jtuscano@observer-reporter.com

If experience counts for something in the NCAA Division III football playoffs, then Washington & Jefferson College has to feel good about its chances this week.

For the third time in six seasons, the Presidents will play a postseason game against a program that didn't even exist 10 years ago.

In 2002, W&J defeated Christopher Newport, 24-10, in the first round. The Captains had only been in Division III football for two seasons.

In 2004, Mary Hardin-Baylor handed the Presidents their only loss of the season, 52-16, in the national quarterfinals. Mary Hardin-Baylor's program was established in 1998.

On Saturday at Cameron Stadium, North Carolina Wesleyan will arrive for a first-round game in only its fourth year of football. The Battling Bishops, champions of the USA South Conference, are making their first playoff appearance.

For head coach Jack Ginn, the road has sometimes been difficult to navigate.

"One of my (friends) told me I should keep a journal about what it was like starting the program," Ginn said. "I didn't do it but I should have. There were a lot of days where I felt like throwing up all day long."

There would have been numerous stories that would be hard to believe. Such as:

n Ginn welcomed 177 freshman players for the 2004 fall camp and had to hold the first three practices in their tiny gymnasium because a hurricane was whipping around the Rocky Mount, N.C., campus.

n furniture did not arrive for the coaches until the day before the players were required to report.

n On one particularly unusual day, a delivery truck showed up with shelving for one of the football offices. The driver told Ginn he was not authorized to remove the shelving or assemble it. So the players removed the heavy equipment after practice and the coaches put it together that night.

"If we made some of this into a movie, they would never believe it," Ginn said.

What you can believe about this team is this: The Battling Bishops might be the best No. 8 seed in the Division III playoffs in some time.

Their two losses came in the first weeks of the season, 34-31, to Wesley, the No. 2 seed in W&J's playoff bracket; and 27-17 to another playoff team: Widener (8-2).

North Carolina Wesleyan is the first team to go undefeated in the USA South Conference's six-year history. And the Battling Bishops did it with amazing balance, rushing for an average of 226.8 yards a game and passing for 226.2 yards per game.

The offense revolves around Cedrick Townsend, a 6-5 senior quarterback who has passed for nearly 2,000 yards and rushed for 478. But his most impressive statistic is that Townsend has accounted for 33 touchdowns, 13 on the ground and 20 passing.

"He's very athletic," said W&J coach Mike Sirianni. "He makes a lot plays and he's the best quarterback we've played against this year."

W&J has a 1-2 rushing punch of Kevin Mathews and Curt Jones. North Carolina Wesleyan has a double punch of its own in junior Bryan Haywood and sophomore Teron Bush. The two have combined for 1,495 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Sophomore Orlando Webb is Townsend's favorite target, catching 33 passes for 662 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns.

On defense, Wesleyan uses a 3-4 alignment that W&J has experienced from most of the teams on its schedule, including Geneva, St. Vincent, Oberlin and Hanover.

Senior outside linebacker Justin Augustin has a team-high 61 tackles but senior inside linebackers Bo Brown and Judd Hyde form the heart of the defense. Senior safety Jezreel Davis is a disruptive force in the secondary.

"The challenges of building a team were endless," Ginn said. "It's been an unbelievable experience but we survived it."

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