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| Jeff Thorne, left, earned a win in his head coaching debut after taking the reins from his father, John, right. North Central athletics photo by Steve Woltmann |
Faith, family, and football are how John Thorne, the former head coach of nationally-ranked North Central, said he prioritizes his profession.
But the sport has always been a family affair for the Thornes and John admitted that he had a big smile on his face when his son Jeff notched his first win as head coach of No. 13 North Central against Trine on Saturday.
"He's already made me proud long ago," said John Thorne, the longtime North Central boss who retired last year to spend more time with his wife Kathy, who is in remission from cancer. "He didn't need to win a football game for me to feel that."
Jeff Thorne, though, is hardly a stranger on the North Central's sidelines. He was an assistant coach since 2002 and assistant head coach since 2010. Jeff Thorne said he doesn't know what to make of a bug in North Central's phone system that at times calls up his old answering service message as assistant coach instead of head coach.
"You're not the first to tell me that," he said with a laugh. "Some people tell me my answering machine will say I'm assistant coach and other times head coach. There's definitely a kink in the system. We have to get that fixed."
What didn't look like it needed fixing was the offense and defense of North Central in a dominating 41-7 performance Saturday. Jeff Thorne said nothing really surprised him Saturday about his veteran squad.
"We've got about 15 or 16 returning starters depending on how you want to count them," he said. "We had a lot of kids get significant playing time last year because we had so many injuries. Now all of those hurt kids are back and you really can't put a price tag on that kind of experience they gained a year ago."
John Thorne said he is already impressed with what his son has done in the offseason and this year so far with the Cardinals.
"I'm very excited with what he's doing with the program," said the elder Thorne. "I think it's going make us better than ever in the future. Some really good things are going to happen with this program. They're doing a marvelous job."
John Thorne, who stayed on the North Central staff as special teams coach, said there will be no looking over his son's shoulder and he would rather just be a fly on the wall.
"I'm just watching from a distance and it makes me smile how wonderful Jeff has taken over the reins and how he treats his players, other coaches and family. He's doing a great job along with the other coaches."
Of course, the task gets a little more difficult this week traveling to No. 22 UW-Plattesville.
"They're going to be a tremendous test for us," Jeff Thorne said. "Offensively, they really test you and make you defend the whole field. They're also big and run well. Their big guys also have some versatility to them and are good athletes."
Some would say the real test for Jeff Thorne is replacing his father, who finished his 13-year career as North Central's all-time leader in coaching victories (118-30) and winning percentage (.797), ranking him seventh among active coaches in Division III for wins and 11th in winning percentage.
For now, Jeff Thorne said he is happy to be 1-0.
"It's been a seamless transition," Jeff Thorne said. "We've maintained the continuity of the program. You've had a guy who was here for 13 years and then was able to hand it off to someone on his staff who knows the culture. Knowing our culture here is very important."
Faith, family, and football.
"That's what we stress to our players as they grow as men," John Thorne said. "We get so many wonderful comments--whether we're going to a restaurant, going to an airplane, staying in a hotel--about what great gentlemen our guys are. It makes me excited to be a part of this program. I don't know how long I'll be able to still do this but I'm happy to have this year. I'm looking forward to the future."
Sam Frasco breaks 49-year-old record
While the Augustana quarterback did not get the win against Albion on Saturday, he probably owns the title of Division III's top running signal-caller two games into the season. Frasco rushed for 218 yards on 24 carries in the wild 60-49 loss to Albion. Adding to his 251 passing yards, Frasco (469 yards total offense) led an Augustana school record for total offense in a game, beating out Ken Anderson's total of 459 in 1968. Frasco accounted for all seven of the Vikings touchdowns, four rushing and three passing.
But that was not good enough to overcome Albion's 733 yards in total offense. Augustana did not help itself out either with 14 penalties, costing them 147 yards. After gaining 106 yards on 13 carries in the Vikings opening win against Mount St. Joseph on Sept. 5, Frasco now has 324 total rushing yards for the season (162 yards per game). There will be tougher competition down the road, but Frasco's numbers are hard to ignore at this point.
Wrong side of a record
Hanover ended up in one of the most lopsided contests of the season in Division III on Saturday, losing to No. 16 Thomas More 84-7. The total was the most points in a game and most touchdowns in a game (12) ever for Thomas More. Reviewing Hanover's scores since 1999, the 84 points was the most the Panthers have given up and its largest losing deficit (77 points) over that span. Wabash beat Hanover 69-0 in 2013 while the Panthers gave up 72 points in a 72-24 loss at Bridgewater in 2004.
Not last year, but still pretty good
Rose-Hulman and Illinois College did not ring up the score for 142 points like they did last year (Rose-Hulman won 74-68), but the Fighting Engineers 51-33 victory still kept the statisticians busy. Rose-Hulman's Austin Swenson threw for 472 yards and five touchdowns, completing 42 of 57 passes. On the losing end, Illinois College quarterback Brady Huber was 15 of 35 for 307 yard and five touchdowns.
Midwest game of the week
No. 13 North Central (1-0) at No. 22 UW-Platteville (2-0), 2 p.m. – UW-Platteville is coming off of victories over Buena Vista (49-13) and Dubuque (31-7), contests that let their offense get in high gear. The Cardinals have had success the first two times they have played the Pioneers, 52-24 in the playoffs in 2013 and 28-7 last season. Could that provide enough momentum for UW-Platteville or become a mental block? It marks a good early test for North Central coach Jeff Thorne.
