Shawn McBride once represented Sumter, S.C. in the Shrine Bowl, an all-star football game for high school seniors.

His team lost to North Carolina and his aspirations for Division Ifootball may have been lost on that day as well.

“I really didn’t do too well in the Shrine Bowl,” shrugged Catawba’s 6-0, 225-pound junior outside linebacker.

“That was kinda good for us,” said Indians defensive coordinator Richard Kent. “He was such a good player, we were fortunate to get him.”

The Division Ischools all backed off after that Shrine Bowl showing. Presbyterian was interested in McBride but the feeling was not mutual.

Then, McBride went to a combine and met Catawba assistant Mark Kirkpatrick.

“I came up here and it was a loving family,” McBride said. “This is where I wanted to stay.”

After redshirting his freshman year, McBride has stayed in the starting lineup. He is one of the main reasons Catawba’s defense is ranked second in the nation against the run and leads practically every team stat defensively in the South Atlantic Conference.

Saturday, in a 28-0 win over Newberry, McBride had two sacks, four solo tackles and two assists.

It was the kind of performance that made Kent smile and made Shawn Sanders and Darris Morris jealous.

“I love Coach Kent because of the way he schemes against other teams’ offenses,” McBride said. “He gives you a chance to do a little something.”

That’s the main reason defensive stars come to Catawba to play for Kent.

“We take each player and evaluate what they can do and let them do it,” Kent said.

And what can McBride do?

“Well, he does a lot of things,” said Kent.“He makes things happen when he blitzes. He diagnoses well in coverage. He undertstands where he fits in the scheme as far as responsibilities go.”

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As far as Sanders and Morris? They are the other outside linebackers who wage a healthy three-way war each day in practice and on Saturdays.

McBride’s redshirt year coincided with Sanders’ true freshman year. Sanders was the Freshman of the Year.

“I got kinda jealous when he got that,” grinned McBride. “But I worked hard in the offseason to beat him out for all-conference.”

As a sophomore, McBride not only beat out Sanders for all-SAC but was named first-team All-American.

“He was kinda jealous about that,” McBride said. “And Morris is always jealous because he hasn’t gotten the accomplishments yet. But we’re all trying to beat each other out.”

That makes all three of them better,” said Kent. “Our defense has improved some through the years because of the competition. You get players who challenge the ones who are already here.”

McBride thought he’d be challenging for playing time as a freshman but was redshirted.

“That killed me,” he said. “I wanted to play,” he said.

“Talent-wise, I think Shawn would’ve contributed as a freshman,” said Kent. “But at the same time, there were a lot of good players at that position who were experienced.”

So McBride spent his first year watching players like Maurice Miller (“the best I’ve ever seen in my life”) and Ronnie Harrington and by the time spring practice arrived, “I was pumped up. Now, I’m more laid back. I’m getting a little wiser.”

It shows in his play.

“Shawn’s a tough guy who does the finesse thing when he’s matched up against a bigger player,” Kent said.

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McBride is a celebrity in Sumter now. He goes to church with his mother and the preacher tells him to stand up and be acknowledged.

And McBride will acknowledge this: He has found the right place to attend college and play football.

“”It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world when you play as one heartbeat, one unit,” he said of the defense.“As long as we keep that one heartbeat, nobody can beat us.”

Nothing can beat the small college atmosphere either, McBride points out. Everybody knows everybody else and even the teachers know who you are.

“I’m accustomed to everything here,” he said. “I’d rather be here than anywhere else.”

And just think. The All-American linebacker owes it all to a Shrine Bowl performance that seemed to turn everybody off except Catawba.