Afterstartingtheseasonwithfourlosses,theFlameswontheirnextseventolearn 'Itfelt so good to win'

Story by Don Meckley and Brian Sullivan

Oom e had, atone time, calledtheLiberty Baptist College football team the young and the hapless Suffering through their worst season ever, theFlames werea team plagued by inexperience,a team thatjust could notseem torid itselfof misfortune, discouragement andturnovers had thetwoprevious years," said Flames Head Coach Tom Dowling, "you don't expect theroof tocave inso completely."

As the 1982season started, itseemed that theteam had nowhere togo but up But in the beginning it wasa carbon copy of theprevious year's 1-9pounding

"We can stillhave a good football season," said Dowling,following Liberty's 3110 losstoCarson-Newman Collegeearlyin the season.

Dowling's critics were merciless. The Lynchburg News Sports Editor JimMcDonald threatened totakeaway thecapital lettersinDowling's name every time itwas used ina story until the team started win- nmg again

Senior Mitchell Clark from Waynesboro, Va., broke the1,000yardrushing mark against theIndiana University ofPennsylvania. Clarkgained 197yards on29 carries and scored two touchdowns in that game.

"We are stillgoing to have a good footballseason," said Dowling,following Liberty's 27-7 loss to Middle Tennessee State the following week "We need a win badiy-"

An understatement. Some were beginning to think that the lamentations would never end

"Idon't think that the name LBC has a frightening ring toit,"related Dowling,"so theassumption is made thatwe don't have a good team."

The team's record possibly had something todo with thatassumption.Was anybody stilllistening?

"You might remember that Isaid after the first four losses of the season that we were ina hole,but don'tthrow dirtinon us yet It would have been a national upsetif we had won the last two games that we lost.We had placed well.We were set to explode And explode we did."

Senior Eric Simmons from Cincinnati, Ohio, leaves no doubt the running back from Delaware State University isn't going anywhere. The Flames extended their streak toseven witha 35-22 win intheir final game.

A season that,at first, seemed destined tobe a repeat performance of 1981,turned out to be the third best season on record. Liberty surprised everyone except, of course, Dowling. The Flames not onlyfinished with a 7-4 record,but they were also ranked 19th in the NAIA.

What happened to cause such a turnaround?

"Commitment," said Dowling who was unanimously voted the District 29 Coach

Seniors Eric Simmons and Jeff Brown celebrate the first win oftheseason againstCentral State University from Wilberforce, Ohio. With a 24-12 score that proved "it felt so good to win, "everything changed.

'It felt so goo d to win'

(Continued from page 63) of the year.

The word isadmittedly a coach cliche, but inthiscase it ispossibly avalid one. A team that achieved the turn-around that LBC didcould hardly becalled apathetic.

"It was painful learning how to win," said Dowling. "It waslike a bird learning how to fly. The first few attempts were shaky."

Early intheseason, it looked as if the team was destined torepeatthedark times it endured the previous season.The losses mounted up, 16-13, 31-10, 27-7, 42-13

They were strong performances, most of them, but just not enough topull out the much-needed victory

But then the Flames started to win. Not just against small schools, but against some impressive competition, such as Presbyterian College ofClinton, S.C., and Morehead State of the Ohio Valley Conference This wasthe caliber ofcompetition that LBC hadsoeasily succumbed to the previous season Morehead State had held the Flames toonly 2 yards rushing in the entire game in1981

Again thequestion, what happened?

"We've got a good defense,"saidjunior cornerback Earl Fisher,wholed the team with seven interceptions

"We worked hard thisyear and it's final- lypaying off,"saidjuniorcenterScottTaylor.

"Last year, I feltlikeI could do things by myself,but I learned it takes everybodyto control theother team," free safety Earl Hackley said.

While the words "commitment" and "team-work" are both abstract and, at times, over-worked, itseems that theperfection of basic fundamentals was thereason for the team's success

"We always thought wecould win," said juniorwide receiverand kick-offreturnspecialist Guy Shashaty. "It just took doing everything we already knew how to do."

"If people came toourpractices,they could see we knew howto win Butwhen we finally proved we could win,it felt real

FOOTBALL: (Front row)Kelly Bush,John Sanders, Jeff Brown, Bill Lord, Jeff Benson,David Thomas, Randy Hershaner, Mitchell Clark, Eric Simmons, Mark Shelton; (second row) Earl Rector, MattButler, Guy Shashaty, Robby Pruitt, Jeff Scott, Darrell Walker, ClayThompson, Tim Johnson, Mike Forslund, Pablo Aragon, Mark DeMoss; (third row)James Cole, David Cain, Larry Hardy, Richard Fenlock, Eric Schuster, Frank Hinnant, MitchLucas, Albert Lang, Fred Banks, Scott Taylor, Earl Fisher, Earl Hackley; (fourth row) Travis Wright, Dwight O'Neil, Greg Guin, Doug Smith, Amos Horton, Phil Basso, Joe Sheffer, Rick Krieder, Carlos Aragon, Earl Orwig, Chuck Pennington, Steve Clark, MarcusAdams, Dale Gray; (fifth row) Kelvin Edwards,Lehman Huff, SteveSlater, David Pen/and, Randy Mason, Richard Trent, LeonardLawson,John Horsley, TroyRice, Dave good," said Coach Tom Dowling "I don't think anyone really understands how much credit goes tothe players."

Brown, RichardKee, RoyceAultman, Doug New, Robbie Bryant, ScottArmstrong; (sixth row) Winfred Hogan, Daniel Hubbard, Rennie Jones, Rod West, Kenneth Clark, Carl Barley, Joseph Seamster, Mike Allen, Jim Shannon,Greg Tweedel, Barry Luff, HenryHawkins, Keith Ross, Gerald Green, Casey Trigg, Dexter Bill Kagey; (seventh row) James Mangus,Kenny Roberts, Don Jones, Korey Kraft, Toney Ditton. Kenneth Fisher, JeffMcClellan, Jacob Pope, Randy Fields, Joseph Zuber, Charles Mercer, Jim Baker, Paul Bates, James Bunch,John Doyle, Roger Sorrels. (Eighth row) Coaches: Reggie Williams, MikeLucas, Dan Redding, Roland, Theo Caldwell, Tom Dowling, Kendall Keith, Kim Graham, Giove Steve Wherry, Lefty Fisher.

Everyone knows the difference between knowing and doing.When theFlamesstarted "doing it,"everyone wassurprised except the team itself. Dowling attributed this to the dedication of the players, coaches, andtrainers.

(continued on page 66)

It felt so goo d to win'

The dedication and commitment paid off for many of the players on the team, but on an individual basis several emerged as having gone above and beyond.

Linebacker John Sanders,a 6-1,220lb., senior from Murfreesboro, Tenn., was selected by the American Football Coaches Association to the Kodak All-American team for the Division Iclass; he was the leading tackier ineach of the four seasons he played at LBC. This past season he recorded 130 tackles to bring hisfour-year Kelvin Edwards (83) gathers in a JeffBenson pass in the 31-15 victory over Central State University. Edwards alsocaught a 40-yard TD pass that afternoon.

The Flames' All-American tailback, Mitchell Clark (42), ripsthrough a gaping hole inLBC's first win of theseason.Flames offensive line, led by Scott Taylor (54), allowed Clark togain yardage allyear long.

total to 550 He was also twice named the District 29 Defensive Player of the Week He was runner-up in the balloting for the District 29 Defensive MVP and was also selected to the 1982 NAIA All-District team

Quarterback Mike Forslund, a 6-3, 215 lb senior from Lynchburg,Va.,wasselected twice as the Flames' offensiveplayerof the game He finished the season passing staff photo/Brian Sullivan for 1,343 yards,32 yards short of becoming the single season passing leader, in spite of starting only six games Forslund was then drafted by theWashington Federals of the CJSFL.

Tailback Mitchell Clark, a 5-8, 176 lb senior from Waynesboro, Va.,became the first player ever selected as player of the week four times in one season for the NAIA District 29 He finished the season with four 100-yard rushing games and 1,185 yards,tomake him thesingle-season rushing leader forthe Flames He was also named first team NAIA 1982All-American Defensiveback JeffBrown,a6-1,180 lb senior from Marietta,Ga.,was selected as the Flames' and NAIA District 29 Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Indiana University ofPa He had two interceptions, returning one for 52 yards, and broke up three other passes. After thecollege season,the newly-formed CISFL had itsfirstdraft.Brown was selected by the Washington Federals and earned a starting position at cornerback.

Dedication and commitment Over-used cliches? Not so when positive results are produced whenever these elements areinvolved.

The Flames were "Hot Stuff" inthe '82 season, What words could be added for next year's squad? Fearsome? Awesome? Intimidating?Respectability?Time will tell

Coach Tom Dowling examines the remains of the celebration following the first win of the '82 season. In LBC's win over Morehead State, the Flames defensewas responsible forall 13points. Heredefensive backs Jeff Brown (28) and Billy Lord (21) celebrate Lord'sfumble recovery. The final score was 1310.