Football team nearly unbeatable

By Justin Bates

The Raven football team played its best season in eight years, tying for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title and setting 22 school records. The Ravens finished the 2001 campaign with an 8-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the HCAC. The HCAC title and overall record are AU’s best since the 1993 team went 10-0 and advanced to the national playoffs.

“We had a great year,” AU coach Steve Barrows says. “But we also had great players. Our accomplishments show that their dedication, commitment and hard work really paid off.”

Never in the 55-year history of Anderson football has a team broken so many records. AU sophomore and HCAC MVP quarterback Joel Steele (Granger, Ind.) broke four individual game records and four season records, including most passes in a game (62), completions in a game (42), yards in a game (470), touchdowns in a game (6), passes in a season (391), completions in a season (241), yards in a season (3,036) and touchdowns in a season (31).

All-Conference Freshman-of-the-Year David Vance (Muncie, Ind.) broke two school records. He set a new single game reception mark with 17 catches against Taylor and finished the season with 82 catches for 885 yards and six touchdowns.

Sophomore Antonio Hickerson (Jeffersonville, Ind.) broke the individual game record with 242 yards rushing against Manchester in the season finale.

Team game records set included total yards in a game (624 vs. Manchester), passing yards in a game (514 vs. Hanover), passing attempts in a game (64 vs. Hanover), passing completions in a game (42 vs. Taylor) and touchdown passes in a game (7 vs. Hanover).

Team season records set were total offense (4,370), passing yards (3,356), pass completions (265), touchdown passes (34) and first downs (220).

Joining Steele and Vance on the first-team all-conference squad were sophomore linebacker Doug O’Dell (Berrien Center, Mich.), senior defensive lineman David Jackson (Greensburg, Ind.), junior offensive lineman Brian Kmitta (South Bend, Ind.) and junior receiver Todd McKinney (Carmel, Ind.).

The Ravens lost to only two teams this year — Defiance and Thomas More. The two losses separated a seven-game winning streak — AU’s longest in eight years.

With only four seniors on this year’s team, the Ravens should be loaded for another run at the HCAC title next year.