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Time runs out for Indians

BY DAVID SHAW
FOR THE SALISBURY POST

But when time expired in the NCAA Division II quarterfinal at Burke-Tarr Stadium, the Indians were left clutching nothing but air — and wondering if one more possession could have made a difference in their season-ending 28-25 loss to SAC rival Carson-Newman.

“Sixty minutes. That’s all you get,” record-setting quarterback Mitch Ellis said after Catawba brought its magic carpet ride in for a landing. “If we could have had one more series, I think we could have gotten it done.”

Instead, the Indians have a year to think about why they didn’t beat the clock. Certainly their second-half comeback against top-seeded C-N was both dramatic and encouraging. But it was simply a case of too little, too late.

“If we had two more minutes,” cornerback Darrell Erby pleaded, “I believe we would have scored again and won the game. Then we’d be talking about something else.”

Twelveth-seeded Catawba, the state’s winningest team at 11-2 this autumn, nearly turned a 22-point third-quarter deficit into something to shout about.

“Oh yeah,” said senior left tackle Brian Hinson. “We were rolling. We had our confidence going. We were playing our game. In the fourth quarter we were thinking about maybe going to California (for the semifinals).”

Only one obstacle stood between the Indians and their California dream — unbeaten C-N. And the Eagles (12-0), a Division II finalist two of the past three seasons, carefully fixed a few leaks down the stretch and held on, moving within two victories of a national championship.

“Give Carson-Newman credit,” said fifth-year Catawba coach Dave Bennett. “Hopefully they’ll represent our conference and do well. They’ve been there more times than us. This is our first time and we plan on being back.”

If anything, Catawba can point to an atypical first half for its one-and-done postseason. The country’s stingiest defense allowed 192 yards rushing and fell behind 21-6 after two quarters. “We had two plans,” said Erby. “That first one didn’t work.”

Neither did Catawba’s offense, save for a 4-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in the game’s opening moments. The Indians were limited to four yards on the ground and trailed at halftime for the first time all year. What’s more, Ellis was sacked five times in the first two periods — seven by day’s end — and seemingly spent more time on his back than Michaelangelo.

“That’s because of all the stemming they did,” Hinson explained. “Once we got set their linemen and linebackers would start shifting around. It’s not that we didn’t know who to block, but it got a little confusing.”

“What they did,” added wide receiver Ryan Millwood, “was mess with our heads. We were dropping passes, missing throws and were just slow to execute. At halftime we decided we weren’t gonna go down like this.”

They didn’t. Catawba scored the game’s final 19 points and had a chance to tie the score following a fumble recovery by freshman Danny McLeod at the C-N 25-yard line with 5:31 to play.

“We knew,” said Ellis, who passed for 386 yards and four touchdowns, “that was our last chance. And if nothing else, we were at least going to put up a good fight.”

It was a fight that all but ended four snaps later when a 45-yard field goal attempt by Matt Gross never gained altitude and skidded through the end zone.

Without a timeout — the Indians spent their last one with 8:50 remaining — Catawba stood by helplessly as C-N chewed the final 4:12 off the clock.

“The most disappointing thing is knowing the best team isn’t moving on,” said Erby, one of two Catawba players invited to the Division II all-star game in January. “In the first half, no. But when the game was on the line we played like champions.”