Current PHOTO Ben Fidder

Homecoming: Battle of wills and colors

Nathan Giebel
Staff Reporter

For most people, Homecoming brings a certain amount of excitement to the air. Some of us may go home for our high school Homecoming, while others may come here because they want to be back for their college Homecoming.

Either way, football arguably plays a central role in any Homecoming weekend.

The Carthage Red Men's football team will host the Elmhurst Blue Jays this Saturday at 1 p.m. Both teams enter the game with a 3-1 record. The squads both have historically been conference rivals, and last year the Blue Jays walked away victorious from the meeting.

Red Men Head Football Coach Tim Rucks, '83, feels that last year's loss will provide motivation for the Red Men to perform to their full potential and possibly gain revenge in what promises to be an excellent game.

The Red Men currently stand 1-0 in the CCIW (Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), while the Blue Jays are at 0-1. Carthage just came off of a huge upset against 38th ranked North Park, while the Blue Jays recently fell to Augustana.

Carthage's passing game has been the feature of its offense this season, and Rucks said this would continue to be the story for the rest of the season.
Quarterterbacks Dan DeBoeuf, '10, and Evan Jones, '11, have split playing time thus far. Rucks said he would continue to start Jones and put DeBoeuf in as needed.

Turnovers have been an issue for the Red Men offense, and Rucks said, "If the offensive line protects the quarterback, then the quarterback will be able to go through his progression and make the right decisions."

On the defensive side of the ball, the Red Men will have to go up against the CCIW's leading receiver. Rucks said, "The defensive line will have to blitz and continue putting pressure on the quarterback, and then we will be fine."

He feels that if the Red Men eliminate the Blue Jays' passing game and force Elmhurst to turn to a running game, their entire offense will shut down.

After Carthage's only loss of the season two weeks ago to the Campbell Fighting Camels 27-36, Rucks said, "We can't continue to put our defense in bad spots like we did there; we have to eliminate turnovers. We got lucky that we only lost by as much as we did; our defense played great in that game."

He said if the defense continued to play as well as they did in that game, there would be no way Elmhurst would be able to have a successful offensive attack. As far as how he feels his team will deal with the added pressure a Homecoming game brings to the table, Rucks said, "Homecoming is Homecoming; it doesn't make a difference in our game preparation. We need to win games and each game counts just as much as the others."

All things considered, Homecoming 2008 promises to be great, and the football game will definitely not be excluded from that excitement.

The Red Men have shown continuous improvement throughout the season and have gained a fair amount of momentum in the process. It will be interesting to see whether they continue to keep that momentum by rolling past the Elmhurst Blue Jays.

Courtesy of elca.org

Alan Anderson: Remembering a great man

Lexi Bacon
Staff Reporter

Born in Rockford, Ill., President Emeritus of the college Alan Anderson, '50, passed away in Racine, Wis. on September 28. As a young man he enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II. After serving his country in the Navy, he enrolled at Carthage College, becoming a member of the class of 1950.

While attending Carthage, he lettered in both football and baseball. Anderson was the founding president of Circle K, which was the first collegiate chapter of Kiwanis International. His involvement in Kiwanis did not end upon the completion of his degree; Anderson remained a committed member throughout his life as he had not missed a Kiwanis meeting in 29 years.

After graduating from Carthage, Anderson was a sales representative for Swift and Company for two years.

In 1952 he returned to Carthage as an admissions counselor. From that position Anderson became the Admissions Director, Assistant to Presidents of the College Harold Lentz and Erno Dahl.

Over the span of his career, he would retire three times. The first was in the spring of 1986, but it only lasted a few months because in November of 1986 he returned to Carthage as Acting President.

His second time for retirement would come shortly after in 1987, but later that year he would return to the college once again when the trustees named him the 17th president of Carthage.

Anderson was a man of deep faith, a lifelong Lutheran, a cheerful optimist and a man who greatly valued family. It was these qualities that enabled him to be the strong leader that he was.

It was his "cup half-full" attitude and his self-assurance that allowed him to face difficult times.

He had an excellent knack for anticipating challenges and dealing with them with fortitude and a lightness of touch. It was his inner strength and his ability to always see the bright side of things that allowed him and those around him to always come through the difficult times.

Before Anderson was able to retire for the third time, he would play a different role as a coach.

In the words of President F. Gregory Campbell, "Alan Anderson was an excellent coach and motivator during his first year as president." Anderson was an important presence for the current president. When challenges would arise in the beginning of Campbell's career as President of Carthage, Anderson helped him face difficult times by giving him courage and strength, as well as insight into an end solutions.

Anderson lived a fulfilling life for all of his 86 years. Whether it was traveling to Texas with his wife after his final retirement or making appearances a Carthage events, he was always doing something he genuinely loved to do.

Anderson was a man of high morals and great conviction. He had a great love for the Carthage community.