ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 10, 1995 TAG: 9512290112
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
UW-L'S DEFENSIVE coordinator spoke softly, but his defense provided some big sticks.
There was something different in Roland Christensen's step after Wisconsin-La Crosse's 36-7 national championship victory against Rowan on Saturday.
As the Eagles' defensive coordinator, he had plenty of reasons to have a spring in his step after the Stagg Bowl. A few of the many:
Rowan's offense had only 4 yards in the third quarter.
The UW-L secondary allowed only seven completions in 27 attempts while making four interceptions and recovering two fumbles.
The Eagles finished their season without giving up a point in the third quarter of any game.
Yet those weren't springs in the soles of Christensen's shoes. They were pennies.
The 34-year member of the Wisconsin-La Crosse teaching and coaching staff has a thing for lucky pennies.
``I think he had $1.18 in his right shoe and $1.32 in his left,'' said UW-L's head coach, Roger Harring.
Christensen has a strong belief in lucky pennies, as illustrated by the piggy bank in his sneakers. UW-L's coaches were walking down a street in Alliance, Ohio, last week before the Eagles' game against Mount Union and Christensen hadn't found a lucky penny in a while. His company was sensing that he was getting desperate, so a local reporter walked ahead and dropped a cent on the sidewalk.
As they got closer, someone pointed it out.
``He practically dove for it,'' Harring said. ``That's the only time he's smiled all year.''
To say Christensen is a stoic would be an understatement. He holds a doctorate in mathematics and has been known to employ the Pythagorean Theorem when teaching technique to his players.
Emotion? There's no emotion in math. So why should he be bothered with it?
He's also a man of few words. Defensive tackle Mike Ivey has been playing for Christensen for three years, yet remembers having only two conversations with him.
Christensen's only thoughts on Rowan's offense? ``I thought they'd be tougher than they were.''
He probably just didn't feel like talking about the Profs. He'd spent seven days probing and scrutinizing Rowan's every move.
``He showed us every aspect,'' said safety Travis DeFlorian. ``Everything they did, we had seen before.''
That is the extent of Christensen's contact with his men. Although he retired from the classroom two years ago, he still just wants to be known as a teacher. When his defense makes a play or wins a game, as quarterback Craig Kusick said it did Saturday, he knows they've studied well.
``He's a different type of defensive coordinator,'' said Ivey. ``You expect that kind of coach to be a gung-ho and `Let's go' kind of guy. But he really thinks things through.
``He has his three P's: poise, pride and pursuit. We use the three P's in every game.''
No one knows Christensen nearly as well as Harring. Harring, with a 27-year tenure in La Crosse, is second only to the man he calls ``Rolo.''
They've spent hours, days and years together and have an incredible trust in each other. When Harring had to take leave from his team after surgery in 1992, Christensen took over and led the Eagles to the national title.
The pair also coached together in an Italian pro football league in 1988 and 1990. In '88, their team was the Bologna Doves. In '90, the Pesano Angels.
One year, they coached 41 games together. That's a lot of time with one another, especially considering their wives were back in the states.
Not surprisingly, they each had certain duties in the Italian apartment they shared. Harring's job was to cook all the meals. Christensen was supposed to clean up.
But it didn't take long before Harring realized he was doing all the cooking, all the dishes and all the floors.
``Whenever I looked up, he was always busy with a crossword puzzle,'' Harring said.
If he ever needed a four-letter word for success, it shouldn't have taken long to find it. How about R-O-L-O?
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. DON PETERSEN/Staff Wisconsin-La Crosse's Steve Jonesby CNB(left) tackles Rowan's Mike Tabor during Saturday's Stagg Bowl.
Rowan managed just seven points against the Eagles after averaging
37.3 points in its first three NCAA playoff games this year.
2. MIKE HEFFNER/Staff The Wisconsin-La Crosse defense held Eugene
Foster, Rowan's leading rusher, to 46 yards Saturday. Foster had
been averaging 68 yards rushing per game. The Eagles beat the Profs
36-7 at Salem Stadium. KEYWORDS: FOOTBALL