10.16.06.2

Despite loss, UC excited about future
Oct. 16, 2006 

By Andrew Beckner
Charleston Daily Mail

It's a heck of a lot easier for Coach Tony DeMeo and the University of Charleston Golden Eagles to talk about the future than, say, Shepherd.

After all, when you get right down to it, UC, as a football program, is still in the cradle. The future is, arguably, more important than the past.

Shepherd? With an uninterrupted history that dates back to 1920, one that includes 14 West Virginia Conference titles including the last two the Eastern Panhandle program has more memories than Methuselah.

Forget the Morris Harvey days for a minute, and you could say the Golden Eagles aren't even ready for solid foods.
Consider UC's 17-0 loss to the Shepherd Rams at UC Stadium Saturday afternoon, and you'll inevitably think of the words "moral victory," especially in light of the fact that the Golden Eagles (4-4 overall, 3-2 WVC) held the best team in the league scoreless through three quarters.

But, as any coach worth his salt would say, DeMeo said, "I'm not a big believer in moral victories."
What he does believe in, however, is development. And by that measure, DeMeo is pleased with his team's toe-to-toe slugfest with Shepherd (6-0, 3-0)

"Here's what our goal has been from the very first day, and that is we're going to get better each week," he said. "Even though we lost the game, I feel we are a better team than when we beat Concord (two weeks ago)."

One of DeMeo's favorite subjects is his team's youth, and he's quick to point out that he has just nine seniors on the roster. Freshmen make up the bulk of the team. This isn't just a young program, it's a young team.

And that's why a game like last Saturday's is, well, a moral victory for UC. Here's a team that needed a late charge to beat winless WVC newcomer Seton Hill back in week two, yet hung for three quarters with a Shepherd team that's ranked seventh nationally in Division II.

The key to UC's improvement over the past few weeks hasn't really been better conditioning or more strength, sophomore defensive end T.L. Asbury said.

"Physically, we're the same ... but it's more mental than anything else," he said. "Confidence is a huge thing for us, and these guys have it. This is, what, our eighth game now? We're comfortable now. We know the system, and it's made a big deal."

So, Asbury, the former Winfield star, has reason for optimism going forward.
"It's going to be unreal next year," he said. "We're only losing, what, three guys at the most? It's going to be unreal. I'm excited."

DeMeo was excited, too, in a way. Call it subdued excitement, the kind that comes from, yes, a moral victory.
"It was kind of like a heavyweight fight: bam, bam, bam and they came out on top at the end," he said.
UC a heavyweight? Not bad for a team just four years in the making.