BY RONNIE GALLAGHER
SALISBURY POST

The sports information director stood at the podium and announced the next speaker to the media attending the South Atlantic Conference’s Operation Football press conference Friday morning at Salisbury’s Holiday Inn.

But something just didn’t seem right. The speaker, coach Ken Sparks of Carson-Newman, was introduced as the man who led the Eagles to a third-place finish in 2000.

Third-place Carson-Newman? Oh, come now.

But Sparks admitted it was true. His team, always considered an absolute juggernaut among the country’s Division II powers, had lost twice, at Presbyterian and at Catawba, and did not make the postseason.

Carson-Newman not in the playoffs? Oh, come now.

“It was the first time in 15, 16 years that we didn’t make the playoffs,” Sparks lamented, “so maybe somebody else will get all the darts thrown at them.”

They could be aimed at Catawba College, the squad that ended up winning its first 11 games and the outright SAC title. David Bennett’s team was ranked second in the nation at one time.

Ask anyone around here and the first thing they remember about last year was the Oct. 28 win over Sparks’ Eagles.

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Carson-Newman had lost one game in a season before. When Presbyterian beat the Eagles last fall, most thought, “well, it happens.”

But when Catawba followed that up a few weeks later with a 13-10 win at the buzzer, heads suddenly turned.

“I think it did open some eyes,” said Mars Hill coach Tim Clifton. “I used to always say, ‘Take Carson-Newman out of the mix and put everybody else in a bag, shake it and where they fall, it doesn’t matter. There are teams out there now who think they can play with (Carson-Newman) and have an opportunity to win.”

That was the theme of every coach at Operation Football: We’re better. We can beat the big boys in Carson-Newman and Catawba.

Maybe so. But not one of those coaches dared vote the two schools lower than themselves.

Even though Sparks and Bennett remind us constantly they are losing 16 starters each, the other coaches picked them 1-2 with Catawba getting one of the eight first-place votes.

“That was Ken Sparks’ (vote),” said Bennett. “He didn’t want to vote for himself.”

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While Sparks knows his team is going to be chosen at the top every year, despite graduation losses, Bennett doesn’t like to talk about great expectations, despite coming out on top of 52 of the 67 games he has coached since taking over in 1995.

“People get used to winning,” Bennett told his audience. “Now, we run into people who say, ‘Hey, coach, we gonna win the national championship?’ I say, ‘What kind of drugs are you on?’”

Bennett has the Jeff Foxworthy delivery and his spiel cracked up those assembled.

“For all you people who ain’t coached, you just don’t turn on a light switch and it happens.”
But it does when you establish yourself. And the rest of the SAC coaches consider Catawba and Carson-Newman the schools they’d like to emulate.

“Carson-Newman has never had a real big slump,” said Newberry’s Mike Taylor. “And since Dave took over, I think Catawba has assumed command of sustained excellence. Even though both of those teams lost a lot of starters, the groups returning have expectations. They’ll be O.K.”

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Presbyterian’s new coach Tommy Spangler mentioned his schedule. By the fifth week of the 2001 season, his Blue Hose will have faced West Georgia, Catawba and Carson-Newman.

“If we were Division I, let’s say we’re Georgia, that would be like playing Michigan, Florida State and Notre Dame,” Spangler said.

Bennett then replies that he has to play Presbyterian and Carson-Newman on the road.

“Carson-Newman is still the King Daddy of them all,” he said. “We might have beaten them last year but they won’t forget us when we go up there this year. They play unbelievable at home.”

When the other SAC coaches weren’t praising Sparks, they raved about Catawba’s strength and Bennett’s tradition.

“Catawba has got themselves out there now,” said Clifton.

“Catawba’s always tough,” Sparks added.

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Bennett downplays it all, of course, but he is smart enough to know about a word spelled H-Y-P-E. And in the preseason, hype is what it’s all about.

“This (fall) camp will probably be the most important camp we’ve had since we’ve been at Catawba,” Bennett said. “We were coming off a 2-9 year when we took over and there wasn’t a lot of pressure. Now, our guys have raised the bar and set a standard.

“Our young players are winners and they believe they can carry on a tradition. It’s going to be fun coaching these guys.”

Let’s face it. Whether Bennett likes it or not — and no coach enjoys accolades poured all over players who haven’t played a game together yet — the Catawba Indians are considered a national force — in recruiting, talent, coaching and in the win column. That’s what 22 wins in your last 25 games does for a program.

Friday’s Operation SAC proved that Carson-Newman is not alone at the top anymore. Catawba is staring it right in the eye.

Sorry, Dave, but I have to write the truth.

You might not like it, but hey, that’s what you get for winning so much.

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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4256 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com .