Saturday, December 18, 1999
Tristate talent keys Georgetown's title run
BY TOM GROESCHEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Bengals, it turns out, were the second-best football organization to train in Georgetown, Ky., this summer.
Georgetown College, led by several Greater Cincinnati prep products, is 13-0 and ranked No.1 entering the NAIA national title game vs. Northwestern Oklahoma State (12-0) in Savannah, Tenn., today at 1 p.m. (Fox Sports Net).
There are 28 Cincinnati-area players at Georgetown, which has long targeted the Tristate as its major recruiting area. The 1,600-student col lege is located about an hour south of Cincinnati.
“There's no question that the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area is as good a football as you'll find anywhere,” Georgetown coach Bill Cronin said.
Georgetown's top players include sophomore quarterback Eddie Eviston (Newport Central Catholic), junior linebacker Shane Pearson and sophomore defensive back Bri an Landis (both from old Lakota High), sophomore linebacker Nathan Lindeman and junior linebacker Stephen Lickert (both Highlands), and sophomore defensive lineman Tony Steele (Fairfield).
The team's calling card is its run-and-shoot offense, which averages 52.6 points per game. The scoring average is not a record, but Georgetown is the most prolific offensive team in NAIA history in yardage with an average of 599.3 yards of total offense per game.
The college spent $15 million a few years ago to construct a 52-acre complex and lure the Bengals from Wilmington College (Ohio) to train. The new facilities have been a recruiting tool for Georgetown, but the program's Cincinnati links — and winning tradition — date back decades.
Georgetown won the NAIA Division II national championship in 1991, and featured several Cincinnatians. NAIA is one division now.
“We've had people recruiting in Cincinnati, full-time, for a long time,” said Cronin, a former Georgetown assistant who returned to become head coach in 1997.
Georgetown's star is Eviston, who ranks second nationally in total offense (330.2 yards per game). His 4,293 total yards and 3,539 passing yards are single-season school records, and his 32 passing TDs are one shy of the school record. He has 754 rushing yards with 16 TDs, which are tied for the school's single-season rushing TD mark.
Defensively, Pearson is the leader and also an All-American. He leads Georgetown with 1091/2 tackles.
Pearson and Eviston are typical Georgetown players. They could have walked on at Division I schools, but opted for a chance to play meaningful minutes.
“That's the beauty of the NAIA,” said Pearson. “This is my third year as a starter. I think I got overlooked by Division I schools, but we have a chance to be a legitimate national champion here.”
Eviston credits the football fierce competition of the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area with helping to shape the Georgetown program.
“That's where we learned to compete, in high school against great teams,” he said. “And now a lot of us are teammates.”
The '99 Georgetown theme is, “There can be only one.” The one in its way, Northwestern Oklahoma, has won games by an average score of 43-11. Georgetown's average win is 53-15.
“It hasn't sunk in yet, not really,” Eviston said. “I think once we get to the game, it'll start kicking in. To play for a national championship, it's overwhelming.”
Greater Cincinnati-area players on the Georgetown College football roster:
Batavia — WR Kyle Rusher; Beechwood — OL Chad Kinsella, FB Ashley Moser, DL Dan Woolley; Dayton (Ky.) — RB Jason Skirvin; Elder — DL Rob Delfendahl; Fairfield — DB Nate Green, DL Tony Steele, WB Nic Winters; Hamilton — DE David Hammons; Highlands — LB Stephen Lickert, LB Nathan Lindeman, DB Will Stinson, DB Mike Schneider; Lakota — LB Shane Pearson, DB Brian Landis; La Salle — DB Matt McHale, WB Jason Tenkman.
Lebanon — OL Reese Hicks; Lemon-Monroe — RB Jason Crouch; Newport Central Catholic — QB Eddie Eviston; Oak Hills — DB Bill Brink; Princeton — DB Jake McNear; Ross — DL Brian Dees; Ryle — DL Jacob Griggs; Sycamore — OL Matt Frey; Turpin — DB Ken Senter; Winton Woods — CB Mark Walker.
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