A few things have changed for University of the Incarnate football coach Todd Ivicic since the last time the Cardinals played a home game.
He is still UIW s defensive coordinator, but his job duties have expanded considerably in the past two weeks.
Named interim head coach after Mike Santiago resigned Oct. 24, Ivicic has taken on the challenge of righting the ship for a team that has struggled mightily to win this season.
Ivicic, one of the first assistants Santiago hired in 2007 when UIW added football to its athletic program, will lead the Cards against Angelo State at 7 p.m. Saturday at Benson Stadium.
The Cards, 2-6 overall and 1-4 in the Lone Star Conference, have lost two consecutive games and five of their last six.
If UIW is going to stop its skid this season, this is the game to do it. Angelo State is just one game under .500 at 4-5, but is 1-5 in conference play.
We match up real well with Angelo, Ivicic said.
The mood at practice this week was upbeat. It s homecoming for the Cards and the team is adapting well to Ivicic s way of doing things. Tarleton State rolled to a 48-10 rout of UIW last week, but Ivicic was heartened by what he saw on the practice field this week.
The morale has been unbelievable, said Ivicic, 44. The kids are fired up. They were upset Saturday. We didn t play well early to give ourselves a chance to be competitive, but they came back Sunday and were ready to move on, turn the page.
Ivicic praises coaches
With more on his plate now, Ivicic has had to rely on his defensive coaches Nick Debose (secondary), Brian Gamble (line), Ephraim Banda (student coach) and Jonathan Patke (graduate assistant) to formulate the game plan and organize practice.
I ve been relying on them hard, and they re doing a great job, Ivicic said. I get pulled away for an hour and game planning can t stop. Watching the film can t stop. Putting the practice plan together can t stop. All that stuffdoesn t stop.
But Brian and Nick have been with me for four years. They know what I want. They know what I m looking for. They just keep plugging along, and if there s something on that practice script that I don t like, I just ask them. They tell me this, this and that, and just keep on going. They re two good football coaches and I m lucky to have them.
Ivicic also praised offensive coordinator Tony Marciano and the team's other offensive assistants.
Tony does a great job, Ivicic said. He's in charge of the offense.
Ivicic, 44, worked under Santiago for six years at Stephen F. Austin before he joined UIW s fledgling program in July 2007. The Cards kicked off their first season in 2009, finishing 5-5 as an NCAA Division II independent. They moved into the LSC last year, going 3-8 overall and 3-7 in conference.
While Ivicic said his team faced distractions during the week leading up to the game against Tarleton State, he didn t use them as an excuse for the lopsided defeat.
We were off the previous week, so we had started preparing for Tarleton, Ivicic said. We had a good week of practice. We just ran into a buzz saw. We turned it over three times in the first quarter, and you can t turn it over like that. Our offense played well, except for the turnovers. We moved the ball well.
Ivicic: Cards 'still working the plan'
Ivicic said there s no doubt that the Cards will become a better team because of the adversity they ve faced in their first three seasons.
We keep getting stronger, Ivicic said. What people forget sometimes is that we ve been playing only three years. We ve played less than 30 games in the history of the program. We ll have seniors next year and we ll be dadgum competitive.
We re still working the plan, day by day. These kids aren t giving up. They work hard. It s a process. I understand it. They understand it. Nobody s wavered a bit. We re in it for the long haul and, hopefully, the university will see that and give us the endorsement at the end of the season.
Two team leaders who know Ivicic well, linebacker Dakota Mawyer and safety Chaz Pavliska, said Ivicic strikes a good balance in his coaching style.
He s a great coach, Pavliska said. He s very enthusiastic. He s always into practice and wants us to fly around. He likes to yell, but it s in a good way. We have a faster tempo in practice now, but we don t mind it. It s been a lot of fun.
Pavliska and Mawyer, both seniors, are members of UIW s first recruiting class. Ivicic has been Mawyer s position coach since he set foot on campus.
He s real passionate about what he does, Mawyer said. If he gets mad, he s going to get on you for the right reasons. He s not trying to bring you down. He s trying to coach you and get you better, and take you to the next level and have a little fun as you re doing it.
