for four years. Ellis' faced show signs of being homesick and missing his family.

I asked Ellis why he came to Lenoir-Rhyne, "It was the furthest place away from home that gave me an offer." Ellis said, "I'm away from home but I'm getting used to it." As I walked away Ellis continued lifting weights by himself with the coaches watching from their offices.


" These kids come here and get homesick or can't get it done academically and we lose them." Houston said, "We've got a great little campus and some facilities that rank in the top half of our conference. This is a great little football school with a ton of pride."

The rest of Friday went as expected. Their were meetings for position players, chapel service and the final walk through out on the field under the lights.


Saturday morning brought a whole new feel than Friday on the campus of Lenoir-Ryhne. When I arrived just after 8 am, tailgaters were all ready setting up and had grills going for a 2 pm kickoff. The side walks around LR were starting to fill up by fans, students, faculty and alumni for the Homecoming Parade. Too sound very cliche', you could feel the excitement starting to build from those around you.


The team was in the football offices when I made my way to meet them going through some final position meetings and getting ready to head over for the team pre-game meal. I skipped the team meal along with Coach Goldsmith. Goldsmith rarely attends the pre-game meal. Instead we walked the field to see what condition it was in.


"I get too worked up." Goldsmith said, "I'm afraid I'll go off on one of my players goofing off during the meal. It's better for me to just get away and do some thinking and give them some time."


After the meal the players sat on the front steps of the athletic department and watched the homecoming parade. They made their catcalls and hooted and hollered as their classmates traveled by with their floats on the streets of the campus. They played around during the parade but you could notice toward the end, the atmosphere changing for the players, they knew that the battle was getting closer. They quited down and started to focus on what lied ahead. The pageantry of the day was starting to wear off for them and getting in a game time mood was first and foremost.

The final team meeting before the players suited and went out to field for pre-game warm-ups was led by Coach Goldsmith. Goldsmith was short and sweet in the final meeting just reminding his players of what lied ahead and that it was time to care care of business "between the bricks." Goldsmith then left the room and turned the team meeting over to senior captain, Dewayne Jones of Reidsville, NC.

Jones came to the podium and motivated his team with just a few words, He was quiet in his approach . He finished is brief speech with a quote that I am starting to believe in more and more each day since I heard it for the first time.

"Tomorrow is not guaranteed." Jones said. The response from his team was overwhelming as the energy in the room could have launched the space shuttle. Lenoir -Rhyne had not won a homecoming game since 2004 and Jones reminded everyone of that fact and it was their mission this day to end that streak.

All during warm-ups the music pumped over the p.a. system and the players kept getting more fired up. Just 55 seconds into the game on the second play of scrimmage Bear sophomore fullback Byron Darby of Gastonia, NC set the tone for the day when he broke a 65 yard touchdown run. The scoring came fast and often all day with the Bears leading the way.

The Bears were never behind the whole game until there was just under a minute to play when Wingate running back Nelson Woods scored with a three yard run to put the Bulldogs on top 50-49. What was a great day for Lenoir-Rhyne was fast becoming a heartbreaking day.

The Bears would have one more chance to win the game and came up short when sophomore Colin Corpe out of Ocala (FL) Vanguard High School missed a 61 yard field goal with 22 seconds remaining. The Bears lost.

In the locker room after the game the emotions of the day overflowed. Players consoled each other, some cried and others were angry, not at teammates but at themselves for letting down their teammates, alumni, coaching staff and classmates. They had come so far and yet had failed, or did they?

Too many times as fans we measure the success of a football program by wins and losses on the field. Even though Lenoir-Rhyne lost the football game the pride that the players showed before, during and after the game should make the LR Family proud. The LR football team cared not that they had lost a football game but that they has dissappointed the over 6,000 people that come to support them.

It's really too bad that we measure the success of a program in wins and losses. Saturday I learned for the first time in my life that sometimes the measure of man comes in defeat. That true character is shown when as an athlete your heart is ripped out and left trampled on the goal line in the final seconds.

The Bears lost a football game on homecoming but they won so much more for being a part of it