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SEE BELOW: Links to LRU’s full schedule and roster and the Bears’ 2-deep depth chart as the season begins.
HICKORY – The expectations placed on Lenoir-Rhyne University’s football team from the outside aren’t a lot, but head coach Mike Kellar isn’t focused on anything but what the Bears need to do as the season kicks off on Thursday night.
Kellar’s second season at LRU starts with a 7 p.m. kickoff against West Alabama at Moretz Stadium. It’s the first meeting between the schools, and the Bears are coming off a 3-8 record and their first losing season since 2009.
“When you look it, it’s one of 10 contests,” Kellar said. “So at the end of the day it’s not any more important than any other game, but right now it’s the most important game on our schedule.
MIKE KELLAR
“If you win the first game then your team starts believing all the hard work is paying off. And if you lose, you try to put it into perspective with the team that all the hard work and offseason stuff is paying off and you are getting better (and that) it just didn’t show up on today’s scoreboard.”
LRU — four years after playing in the NCAA Division II championship game — was picked to finish tied for seventh with Limestone in a preseason vote of SAC head coaches.
Kellar says the Bears are making progress.
“We have worked hard in practice and I feel we have seen good progress,” he said. “I really like this team and am really pleased with the attitude of the team and culture in the locker room.
“A lot of these players have been through a lot of adversity with coaching changes over the years.
“We have weaknesses and are in the middle of a total rebuilding process, and we know it’s going to take time.”
The Bears’ opening opponent will test them from the start.
West Alabama, picked to finish fifth in the Gulf South Conference, returns nine starters on offense and eight on defense.
Fourth-year head coach Brett Gilliland has high expectations of his own.
“This team will be one of the best we’ve had since I have been here,” Gilliland said in a press release. “It’s the deepest we have had throughout, but especially on the defensive line and at the skill positions.
“I believe it’s fair expectations for this team to go after a conference title and make a playoff run.”
West Alabama wide receiver Corey Davis is just one of three NCAA Division II players named to the Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List, and kicker Jordan Bennett is one of 26 kickers from all NCAA divisions named to the Fred Mitchell Kickoff Watch List.
Davis played in nine games last season with 47 receptions for 538 yards and a team-leading eight touchdowns.
Kellar knows LRU will have its hands full tonight.
“They run the ball well and are very balanced,” Kellar said. “They are a veteran team. They have three to four starters back on the offensive line and have three to four very good receivers.
“Defensively, they will offer our offense many challenges, and with their depth on both sides of the ball they can keep fresh legs in the game without missing a beat.”
West Alabama returns its leading rusher in Lakendric Thomas – who rushed for 783 yards with five touchdowns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry and 71.1 yards rushing per game.
The Tigers’ starter at quarterback is junior Harry Satterwhite. Last season, as a backup, he played in five games and completed 54.4 percent of his passes (27 of 47 for 192 yards and four touchdowns).
Also returning for the Tigers is last year’s leading receiver. Donta Armstrong. He played in 11 games as a junior with 91 receptions for 904 yards with six TDs.
Senior wide receivers Davis, Armstrong, Barnard McGhee and Tra Fletcher combined for 211 receptions for 2,341 yards and 24 TDs last year, and Broc Malcom – who transferred from Idaho State – has 104 receptions last year at Idaho State.
LRU’S DEPTH CHART
(Two deep)
OFFENSE
WR: 14 Saaehim Brooks (5-11, 185, So.)
4 Dareke Young (6-2, 195, Fr.)
T: 71 Harrison Elam (6-5, 285, So.)
63 Dashaun Dixon (6-3, 265, Fr.-RS)
G: 73 Ronnie Clifton (6-3, 275, So.)
54 Travis Head (6-3, 255, So.)
C: 53 Jalen Soto (6-0, 285, Jr.)
65 Andrew Sverko (6-1, 285, Fr.-RS)
G: 70 Ryan Henry (6-2, 285, Sr.)
78 Ben Bernstein (6-3, 265, Fr.)
T: 67 Cole Henderson (6-3, 285, So.)
51 Ian Brinson (6-4, 280, Fr.)
TE: 9 Sam Camargo (6-3, 255, So.)
87 Michael Evans (6-3, 260, So.)
WR: 3 T.J. Smith (6-0, 180, Jr.)
10 Kusegi Cureton (6-1, 180, Fr.)
WR: 8 Jaquay Mitchell (6-0, 160, So.)
13 Demarius Hampton (6-3, 200, Fr.-RS)
QB: 12 Jarrod Kellar (6-2, 205, So.)
16 Grayson Willingham (6-2, 200, Fr.-RS)
RB: 5 Nelson Brown (5-11, 195, So.)
6 Bradley Jones (5-11, 180, So.)
DEFENSE
DE: 43 Jonathan Nolan (6-3, 245, So.)
40 Charles Clark (6-2, 205, Jr.)
DT: 57 Paul Sloan (6-0, 280, Sr.)
8 Jordan Brooks (6-3, 250, Fr.)
DT: 34 Max Boyd (5-10, 275, Fr.)
90 Dan Louba (6-1, 235, Fr.)
DE: 27 Jay Wiley (6-1, 220, So.)
32 Jaquan Artis (6-2, 230, So.)
OLB: 3 Marcus Kincaid (6-0, 205, Sr.)
41 Quentin Hayes (5-11, 225, Fr.)
ILB: 35 Clayton Horn (6-1, 225, So.)
38 Dalton Walls (5-11, 225, Fr.)
OLB: 21 Landon Scott (5-9, 170, So.)
23 Dominick Britt (5-11, 205, So.)
CB: 4 Ivan Milliken (5-11, 190, Jr.)
1 Dorien Dickey (5-9, 160, So.)
FS: 2 Kyle Dugger (6-2, 210, So.)
11 Eric Jackson (6-1, 185, Fr.)
SS: 9 Sherrod Williams (6-0, 210, So.)
31 Trevon Tapp (5-11, 175, So.)
CB: 29 Duane Bland (5-10, 185, Fr.-RS)
24 Cliff Barrett (6-0, 185, Sr.)
SPECIAL TEAMS
P: 99 Hayden Burgiel (6-0, 190, Fr.)
95 Jefferson Norwood (6-2, 190, Fr.)
PK: 95 Jefferson Norwood (6-2, 190, Fr.)
39 Chase Allbaugh (5-9, 150, Fr.)
LS: 60 Tyler Keaton (5-10, 210, Fr.)
45 Michael Larmer (5-9, 190, Jr.)
KR: 9 Sherrod Williams (6-0, 210, So.)
PR: 2 Kyle Dugger (6-2, 210, So.)
LRU’S 2017 SCHEDULE: http://www.lrbears.com/schedule.aspx?path=football
LRU’S 2017 ROSTER: http://www.lrbears.com/roster.aspx?path=football