By Adam Johnson
D3sports.com
What started two years ago on the same sideline at Macalester College officially ended Saturday when Glenn Caruso and Tony Jennison took to opposite sides of O'Shaughnessy Field at the University of St. Thomas.
As colleagues for two seasons at Macalester, Caruso and Jennison set the road map to lead the Scots out of a culture of losing. When Caruso took over, the team had 26 players. By the time Caruso hired Jennison as defensive coordinator, the team had grown to 29 thanks to some on-campus recruiting.
In two years, the Scots tallied six wins, tripling the total from the previous three years. They improved in every category and increased the roster to more than 50 players.
The postgame handshake between Tony Jennison and Glenn Caruso was a little more friendly than, say, a Bill Belichik/Eric Mangini meeting. University of St. Thomas photo by Mike Ekern |
The coaching staff was set, players were choosing to play for the Scots and Macalester looked primed to take the next step and start the process of returning to the MIAC.
Down the road at St. Thomas, the announcement of Don Roney's retirement spread through the MIAC and the Tommies Athletic administration launched a "national search."
After scanning the nation, St. Thomas found their candidate less than a mile down the street: Glenn Caruso.
Shortly thereafter Caruso was accepting the same position he held at Macalester and realizing his former team would be his first opponent. That was a game he scheduled because he wanted Macalester to start playing the caliber of team they would face upon their return to the MIAC, which the Scots left after the 2001 season.
So, what is the difference between coaching at Macalester and St. Thomas?
"I think that there is an inherent support here at UST that is built into the culture and the 5,000 fans at the game are a testament to that," said Caruso.
Back at Macalester, the Scots were looking for their second head coach in three years but athletic director Travis Feezell (who has since resigned) knew he didn't need to look very far.
"Tony was without a doubt the right man for the job," said Feezell. "It was very clear that he had three important components ... one, he had the respect of the players and others on campus ... two, he understood the place of athletics at Macalester and where football would fit into the institution ... and three, he had demonstrated both the management and technical skills that every good head coach needs ... in the end, it was a very easy hire."
Caruso and Jennison spoke before the game.
"We wished each other well and he said he was happy for me and I'll do great as a head coach," Jennison said.
With the schools being so close and Caruso's departure hitting some faithful MAC followers and former players like a ton of bricks, there was thought that Caruso's presence on the Tommies sideline would be ill perceived. That thought did not keep Caruso up at night.
"Not in the least," said Caruso. "In order to achieve mental toughness we need to take pride in controlling the controllables and not worry ourselves with variables beyond our control. Opponent crowd reaction is something beyond our control, so we can't really concern ourselves with it."
Meanwhile, across the field Jennison was adjusting to his first collegiate game as a head coach.
"This first game had the emotion of the relationships," said Jennison. "The players playing for their old coach, coaching against good friends and past colleagues, and the school rivalry added some emotion to the game and the experience for a first time head coach."
They battled back and forth and while the Tommies jumped on top 14-0, the Scots cut it to 21-10 midway threw the third quarter. The Tommies would eventually prevail 35-10.
It was a tough loss for the Scots but a vast improvement from the 54-0 drubbing they were handed the last time they played St. Thomas in 2001.
After the game the teams shook hands and the coaches spoke highly of each other's teams.
"They are a very well coached team that I know will continue to improve," said Jennison. "I thought they had a lot of talent on the field."
"I think that anyone who saw the Mac teams from the past few decades knows that that team is in a much better place then where they were back then," said Caruso.
So these two young football minds, once tied to Mac, now start new paths.
"Tony was one of my first hires at Mac and an enormous part of what we were able to build there," said Caruso. "We had some humble beginnings and when you are able to see the transformation a few short years later into the product that was on the field on Saturday, it's a source of pride and I'll never lose that bond because of those humble beginnings."
Better late than never
UW-Platteville's Aunton Terry caught three fourth-quarter touchdown passes from John Akim, rallying the Pioneers to a 21-14 victory over Buena Vista Saturday in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Akim and Terry hooked up for a 70-yard scoring pass with 1:48 remaining for the winning score.
With 213 yards on 11 catches, Terry became the first Pioneer since Matt Kent (288 yards) against UW-Whitewater in 2002 to surpass 200 yards on a game.
Quote Machine
• "It feels great. I'm proud of the kids, they played their tails off," said first year Simpson head coach Jim Glogowski after beating Grand View 38-21.
• "But we did find a way to win. Our kids hung together." -- Duey Naatz following UW-Stout's 13-10 overtime victory over Menlo.
News, notes and things you may have missed
• Central extended its regular-season winning streak to 28 games with a season-opening 41-0 shutout of Lakeland.
• St. Olaf first year coach Jerry Olszewski, picked up his first collegiate win running past Luther 23-14.
• Northwestern's Cody Crum had a busy afternoon on Saturday kicking three field goals (38, 33, and 33), hauling in a 61-yard touchdown pass and kicking two extra points.
• Matt Fields hit a 25-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to give Hardin-Simmons a 24-23 victory over UW-La Crosse.
• Minnesota-Morris returned two second half interceptions for touchdowns to beat Trinity Bible 13-0.
