Once you get to know the nationally-ranked Catawba College football team, the music sounds
just right.The defense goes
on the field and Ted Nugent’s Cat Scratch Fever blares over the loudspeakers.
Appropriate enough. That’s
some nasty music for a nasty bunch of headhunters.
But when the offense comes out on
the field, it’s time to dance. That’s why K.C. and the Sunshine Band is chosen.
Saturday afternoon, 2,143 fans
were all singing, “That’s the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it, uh-huh,
uh-huh.”
What they liked was watching Kevin
McKenzie and the offense rap Newberry 34-3.
They watched the dreadlocked
newcomer slip and sliver, tiptoe and sidestep to the tune of 118 yards rushing on 19
carries
That’s what head coach David
Bennett envisioned when he went to Mississippi last season and corralled the junior
college runner in an all-star game.
“We went down there with one
thing in mind,” said Bennett.
That one thing was speed and
instinct — someone who could break a long one at a moment’s notice.
Bennett got that and more from the
East Central Mississippi Junior College all-star. He got a kid who can definitely tango.
“I love to dance,” said
McKenzie, a high-stepper if there ever was one. “That’s what we do back home and
I bring it with me on the field.”
That’s how No. 4 led the
Indians onto the field Saturday — pumping those knees, swaying and urging on the
crowd.
Pointing to his teammates, he
laughed, “The boys think I’m crazy but they like it.”
His head coach certainly likes it.
McKenzie’s performance so far this season is enough to make “Boogie Man”
Bennett put on some polyester and get down with his bad self.
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McKenzie has something else that
incites a double-take.
His hair.
The dreadlocks make Ricky Williams
look like he’s sporting a crewcut. The hairdo is long, braided and thick.
Receiver O.J. Lennon remembers his
initial reaction.
“When I first saw his hair, I
wanted to get to know him,” Lennon said. “It was something different around
campus.”
McKenzie’s nickname is
“Smiley” because, as Lennon points out, “He’s hilarious. He’s the
team comedian.”
So let’s see if we’ve
got this straight. He’s funny. He’s got wild hair. He can run and he can dance.
And with his speed, Catawba can
win.
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Catawba ran its record to 8-1
Saturday behind the nation’s No. 1-ranked defense against the rush.
But with all the hoopla
surrounding the defenders, the offense is sometimes lost in the shuffle.
And that’s OK with offensive
coordinator Jamie Snider.
“Let the defense keep doing
what they’re doing and let us keep playing well. There has never been a championship
team that couldn’t play defense. And there has never been a championship team that
couldn’t run the football.”
That’s exactly what Bennett
told McKenzie last year at an all-star game. He was getting grief from some Catawba
oldtimers about finding a speedster and Bennett personally went to Mississippi.
“Coach Bennett told me I was
the missing link,” McKenzie said. “It made me feel good. I felt it was an
opportunity to show what I could do.”
He needed to improve his grades in
geometry and speech first and gained Bennett’s respect by going to summer school and
doing just that.
“The Good Lord was with
us,” Bennett said.
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McKenzie’s first dance into
the endzone Saturday came from 16 yards out — Newberry defenders flailing in vain as
he went past.
His showmanship rubbed off. Cedric
Squirewell took a short pass from Mitch Ellis and broke several tackles while weaving his
way for a 10-yard gain. Ryan Millwood caught a pass and made a beautiful spin move for
more yardage.
Even Ellis tried to be like
McKenzie and sprint into the endzone. He scored on a one-yard run that left Snider
good-naturedly cajoling his signal-caller.
“Itold Mitch I wanted to race
him in the 40,” Snider chuckled. “But after watching McKenzie, any of us would
look slow.”
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McKenzie’s friends in Fort
Lauderdale don’t know the hero-worship McKenzie is getting in little Salisbury, North
Carolina. They don’t realize that after the Newberry game Saturday, several players
and even Boogie Man Bennett were signing autographs for little kids.
“My boys don’t even know
where I am,” he laughed. “They haven’t heard of Catawba. But they’ll
find out pretty soon.”
Two more victories — over
Wingate at home next week and Lenoir-Rhyne in the regular season finale — would give
Catawba a 10-1 record and enough to make the Division II playoffs.
They call it The Big Dance —
the national stage Bennett and his boogie-woogie offense have been waiting to climb on
since McKenzie first donned the Catawba blue.
And what does McKenzie think of
the offensive production to go with a devastating defense?
“With a gold-toothed grin, he
said, “I like it.”
Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
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Ronnie Gallagher is the sports
editor of the Post. |
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