DANVILLE, Ky. (CentreAthletics.com) - The Centre football team's home opener on Sept. 12 against Defiance will coincide with the annual Centre Alumni Weekend festivities. This year during Alumni Weekend, the Alumni Association will be honoring the 20th anniversary of the 1995 Centre football team, champions of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Association.
Members of the 1995 team interested in attending should contact Shawn Lyons, Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs at or Megan Haake Milby, Director of Alumni Affairs at 859-238-5500 to make reservations. All football alumni are invited to attend the pre-game activities.
The Colonels' championship attack was rooted in a strong rushing attack and punishing defense, under eventual SCAC Co-Coach of the Year Joe McDaniel
Current head coach Andy Frye was the defensive coordinator on the 1995 team and spoke of McDaniel as a great mentor and leader.
"When I took the job at Centre, my former head coach that I played for told me that you may beat a Joe McDaniel team but you will never out coach him," Frye said. "That is a great compliment when it comes to coaching. He always had our teams well prepared to play. They did not make many mistakes in a game. It was always about the execution and he demanded that it be done right or it was done over until it was correct. The players knew that they were well prepared to play and win against whomever they competed against."
Frye served under McDaniel, a 2002 Centre Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, for nine seasons from 1989-1997.
"I learned more "do's" than "don'ts" in coaching from [McDaniel]," Frye said. "I also learned how important it was to be prepared. Any detail was important. There were no small details when running a team. He treated everyone with fairness."
The 1995 Colonel offense was led by running back Kris Garrett, who rushed for 1,187 yards in 1995 en route to being named the SCAC Offensive Player of the Year. Garrett eventually would earn a spot on the Tennessee Titans' scout team.
The run-heavy offense featured a three-quarterback attack, with senior David Clark earning Honorable Mention All-SCAC honors. Wide receiver Montas Allen, tight end Mac Cooley and running back Joey Johnson were all named All-SCAC Second Teamers. The conference's top offensive line was led by All-SCAC guard Travis Christiansen.
On defense, tackle Zach Woods was a disruptive force all season long, finished with 114 tackles on the year and set a conference record with 16 sacks. Woods was joined on the First Team All-SCAC squad by defensive tackle Matt Chambers, cornerback Clay Curry and linebacker Craig Wilmhoff. Linebacker Jeff Lindeman and defensive back Matt Reed were named All-SCAC Second Team selections from a defense that held opponents to seven points or less on four separate occasions in 1995.
The Colonels finished with a record of 5-4-1 in the 1995 season and won the SCAC title with a 3-1 mark in conference play. Centre opened the year 1-1-1, with a win vs. Denison in the home opener, a loss a Hanover and a 7-7 tie at Washington and Lee. To open SCAC play, the Colonels traveled to Sewanee and had one of their most dominant games of the season, defeating the Tigers by a score of 41-7. They followed that up with a 30-19 home win over Millsaps.
After a non-conference loss to Maryville (Tenn.), Centre traveled to San Antonio, Texas for a clash with Trinity, who had won the previous two league titles. In a defensive struggle, the Colonels beat the Tigers 17-7.
Centre lost its last conference matchup against Rhodes and it was determined that the league would have tri-champions in 1995, with Centre, Trinity and Rhodes all having the same record in league play. McDaniel was named SCAC Co-Coach of the Year for 1995 alongside Steve Mohr or Trinity.
"The 1995 team played hard, and we really had a lot of talent," Frye said. "It was tough to win on the road and we had a big win in San Antonio against Trinity. It was a tight-knit group of players, and we had really good senior leadership."
