Sterling College

At 1-2 in early fall, after a tough Bethel loss, 4 yards away from a run at the KCAC championship and postseason play, then looking ahead what would be a postseason contender and perennial power Northwest Oklahoma State ahead, the Warriors had reasons to doubt a successful 2007 campaign.

The ethos of Coach Andy Lambert and the Sterling College football program came through however, as 7 short days after a devastating loss, the Warriors went on the road to Northwest Oklahoma and began what would be 7 weeks of dominating performances, culminating in this past weekends 28-0 shutout of the Braves of Ottawa University.

Saturday's game would prove to be the Tyler Degenhardt show as the Junior rushed for 3 touchdowns, one of them a 62 yard scamper with less than 2 minutes remaining in the 1st half to make the score 21-0. Degenhardt was the reason for the previous two scores with a 1 yard and 10 yard jaunt respectively.

Senior Jake Buchanan hooked up with senior Kevin Laudermilk for the finishing touches of the Braves locking in the 28-0 final score. Junior Brent Schneider would also have a day picking off his 8th and 9th interceptions of the season putting himself atop the KCAC.

With the win, the Warriors tied the all time season wins record set in 1930 with eight. In addition to the record setting season, the performances of the team and players garnered many top spots in the national ranks.

The offense was a force to be reckoned with all year as they ranked 13th overall in the nation scoring an impressive 33 points a game. Leading the way for the Warriors was senior Jake Buchanan. A virtual shoe-in to be an all-conference player came through as he was the 11th best in passing efficiency in the nation, the best in the KCAC. Buchanan finished the season 7 yards away from a 2000 yard year throwing for 1993 yards and 25 TDs with only 9 interceptions. One of Buchanan's key targets was Josh Oberle who ended up 5th in the nation in TD receptions with an incredible 13 on the year, while also averaging 81 yards a game, ranking 19th in the nation.

The defense, regardless of a less than desired beginning strung together an amazing finished also garnering top spots in the nation for their performance. By season's end the Warrior defense ranked 17th in scoring defense allowing only a stingy 17.6 points per game, posting 2 shutouts against conference foes, Bethany and Ottawa. Junior Derrick Sullivan led the way with an amazing 88 tackles on the year, ranking 3rd in the KCAC. Brent Schneider put together an impressive performance in the secondary this year hauling in 9 interceptions which tied him for 1st in the nation in total INTs. The defense was also able to create a +19 turnover margin ranking them 2nd in the nation in the turnover category.

As the fall comes to a close, the numbers tell the tale of one of the successful seasons of all time in Sterling College football history. Granted, the 'what could have beens' when it comes to playoffs and postseasons are always there. More importantly, however, is the message that Coach Andy Lambert has conveyed from day one and is one of the big reasons why the Warriors at the 1-2 crossroads in September began in what would be a historical year. "It's never about wins, it's about maximizing our potential day-in and day-out. That is the ethos of SC football. If that is achieved and we lose, we'll accept that, if we don't maximize our potential even though we win, that's not something we will be comfortable with."

"We had good talent this year, but our leadership and an extraordinary senior class has a lot to do with our success and ability to fight back and show the resolve we needed to complete the things were able to. They truly have become a first class of first class guys, we will miss them very much, but at the same time love the fact they get to leave here as one of the most successful group of seniors in program history, not many football players get to hang their hat on that."

The KCAC looks to release All-Conference selections any day with National Recognition coming later.

Log onto www.naia.org to access more stats for the 2007 SC Warriors.