An ex-Cardinal flies high for grounded Temple Owls

By Mike Podgorski
Sports Writer

Troy Kersey won't have the pleasure of looking back at a memorable college football career in terms of wins and losses but his offensive accomplishments shouldn't be forgotten by Temple University football fans for years to come.

The senior wide receiver trails only four players for the all-time club leadership in career receiving yards with 1,644. Last Saturday in Miami he rumbled his way into fifth- place by surpassing former Denver Bronco Steve Watson who tallied 1,629 with the Cherry and White from 1975-78.

Kersey also ranks eighth in Owl history with 82 receptions -- including 18 for 331 yards this fall.

"Those stats are nice but they don't mean a lot if you don't win too many games," Kersey said as the Owls have just six victories in the 41 contests they've had since his arrival in 1994. "I'm at the point where I'd be happy as long as we win, whether I get the ball or not."

The 1993 Cardinal Dougherty graduate has been making an impact on Temple's squad from day one.

He has started every game this fall and he has made 32 career starts with appearances in four more matches coming off the bench.

In three-plus seasons with the Owls he has averaged almost 20 yards per catch and close to 46 yards a game with a total of nine touchdown receptions.

With three games left, he is just 238 yards away from moving into second-place all-time among Temple receivers, ahead of Gerald "Sweetfeet" Lucear (1978-81) who reeled in 126 passes for 1,882 yards.

Kersey also needs 18 catches to become only the sixth player ever to haul in 100 or more throws in the 99-year history of Temple football. But he's not worrying too much about his place in the Owls' record book.

"Personal achievements are great but team goals are more important to me," he said. "I can't be too concerned about how many yards or receptions I need to pass this guy or that person because if I do it becomes a hindrance to the team."

His biggest performance so far this fall came at State College against No. 2 ranked Penn State when he tucked in three passes for 75 yards. His longest reception was a recent 32-yarder at Syracuse.

Although the Owls are enjoying their most successful season since Kersey joined the squad--and talk of dropping down to Division 1-AA or eliminating football altogether were quelled after wins over Pitt and Boston College--he thinks the struggling Owls (2-6) could've been better this year.

"We dropped some games we should've won," he said. "We had chances to win games at home against Virginia Tech (23-13 loss) and Maryland (24-21 loss) but we made too many mistakes."

Kersey will make his final appearance at the Vet

in Saturday's home finale against Rutgers.

Currently enrolled in the Temple College of Arts and Sciences the criminal justice major chose to play for the Owls after a sparkling career at Dougherty with 75 catches for 1,250 yards and 11 TD's.

Kersey chose to play collegian ball at Temple because he had a few ties with the football program. He also wanted the opportunity to contribute right away. He didn't want to have to park on the bench and wait his turn like he might have had to do if he went somewhere else.

He believes the Owls can beat the winless Scarlet Knights Saturday, thereby pulling off three Big East triumphs in the same season for the first time in school history.

"Our conference record definitely shows that we're making progress," Kersey said. "We're no longer the Big East door mat, and teams can't take us for granted like they used to."

In spite of Temple's record over the last four seasons Kersey doesn't regret his decision to play for the Owls.

As a matter of fact he said his experience with the Owls has probably taught him more than what he might have learned with a more successful program.

"I've become a totally different person since I started at Temple," he said. "These last four years have helped me to build a lot of character and I feel that I'm a lot stronger mentally. I'll graduate in May with a positive feeling, especially if we win our last three games."

Note: Another former Dougherty player on the team is John James, a junior linebacker who transferred in from Dodge City (Kan.) Junior College. He has played in five games. ... Lincoln grad Tim Leach is a starting offensive guard.