Watson, Manning look ahead

The two area standouts for Mount Union would like to go into coaching.
By GENE MARRANO
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
SALEM, Va. -- For two Youngstown-area seniors, Mount Union's eighth national Division III NCAA football championship was the sweetest way possible to end their football careers.
At least it ended on the playing field: as they peeled off the pads and cut away the tape afterwards both cornerback Ross Watson (Fitch) and tackle Tom Manning (Ursuline) said they would like to pursue coaching careers at the college level.
Watson took off after he helped hoist the championship trophy as one of the team captains and went into the stands to find his parents.
"I wanted to share it with my family -- after I shared it with this family I have here in the Purple Raiders," he said in the locker room. Watson was a freshman defensive back in 2002 when Mount Union won but was one of the team's standouts this season.
"We had to believe that we wanted this game," said Watson. "We came out like that. It was put on the senior class and we came through."
Bent but not broken
Watson and the other Mount Union defensive backs were tested by Warhawks quarterback Justin Jacobs (246 yards passing) during the game and did bend -- but were not broken. Like any good senior captain after it was over Watson told the Wisconsin-Whitewater receiver he covered, Derek Stanley, that the junior would be a leader for his team next season.
As for the in-season loss to Ohio Northern, the first since '94, Watson said the Purple Raiders did learn from that.
"It taught us to battle a little bit more - to cherish every win," he said.
The business management major hopes to be a graduate assistant in some college program next year; his brother Stan is the defensive coordinator at Emory & amp; Henry College for former Mount Union assistant Don Montgomery.
Opened holes for Kmic
Manning opened holes for Nate Kmic (185 yards on the ground) and helped give quarterback Mike Jorris the time to pass for 246 more.
"They had a really great defense, especially their front seven," Manning said of Wisconsin-Whitewater. "It took us a while to get our feet wet. The [Mount Union] offensive line is just a bunch of hard-working guys."
There was no doubt for Manning that he would come out of Ursuline and play college football. Several players from that high school have played at the Division I level but Manning, who didn't play much as a freshman when Mount Union won its previous title, seemed very pleased to end his own career with a national crown.
"There was sense of urgency. For me it's the last game I'll ever play. I wanted to go out a winner," he said.
Like Watson, Manning also hopes to become a college coach, citing Larry Kehres, whom he called "a genius," as a major influence.
"I wanted to learn from the best coaches in the country," said Manning. "He's just awesome."