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The year was 1991. Duke had just upset (upset?) UNLV in the semifinals of the NCAABasketball Tournament. It was the biggest win in Duke history and set off emotions that exploded sky-high.
The CBS cameras honed in on Duke coach Mike Kryzewski who had his palms down, urging his players to calm down as they tackled each other on the court.
The cameras then followed Bobby Hurley down the hallway to the locker room.
Hurley was shouting, “We’ve still got one more! We’ve still got one more!
For the record, Duke went out two days later and beat Kansas for the national title.
Nine years later, in Salisbury, N.C., a coach and player were doing the same things.
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Last Saturday, Catawba College’s football team was in the same situation. The Indians defeated perennial juggernaut Carson-Newman 13-10. The fans raced onto the field. The players hugged and cried and overcome with emotion.
And there was Bennett, just like Kryzewski, urging his team, his fans and even his media to calm down in the aftermath on the field.
“We’ve got two more,” he said over the din. “We’ve got two more games to play.”
This might be the biggest challenge of the year for Bennett. His team is 8-0 and despite being on the road, will be expected to beat Mars Hill and
Lenoir-Rhyne in the final two weeks of the season. His team has to keep its perspective.
“I hope they know this isn’t the end of our goals,” he said.
Bennett’s All-American defensive lineman DeVonte Peterson smiled. He has come too far to shrug off the rest of the season.
“For those who have forgotten, we still have two more games. We’ll play them the same way we play every game. And we’re going to practice the same way.
No sir. No sir. There will be no letdown.”
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When the game was over, Matt Gross wanted to go crazy. But he seemed completly under control. He had just boomed the 25-yard field goal to win the game with one second left but he eschwed the fanatics and looked for his brother.
“We both share the same dream,” he said quietly, “and that was to play college ball. My brother walked on at Appalachian State for two years but things just didn’t work out for him.
“He met me at midfield. My real dad (his parents divorced when he was young) was there too. So it was a special day I’ll never forget.”
Gross tried to fall asleep but had a terrible time doing it.
“I laid in bed for two hours just remembering the kick and the celebration,” he said.
“Gross became an icon,” laughed Peterson.
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When the horn blew and the Catawba Crazies (the student section) stormed the field, Bennett fought his way through the delirious mob, seeking out Carson-Newman coach Ken Sparks for the obligatory postgame handshake.
“Ya’ll did great,” Sparks told Bennett. “Take this and do something good with it.”
Bennett seemed a bit humbled and the respect for his counterpart grew even more.
“That was a class comment from Ken,” he said.
The comments kept coming as the weekend ended and a new week began.
Bennett left his desk for about an hour one day and came back to find 16 phone messages, some which left him shaking his head.
Most were alumni saying how proud they were of Catawba. There were former players calling.
And then, there was the advice for the coach of the third-ranked Division IIteam in the country.
“I had one man tell me, ‘Don’t forget the short passing game,’” Bennett chuckled. “Another one said, ‘If you’ve got a horse, keep feeding him. And No. 4 (tailback Kevin McKenzie) is a horse.’
“Hey, we fed him so much (24 carries on an 80-degree day) he got tired. That thoughobred had to rest a littte bit.”
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While Bennett was taking his calls, Peterson was taking in the hero worship that has engulfed the entire team. Saturday night on campus was an experience he’ll never forget.
“Most of the people stayed on campus,” Peterson said. “It was like a big parade. It was all the students talked about. Somebody said it was the best game they’d ever seen in their lives.
“This will go down in history and last until the pyramids turn to dust.”
Peterson, the Homecoming King, is certainly considered the King Tut of South Atlantic Conference football. Reporters in the press box Saturday who were seeing Catawba for the first time, muttered, “My goodness he is big.”
Bigger than life, actually. Just like the win over Carson-Newman.
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Ronnie Gallagher is the sports editor of the Post.
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Ronnie