By Ronnie Gallagher
rgallagher@salisburypost.com
It’s been a very long season for the Livingstone Blue Bears but it will be a very short Senior Day presentation today at Alumni Stadium.
On the Livingstone roster, there is just four seniors listed to play today in the season finale against Fayetteville State: quarterback Steven Williams, linebacker Kenneth Odom, and offensive linemen Justin Norton and Kyle Blackwell.
Game time is 1:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, Catawba (1-4, 4-4) tries to rebound from last week’s loss at home to Wingate by traveling to Brevard for a 1 p.m. contest.
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Eric Brown’s Blue Bears would love to spoil Fayetteville State’s visit and the Broncos’ chance to win the Western Division outright.
As far as the Livingstone seniors? Williams set a school record for completions last week but it was bittersweet. The Blue Bears were handed a 54-3 drubbing at the hands of Shaw.
Their last day wearing the Livingstone uniform is not expected to go well.
Fayetteville State is currently leading the division at 5-1. The Broncos are 6-3 overall.
Livingstone is 0-9 heading into today and 0-6 in the division.
A win against Fayetteville State would give Shaw a chance to share the title, provided it beats Johnson C. Smith.
Livingstone is a very young team. Of the 62 names on the roster, a whopping 35 are freshmen and another 14 are sophomores. The question is, who will coach them next season?
Brown has been told he’d get to interview but the powers who have fired four coaches since the turn of the century say they’re opening it up.
A win today could help Brown’s cause.
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When Catawba began its bus ride to the mountains this morning, the question was which Brevard would show up.
Heading into last Saturday, the Tornados were sky-high. They had already won six games, ensuring the first winning season in school history.
Then, Brevard traveled to Carson-Newman.
Going in, Brevard was fifth in the nation in rushing with 272 yards per game. Carson-Newman held it to 75.
Going in, Brevard was first in the South Atlantic Conference in rushing defense at 95 yards per game. Carson-Newman ran for 500.
“You feel for Brevard,” Catawba coach Chip Hester. “They had the worst luck I’ve ever seen. Carson-Newman’s going to cause mistakes but everything that could go wrong did go wrong.”
So, how will Brevard (2-3, 6-3) react today in its Homecoming?
“They do have a bunch of seniors so that will help the situation,” Hester said. “I think you’ve got to get some confidence back in practice.”
Seeing Catawba on the schedule might help Brevard’s confidence as well. It runs an option-based offense similar to Georgia Tech’s.
“Obviously, we’ve struggled against the run,” Hester said. “It’s a daunting task. We’ve got to find ways to tackle better and play better against the run or it’s going to be a long day again.”
The Indians still have something to play for ó a winning record. You have to go back 15 years to find a season where Catawba lost more games than it won.
“We’ve got guys who have played important games for the conference championships and in the playoffs,” Hester said. “As seniors, you’re playing for your legacy. You don’t want to be the team that had a losing season.
“For the younger guys, it’s important to finish strong to have momentum heading into the offseason.”