Grind City Football: High-scoring Rhodes Lynx are hidden gem of Mid-South college football
Michael WallaceBy Pete Wickham
Grind City Media CorrespondentIt may not be for the faint of heart, or stomach. But one thing about Rhodes College’s football team in the Jim Ryan era – it has never been dull.
“I’m a defensive guy at heart, so you never truly enjoy it,” said Ryan, a longtime defensive coordinator at Washington University in St. Louis before relocating to Rhodes. “It’s good to know you can win a close game. You win those and it helps because a loss like that can crush your team.”
The affable Ryan recently uttered those words as his team was coming off a dramatic, 45-42 comeback win at Willamette (Ore.) two weeks ago. But last Saturday, it was crush time. The highs of that season-opening triumph on the other side of the country was replaced seven days later by the lows of squandering a 28-7 first-half lead at home as the Lynx collapsed in a 38-31 loss to Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.).
Indeed, stabilizing the program is Ryan’s biggest challenge in his second season at the NCAA Division-III program on the cozy and picturesque campus of 2,000 students in the heart of Midtown Memphis.
“It’s an exact flip,” Ryan said of the extremes to which his team played from one week to the next so far this season. “In Oregon, we looked so bad in the first half and turned it around. This time, we were really good coming out of the gate, but our second half was just like our first (two weeks ago). We still need to mature a bit. When we feel like we need to press, we’re not good. And we need to play better defense.”
But therein lies the ultimate attraction of tiny Rhodes College. It may be one of the hidden football gems in the Mid-South. Since 2012, the Lynx have gone 29-18 and they’ve averaged better than 34 points since Ryan and offensive coordinator Peter Jennings came to town.
A new coach comes in and usually it’s five years until you’re relevant again … We proved we’re not in a rebuilding mode, and we’re going to really be competitive a year or two from now. Coach Ryan has brought a different energy. It’s positive, more close-knit and that’s helped.
— linebacker Duke SherrillIn other words, Rhodes plays on one of the prettiest small campuses in America, especially in the fall, and torches the scoreboard by racking up video-game like numbers. And, oh by the way, admission to home games at the 4,000-seat Crain Field is free.
But this exciting brand of football hasn’t come without growing pains. With one senior starter, four sophomore starters and a dozen freshmen lurking on the depth chart, Rhodes (1-1) is a work in progress. It will take time. Until then, it’s simply a case of the Lynx needing to Settles down.
That’s as in P.J. Settles, the sometimes mercurial, often dynamic junior quarterback who has thrown for eight touchdowns and run for two more in a season that continues with a Southern Athletic Association opener Saturday at Berry (Ga.) College. Settles rallied the team from a 35-31 deficit against Willamette, running 50 yards for one score and passing 27 yards to junior Josh Loud late in the fourth quarter.
Last week against Pomona, the 6-foot, 175-pounder from Nashville tossed TD passes on his team’s first four possessions, including two to junior Josh Lucas. He’s amassed 50 touchdowns overall since becoming the starter midway through his freshman year, and surpassed 5,000 total yards last week.
“When PJ’s clicking, the offense is really moving,” said junior offensive lineman Nathan Adams of Cordova – one of a half-dozen local players on a team that recruits nationwide. “As long as we give him time to sit in the pocket or run around a little bit, he makes things happen.”
When Settles is good, he’s sneaky good with a semi-sidearm delivery and legs that can cover ground in a hurry. But every time he puts up a long one, or scampers out of the pocket, the Crain Field crowd collectively waits to gasp. Like they did on the pick that allowed Pomona to get within 28-24 with a touchdown as the half ended last Saturday.
After a promising start in that game, Settles completed just 4 of 14 passes for 47 yards after halftime and was held to 49 yards on the ground as the offense faltered.
Lynx junior quarterback P.J. Settles has passed and thrown for 50 total touchdowns and amassed 5,000 yards since he took over as the full-time starter midway through his freshman season. Photo Credit: Rhodes College Athletics
“We had a lot of momentum going,” Settles said. “It wasn’t just one thing you can pinpoint. I know the interception slowed us down, but coming out of the half we couldn’t get our offense clicking.”
Still, Ryan has seen a lot of positives from Settles, who last year had 16 interceptions to go with 21 touchdowns. So far this season, the ratio is 8 TDs to three picks. Ryan is sees progress from his catalyst.
“Three times in the Willamette game he saw where there was no play and threw out of bounds,” Ryan points out. “That’s a sign of a maturing quarterback.”
Settles puts it more simply: “Don’t try to be a hero and turn into a zero.”
“At times (last season), I looked more comfortable than I actually was,” Settles continued. “But I met with coach Jennings a lot in the off-season. We broke down film, talked through a lot of things and it slowed down the offense for me.”
Ryan knows much work awaits defensively, particularly blending new faces into the secondary. They’ve forced just two turnovers and have already given up 80 points through two games after allowing more than 35 points a game a year ago.
“The effort’s always there,” said Trent Holt, a 5-11, 205-pound matchstick of a linebacker. “But we’ve got to work on our hands, shedding blocks better and going after the ball.”
Holt was named to D3football.com’s defensive team of the week for his game-saving heroics in Oregon, getting a sack-and-strip in the final minute that sophomore Parker Rye, a First Assembly Christian School alum, grabbed to seal the win. Holt added four tackles for loss last Saturday.
“I just remember that in that last minute, somebody on defense had to make a play,” said Holt, a transfer from Georgetown (Ky.) College. “We’d all been getting in the backfield, I just happened to get there first.”
Now, Rhodes is looking to get back to its consistent winning ways. After a pair of 8-2 seasons, including a share of the league title in 2014, the Lynx stumbled through an injury riddled 4-6 campaign in 2015 and then went through a coaching change as Ryan took over the program.
The roller-coaster play surfaced down the stretch last year, when the Lynx gave up 56 points in a home loss to Washington University, put up 50 at Birmingham Southern, outlasted 2015 league champion Hendrix (Ark.) 55-54, then suffered a 66-28 Senior Day flogging by reigning champ Centre (Ky.).
But Rhodes ended the year 6-4 with a 37-31 overtime win at Millsaps (Miss.) – a huge off-season boost. So far this season, the Lynx have proved to be resilient if not quite consistent. But the program is filled with potential and a solid offensive punch to give Rhodes a shot to win every week.
“(A) new coach comes in and usually it’s five years until you’re relevant again,” linebacker Duke Sherrill said. “We proved we’re not in a rebuilding mode, and we’re going to really be competitive a year or two from now. Coach Ryan has brought a different energy. It’s positive, more close-knit and that’s helped.”
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Memphis Grizzlies. All opinions expressed by Michael Wallace and/or Pete Wickham are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Memphis Grizzlies or its Basketball Operations staff, owners, parent companies, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Memphis Grizzlies and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
Published on Sep 13, 2016
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