The following story was written for the 2019 Hall of Fame Induction of the 1989 John Carroll Football Team. The game played against Mount Union on November 4, 1989, is told in great detail.

There would be no 1989 season without what happened in 1988, no 1988 season without what happened in 1987, and no 1987 season without what happened in 1986.

All the years were interconnected, fueling what became a legendary team in the history of football.

The 1986 team went 2-7. It was another losing season in what had become a long line of losing seasons.

"JCU had only two winning seasons since 1974 ... that is 11 years and those two winning seasons were both 5-4," said Dave Rastoka, one of a handful of players who was with the team all four years between 1986 and 1989. "The last team to go 5-4 was the 1982 team.  To be honest, we were not supported. Our equipment was poor, athletic facilities were poor - especially our weight room - and our uniforms were really sad."

Rastoka at least had the perspective of seeing things through a different lens after he had transferred from Kent State. The brand new freshman saw the lack of culture as well. 

"I remember sitting with (Brian) Cochran, (Pat) Dickson, (Matt) Johlie, (Pat) Murphy, and (Shawn) Robertson every night after double sessions in the lobby of the dorm and seeing guys packing up there things and quitting," said Tom Mylott. "It was crazy how many football players left the program that year.  I can still remember the discussion and all of us deciding that our parents would never come to pick us up, so 'suck it up'.  I am so grateful that we continued with the program."

The 1986 season began with five consecutive losses before JCU strung together victories over Hiram and Bethany. But a shutout against Grove City and a close loss to powerful Washington & Jefferson left John Carroll 2-7 for a second consecutive year.

That was when newly appointed Athletic Director Tony DeCarlo decided a change needed to happen.

DeCarlo also decided the change would involve him. He would name himself the head coach.

"Tony was already well known for his wrestling success so there was an immediate sense that losing and mediocrity would not be tolerated," said Gary Naim. "He also started doing his magic ...  bringing in very talented and smart assistant coaches like Dave DiCarlo, Kerry Volkmann and Regis Scafe and then to Rich Nowak.  It was clear from the previous regime that these guys knew how to coach football.  I think Tony deep down was a defensive mindset guy so bringing in DiCarlo and then Nowak brought about a very sophisticated offense."

The assistant coaches lent instant credibility to the program. Legends from high school programs with traditions of excellence. 

"First and foremost for me one of his first hires was my father which was really special for me," said Ron Dolciato. "All in all the coaching staff that was assembled by the time 1989 came around was a perfect mix of coaches who had extremely high football IQs and more importantly really cared about us as players.  The coaching staff was all high character individuals that believed in us, not only as football players, but as people. They cared about us as individuals on the field but more importantly off the field. That defines a great coach and we had a lot of great ones. 30 years later I still have a close relationship with most of them."

There were also cultural changes. Out were the "USFL" style uniforms. In came the Notre Dame replicas, from the gold helmets to the black shoes. Out went the haphazard ways of traveling to road games. In came the mandatory blue blazers.

"He was a 'Force' ... losing was not an option," said Rastoka. "His positive attitude and winning mindset was contagious.  New uniforms, a few better players and more skilled and successful coaches helped us to a 5-4 season, our first winning season in five years."

The 1987 team did indeed go 5-4, but it was contingent on two huge wins off the bat. Paul Saluan's strip sack and Mark Sullivan's fumble recovery in the end zone avenged a previous season's loss to Duquesne, 27-20. The next week, a ferocious defensive effort turned the tables on nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace. A 35-13 loss in 1986 was avenged by a 10-3 win in 1987.

The Baldwin Wallace win was something that no one could have ever seen coming," said Greg Debeljak, a quarterback for the 1987 team and now head coach at Case Western Reserve. "They beat us soundly in 1986, but it could have been 100-0 if they wanted it to be.  Coach Packard pulled his starters in the first quarter.  I believe the 1987 BW  team was ranked #2 in the nation in the pre-season.  I know it was one of Coach DeCarlo's proudest moments, and created a great rivalry that exists to this day."

It was a winning season, but still not to the level the team had hoped to achieve. 5-4 matched the marks of the 1978 and 1982 teams. The 1988 team had loftier aspirations.

The 1988 campaign began with convincing wins over Kenyon and CWRU (the latter coming with a President's Cup trophy). A close loss to eventual Presidents' Athletic Conference champion Washington & Jefferson was followed by five consecutive wins to bring the Blue Streaks to a record of 7-1, matching the program record for wins in a season with one game left to go.

"1987 made us more hungry, the guys were all talking about getting stronger and bigger and our goal was to make the playoffs," said Rastoka. "We had such great leadership that year.  Jim Mitchell, Tony Jr, Tom Curtis ... Our football program now was officially a 12-month program.  Thinking about it, working harder, planning for it ... became obsessive.  Everyone bought in to it and Coach D kept adding fuel to the fire with each meeting or every time we saw him in the hallways or weight room during the off season. We had stronger guys, more senior leadership and most importantly guys believed in the program again and truly believed we could make the playoffs and contend for a national title."

Everything and everyone was pointing positive.

And then came Grove City.

"It was horrible ... It rained the whole entire night before the game and I don't think you could convince me today that they didn't run sprinklers the whole night on the field either," said Naim. "The field was unplayable.  We stood ankle deep in mud and water the entire game.  It was a kick in the gut.  It felt like a funeral in the locker room and the bus ride home."

The final score was Grove City 3, John Carroll 2.

All the talk of playoffs had to be shelved for another year. In any other circumstance, finishing 7-2 would be cause for celebration. Instead, it provided fuel to the team as it prepared throughout the offseason.

The stage was set for 1989.

John Carroll was making a giant move, leaving behind the Presidents' Athletic Conference and joining the much heralded Ohio Athletic Conference. New annual rivalries would be forged with Northeast Ohio rivals Baldwin Wallace and Mount Union. More respect would be garnered for winning the OAC as opposed to the PAC. 

1989 also brought in Larry Wanke, a Division I transfer from the University of Pittsburgh who had played his high school football at hallowed Benedictine.

"He led with great charisma and passion," said Willie Beers, who also joined the 1989 team as a freshman running back. "He was a captain and a real man's man. He would always be the first to talk to the ones we didn't know. It didn't matter how big or small they were. He was always the first to jump right up front to help get you what you needed."

With Wanke manning the controls of the offense, John Carroll could now beat teams on the ground and through the air like never before.

"When we started to get guys that were playing at Division I & II programs like Behm, Rastoka, Gabram, Mitchell, Beers, Prelock, and Wanke ... it changed our level of play," said Mylott. 

The first test would be a road date with the University of Buffalo, which was preparing to make a move of its own to Division I. 

"Buffalo was a very talented team - they blitzed all over the place and had some good athletes in the secondary," said Wanke. "For me, the win showed that we had a hard nosed resilient football team that I was damn proud to be a part of. That win definitely set the tempo for our season. My memories included remembering just how much fun playing football was and that I actually missed getting hit. The play I remember most was Gary Naim's touchdown - as talented as Buffalo was they took a lot of risks with their blitz package. I saw the corner over Gary was going to blitz pre-snap. All I had to do was look off the free safety - move him with my eyes away from Gary and wait - once the safety was way out of the picture I threw it and Gary did the rest - made a great catch with a cast on and rumbled to the end zone ... It was awesome. I also remember Keith Farber in the end zone to seal it. I remember thanking the dear Lord with a quick thank you prayer. It was a great team effort."

After beating Buffalo, 20-15, wins followed over Kenyon (19-3), Muskingum, (21-12) and Ohio Northern (33-14). 

Another big change happening was the renovation of Wasmer Field, meaning all four home games John Carroll played that year were not true home games. The ONU contest was held at Lakewood High School on the west side of Cleveland.

Location seemed to matter little to the 1989 Blue Streaks. 

Until a road date loomed with Marietta.

The game was played at night, the whole city turned out, and according to several players, "the grass seemed longer than usual." 

JCU escaped with a  13-10 win.

The wake up call was sounded. John Carroll would whack the next three opponents - Heidelberg, Otterbein and Capital -- by a combined score of 110-6.

That set up a de facto OAC championship game at Korb Field on the campus of Charles F. Brush High School in nearby Lyndhurst with Mount Union.

A John Carroll win and the OAC title would belong to the Blue Streaks.

"I remember we had a bye week after the Capital game, prior to playing Mount," said Pete Engoglia. "Getting two weeks to rest up and get prepared was a great asset.  We were ready to play by Tuesday of game week, but we had to control our emotions and wait it out ... it was a long 14 days."

John Carroll was 8-0, Mount Union was 6-1-1. It was the first meeting between the two schools in 18 years.

"Pregame was different that day," Engoglia recalled. "The stands were already filling up with what seemed like the entire campuses of both schools, and this was an hour before kickoff. Heading into the locker room, I was walking with Brent McMenemy, and was yelled at by a woman wearing purple and white. She said, 'You ready to lose?', we both looked at each other and said, 'not a chance', as if we needed any more motivation.  We were about to play the game that would finally put the JCU football program back on the map, we were not going to be denied by whoever our opponent was that day.  You could feel it in the air, it was going to be a great game."

The two teams played to a 7-7 standoff in the first half, but John Carroll took charge in the second half and wound up with a statement 31-7 win that clinched John Carroll's first league title of any kind in 15 years.

"The memory of that game has not left me, and it never will," said Rastoka. "It was all that I thought about the entire week and my adrenaline was pumping at full force the morning of the game and throughout. Coach Volkmann gave an inspiring pre-game speech that was amazing and set the tone for the game.  I remember walking out for the coin toss with Mitchell, Prelock and Behm - when we turn the corner towards the field our fan base erupted.  It was all navy blue and the noise was unbelievable.  To my right, the purple army was there and they were booing.  Coach DeCarlo turned to us and said, 'whatever happens today, you will remember it for the rest of our lives.'  And we did! I knew Mount was really good, both teams were at the top of the OAC in all statistical categories.  During the game especially the first half, it was a blood bath.  Hard hitting, head-to-head smash in the mouth football.  Behmmer's hit in the third quarter was the turning point.  Momentum changed and once we went a head, the flood gates were open.  We played more relaxed and were well prepared and the rout was on.  Awesome game to play in ... After the game, it was pure elation.  We celebrated for two days straight!"

If the season had ended that day, it would have been perfect and worthy of framing.

But football only produces one champion, and a loss to Baldwin Wallace in the final game of the regular season was followed by a loss to Dayton in the first round of NCAA playoffs. In the short term, those losses put a bit of a damper on a historic season.

"So many great players on that team, but for some reason I remember watching Pat Dickson and thinking, 'he is all over the field,'" said Wanke. "The most underrated player I think I have ever played with ... He was awesome. The BW and Dayton games still bother me to this day. I loved this team and would have given anything to win a national championship."

Stepping back from the precipice, however, reveals the big picture.

• The 1989 team won the Ohio Athletic Conference title for the first time (matched in 1994 and 2016).

• The 1989 team became the first to win nine games in a single season (matched by 1994 and 1996, surpassed in 1997)

•The 1989 team became the first in school history to qualify for the NCAA Division III postseason (matched by 1997, 2002, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018).

The 1989 team was built on character ... and it also had its fair share of characters. It was admittedly an interesting collection of players that built the roster. There were some transfers, some holdovers from 1986, and the new recruits from the DeCarlo regime (1987, 1988 and 1989) that fit in to the balance of what became a Hall of Fame team.

"It is funny that after all these years the core group still gets together at least once a year," said Dolciato. "It's hard to describe how each of us became friends through this football team. I think it was a unique team and the construction of it really cannot be duplicated at any level of football. The love we have for one another is still there. It was very difficult for us to lose Pat Dickson a couple of years ago he was a huge part of our success."

Success has a way of shaping relationships. Teams that do not win or struggle to find success tend not to have the same bonds as those who do. That is not lost on the members of the 1989 team.

"My fondest memories are getting to know a great group of guys," said Wanke. "We had some real personalities on that team and we played with an edge. 30 years later ... so many emotions. The highs, the lows, the laughs, the tears ...  I loved that team and coaching staff. I was a lost soul when I transferred to JCU, and 75 guys and a coaching staff welcomed me with open arms and made me feel at home. That is something that I can never repay. The '89 team and JCU will always hold a prominent place in my heart."

When Tony DeCarlo passed away in 2018, it brought many members of the 1989 team back to pay tribute to the man that assembled them all together in the first place. It gave time for reflection on a special man and a special place in time.

The captain spoke for many.

"I am personally proud of our work ethic and commitment to turning the program around," said Rastoka. "Our teams broke 45 records ... 45!  We raised the bar - we really raised the bar.  We had great coaches, we loved the game and more importantly we loved each other.  I extremely proud of our team starting a legacy at JCU. I feel when you go through all of the hard work that we put into it, the sweat, the heartaches of losses and the laughter - and you win a championship on top of all of that - it bonds you for life.  There was never dissension on our teams, we won together and we lost together - no finger pointing.  We all have different personalities but we always had each other's backs.  That is what made our team so special."