BANGOR, Maine — Less than 48 hours after taking their program to the second round of the NCAA Division III championships for the first time, the Husson University football coaching staff was together again Monday morning.
The meeting was part taking stock of the special journey the Eagles had just experienced and part planning how to use lessons learned along the way to make such journeys more frequent.
“We’re certainly planning to take those steps,” said Husson head coach Gabby Price, who was recently named the New England Division II-III coach of the year.
Husson’s season ended with a 37-15 loss at fifth-ranked Delaware Valley of Doylestown, Pa., on Saturday. The Eagles didn’t play their best, losing four turnovers, but were certainly competitive against the best team they faced during a 10-2 campaign that included a first-ever NCAA tournament victory at No. 20 Springfield the previous weekend.
“People are going to make plays against you,” said Price. Not that many people made plays offensively and defensively against us during the regular season, but then when you play up [against a higher-level opponent] it’s a give and take and you just have to continue to keep playing.
“One of the things I was proudest of was that our kids played hard to the final whistle against Del Valley.”
One area where Delaware Valley may have had an advantage, Price said, was in its number of contributing players.
“Del Valley probably had a little more depth, that would be the first thing, and they were very competitive from the get-go,” said Price. “If we’re going to continue to compete at that level we’ll have to continue to get better in every area; not just the players but coaches, too.”
Price said Husson will work to improve the quality of its depth both through the recruiting process and as the returning players go through off-season training and spring workouts.
The Eagles lose a relatively small group of seniors, but their importance to the program transcends the sheer numbers. They helped Husson earn three trips to the NCAA tournament as well as an ECAC Bowl appearance in their four years.
Tight end D.J. Allen of Skowhegan, defensive linemen Luke Washburn of Litchfield and Austin Odd, defensive back Jean Gabriel, linebacker Christian Mowrer of Orono and wide receiver Robenson Saintard all were key contributors, but the biggest gap Husson will need to fill is that of graduating tailback John Smith, the leading rusher in NCAA Division III this year.
The Fayetteville, Georgia, native not only led the country with 2,242 rushing yards and 186.8 yards per game, he tied for the DIII lead with 31 rushing touchdowns while anchoring a Husson offense that averaged 37.6 points per game.
He finished his career as the leading rusher in Maine and New England collegiate history with 7,205 yards, which also ranks fourth in NCAA Division III history. He was named the New England Division II-III player of the year.
“The single thing we’ve done best is improve the depth of the team, and we can take it another step,” said Price. “Obviously there’s not going to be another guy who rushes for 2,000 yards, but we’re going to run the ball. We’ve run the ball since we’ve been here and it’s never been an issue.”
Husson will return approximately seven starters on both offense and defense for its final season in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference before the Eagles join the Commonwealth Coast Conference for football in 2019.
“It’s a good team coming back,” said Price, “very good, actually.”
The offense will be directed by quarterback Cory Brandon (157 of 251 passing for 1,924 yards with 16 TDs and nine interceptions as a junior this fall. Other returners include two of Brandon’s top three receiving targets in Kyree Calli (40 catches, 514 yards, 5 TDs) and Kyle Gaudet (32-453, 4 TDs).
The defense returns the likes of All-New England cornerback Quan Soyini (nine interceptions in 2017, 14 for his career), linebacker Elvin Suazo Jr. and linemen Tarik Smith and Frank Curran of Portland.
“There’s a culture it takes to win the league, a culture it takes to win an NCAA game, and now a culture it takes to win more than one NCAA game,” Price said. “Hopefully by next Monday when we reconvene after a week off and start lifting we’ll see that new culture.”
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