Attached to the wellness center at Earlham College in Indiana is a bell tower. The sounds of the bell inside are ones of victory, ringing when any Earlham athletic team wins. For the football team, that bell has remained silent for over three seasons.

The bell has not rung since Oct. 26, 2013, the last time the Quakers (0-3) won a game. Earlham is riding a 36-game losing streak. Despite the losses, the Quakers recruit new players and field a roster. Head coach Nick Johnson won the 2015 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Award even though the Quakers finished 0-10. He reminds players at the Indiana school that it’s not about winning.

“We haven’t been successful in terms of wins and losses,” Johnson said “but we’ve made a lot of strides in other areas.”

When Johnson came to the program in 2015, Earlham was 13 games into its losing streak. So, he came in with a plan to motivate his players. He instilled fun traditions, such as a talent show for players. They run through gimmick practices at the end of the year, as well as senior ceremonies. Out of all the traditions, one stands out for both Wesley Hundley and senior Roderick Matthews: Pride Rock.

Players said it signifies the history of the program, which dates to 1889. At the end of their walk-through on the Fridays before game day, they circle up around a large granite rock while Johnson talks to them. He tells them the 2,000-pound rock could never be moved by just one of them, that to move the rock they have to work as a team. He hopes to translate that team mentality on the field.

“It really gets us motivated before a game,” Matthews said.

It took only two games into Johnson’s first season for him to see what kind of men he had on his team. During a game against DePauw on Sept. 12, 2015, Johnson’s wife, who was suffering from pancreatitis, showed symptoms of encephalitis, a sudden inflammation of the brain, and was life-lined via helicopter to Indianapolis.

Johnson sprinted out of the stadium, leaving his assistants in charge. The Quakers lost, 53-0, something Johnson learned later that night while waiting for his wife to wake up. All of his players and his coaches either called or texted him to check in and make sure he was alright.

“I never leave them in the dark on any of that stuff,” Johnson said. “They’re like family to me. Once it’s us it’s always us, once it’s we it’s always we.”

Earlham Athletics

Later that season, he won the Heartland Coach of the Year Award, which he accepted on behalf of his coaching staff. That season, Earlham ended with an 0-10 record for the second straight season. The losing streak only grew. No player on the team has won a single game.

Earlham’s roster is filled with players from not just Indiana but California, Florida, Texas, New York and Tennessee, among others. Freshman Chancey Cothren, a native of Louisiana, said the team’s record did not influence his decision. It was his only roster spot offering.

“It was either come here,” Cothren said, “or stay home, go to college and just not play any sports.”

The Quakers came closest to a win in 2015. A game against Hanover ended 28-28 after regulation. The game went into overtime and Earlham started with the ball, driving it 12 yards from the end zone. Then-freshman Sam Panton rushed it in and scored, putting Earlham up 34-28, but the Quakers missed the extra-point.

Hanover got one try to score while Earlham needed one stop to win. Yet on its drive, the Panthers found the endzone and made the extra-point after, handing Earlham another defeat.

“We have glimpses where we’re right there,” Hundley said. “We’ve just got to finish.”

In some areas, the Quakers look better than it has the past few seasons. Earlham lost to Hiram, 63-41, but the 41 points scored were the most by an Earlham team since 2008.

Through three games, the Quakers are averaging 25.7 points per game, a 67.97 percent increase from the average points per game over the last three seasons. The rushing game has also increased from 39.7 yards per game last year to 144.3 yards per game. Yards per game have also increased to 328.3 yards per game, up 41.45 percent from last season.

While Earlham keeps working, it waits for its turn to ring the bell attached to the wellness center, to have the chimes ring through campus to signify a win, and an end to a multiple season losing streak.

Published on September 26, 2017 at 11:04 pm

Contact Kaci: klwasile@syr.edu