Roney sees positives in football's 3-3 start

October 20, 2000

The longest week in sports comes in college football -- the six days immediately after a loss.

The scowls you saw on the UST campus this week were worn by St. Thomas players and coaches. They've had seven days to digest last Saturday's 24-15 defeat at St. Olaf . UST came up short against the inspired and improved Oles, in part because they didn't finish some offensive chances, and allowed a couple of big plays on defense.

Now the Toms are 3-2 in MIAC, in a three-way tie for third place with St. Olaf and Gustavus. With a strong finish over the last four games, a second- or third-place conference finish is still a realistic goal. It starts today in the Homecoming battle with Macalester -- an improving team the Toms can't afford to underestimate.

UST head coach Don Roney isn't a scream and holler guy. He preaches patience, perseverence and hard work. That's especially the case with a team like the 2000 Tommies, who have 17 new starters, including a new offensive line from tackle to tackle, a new QB, eight defensive starters, and new starters at placekicker and punter. On offense, Roney has seven sophomores, a freshman and a junior transfer at QB. On defense, a freshman and three sophomores are in the starting lineup.

While the Toms' youth and relative inexperience is a reality, Roney doesn't use it as a crutch.

In the silver-lining department, the Tommie coach is quick to point out that this is week seven of the 2000 season, and thus he expects his new starters to play with more confidence and savvy in October than they did in September.

"We are very young, but it doesn't matter your grade in school or your age,'' Roney said.

"We just need to execute the way we're capable of. We don't expect to be making the same kinds of mistakes we were in the first or second games.

"The inexperience specifically challenges us during the course of a game. Our offensive line was able to make some adjustments as the game went on against St. John's and played very well in the third and fourth quarters. The same thing at Carleton -- they threw a lot of stuff at us, but we played the fourth quarter a lot better than we played the first."

Roney doesn't like to measure a team's success solely on its won-loss record. He's a believer in the power of a positive attitude, and he said he'll consider 2000 a success if his players keep working hard and executing better in the final four games.

"When we recruit players to attend St. Thomas, there are three important criteria," Roney said. "First, your education has to be important to you because you're here to get a meaningful college degree. Second, we look for good athletes who want to work hard. You might not be the best athlete in high school, but if you have good work habits you have a chance to be a good college athlete. Third, you have to be a good person and be able to get along with others. Those kind of people are the guys I want to put out on the field in the clutch."

Roney adds one other element -- having fun.

"We'd like to win a championship, but I've never been an advocate of that being the only goal in sports," Roney said. "Like Coach (Dennis) Denning always says in baseball, go out and have a positive attitude and have fun, and see where it takes you."

Beyond this season, Roney likes the St. Thomas football future. With just eight seniors in 2000, UST will have more leaders on hand in 2001. With a potential All-American running back in sophomore Jake Barkley and all of his blockers back, the offensive possibilities are exciting. Roney expects his defense also will be better as it matures as a unit.

Take that returning varsity core, the possibility of some current junior-varsity players stepping up, and the prospect of a few key recruits contributing, and the 2001 Tommie outlook is bright. But as the old football saying goes, next season starts today. The Toms need to focus and execute, because Macalester is hungry to turn around its season, too.

--Gene McGivern