ST. GEORGE — Ten losses will beat the philosophy right out of you.
"It's hard to be philosophical right now," Dixie State coach Ron Haun said after his team suffered its 10th loss in 11 games this season. "We just need to come back and work harder and get the kind of kids that want to be here so that we can establish a winning tradition again."
Haun, Dixie State's first-year head coach, had phenomenal success at Ricks College. He was 178-40-2 in 20 years as head man for the Vikings, who dropped intercollegiate sports in 2001. Losing is a new experience for Haun.
"I've never had a year like this," he said. "We made the same mistakes over and over. A lot of it is inexperience."
The Rebels started the NCAA Division II era horribly, losing their first five games by at least 20 points. But a 21-6 win against Mesa State (Colo.) and the emergence of junior quarterback Lance Patonai gave Dixie State fans a lot of hope.
"We're really starting to gel," Patonai said at the time. "Things are starting to come together. There's no reason we can't win some more games."
Unfortunately for the Rebels, Patonai and backup Danny Southwick both struggled down the stretch. Patonai finished the regular season with 987 yards passing and eight touchdowns. He averaged less than six yards per pass attempt and threw seven interceptions. Southwick had five interceptions and just two TDs.
Hoping to invest in the future, Dixie State's coaching staff gave freshman Skyler Ence the starting job in the season's final game. Ence played well, but suffered a shoulder injury. Dixie State lost to Fort Lewis 24-14 in the Dixie Rotary Bowl. Before the game, Dixie State announced that 12 players had been suspended from the team for breaking team rules, including Patonai and starting running back Amos Allen.
"Division II is a different animal than junior college," Haun said. "We want to make sure the young men that are on this team want to be here, are willing to work hard and are willing to go to class and be good students. Those three things are very important to us. If you aren't willing to give a commitment, we don't want you."
Still without a conference in football, Dixie State hopes to either join the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference or be part of a new football-only conference for Division II schools in the western United States. A meeting is scheduled in January in Las Vegas to discuss a football-only consortium.
Meanwhile, the Rebels will look to the future with the comforting notion that only two seniors (center Ryan Wright and wide receiver Travis Brown) will be leaving and Haun and his staff will have a full offseason to work with the team.
"The offseason is when you really become a team," sophomore defensive lineman Wayne Alofipo said. "That's when you put in the hours that make you a team. You lift together. You sweat together. That's what makes you into winners."
Dixie State season in review
HIGH POINT: Dixie State's lone win would be the easy answer, but no one was feeling as good all season as they did at halftime of the Dixie Rotary Bowl, when freshman quarterback Skyler Ence had the Rebels up 14-3 over Fort Lewis.
LOW POINT: Ironically, it was the Rebels' closest loss of the 10, an 18-15 defeat to a horrible Southern Oregon team, that had Dixie State and its fans the most frustrated.
TEAM MVP: Defensive lineman Leighton Kanahoi, married and the father of three children, took the time from his busy life to record 37 tackles (seven for losses), 5.5 sacks and three pass break-ups.
KEY DEPARTURES: The Rebels have just two seniors: wide receiver Travis Brown and starting center Ryan Wright.
RECRUITING PRIORITIES: Offensive lineman will be at the top of coach Ron Haun's list, plus some speed at wideout.