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The LaGrange College football team means business this year. The Panthers, who experienced a tumultuous 0-9 season last year, are enjoying a remarkable turnaround in 2024. Through six games, LaGrange College sits at 3-3 overall and a 3-1 conference record, already for most wins in a season since 2019.

Not only is this the most wins since 2019, it also matches their win total from the previous three seasons combined. 

The Panthers have not finished a season at .500 since finishing 5-5 in 2014 and have just one winning season in program history, a 9-2 season in 2008.

It has been a long time since LaGrange College has experienced a football season like the one that the school is enjoying now.

“People think, oh, that first year you’re laying a foundation. Well, the first year you’re trying to dig that foundation, and that’s what we did last year. It was just keep digging till we could hit solid ground,” LaGrange College head coach Wes Dodson said. We got so much better from last year, from the first week to the end of the year, we had so many games we had chances to win, we just didn’t know how to win. And then our off season was still about finishing.”

With four games left in the season, the Panthers are firmly planted in the now, but the future is extremely bright as well. The team is starting a large number of freshmen and have just a handful of contributors in their final season of eligibility. 

“I think we have just 16 juniors and seniors combined,” Dodson said. “It did make me a little nervous about the fact that we don’t have a lot of experience, but I knew we had a lot of talent coming in. You know what I mean? So then you go on the road to play in Texas. Long trip. I think we had 45 freshmen on that trip, and then we went and played a DII team, so they got to grow up real quick.”

Dodson, now in his second season in charge of the Panthers, has radically changed the culture around the team. This was evident this past Saturday when LaGrange College went on the road and earned a hard-fought 26-21 conference win over Brevard.

“Last week was a huge game because Brevard is a really good team, and that’s what I told our guys, but so are we. We just have to believe that we can go there and win,” Dodson said. “Last year, that was the game where there was a fight afterwards. This year, our guys were playing with a lot of energy and emotion, but they weren’t getting emotional about things. I mean, when your defense scores and they’re running to the sidelines celebrating with each other, as opposed to taunting the other team, that’s making big strides, because a year ago, they would have been taunting.”

With a full offseason and the ability to recruit players for the first time at LaGrange College, Dodson went right to work in the offseason to right the ship. He knew the team needed a culture change and it would start with the players that he brought in for his first recruiting class.

“We brought in 84 guys, it was a super talented class,” Dodson said.

The Panthers have seen a remarkable turnaround in all three phases, not just one or two. Currently, the defense is the heartbeat of the team.

“My thought process is that our defense has to outplay the other team’s defense no matter what. So don’t worry about what our offense is doing. You focus on doing your job and stopping the other team’s offense,” Dodson said. “If we have to score on defense to win, then we got to score on defense to win.”

No defensive player has had more of an impact on winning than Desmond Fogle, a graduate transfer. He leads the team with 48 tackles with 4.5 tackles for a loss, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble, but his impact goes well beyond the lines on the field.

“We brought in a grad transfer who initially wasn’t trying to lead, because when you haven’t been here, it’s hard to be a leader, but after the first couple weeks, we were like hey, you need to start being a leader,” Dodson said. “Well, now he’s the leader of the team, especially the defense.”

The LaGrange College defense has a whopping eight touchdowns this season, including two last Saturday against Brevard, which is good enough for first in the conference and eighth in the nation out of over 200 Division III schools.

Special teams have been the surprise unit in 2024 as they perform above expectations. 

Kicker Landon Eaker has hit 73% of his field goals this season with a long of 50 yards while punter Brandon Matson is averaging nearly 39 yards per punt this year. 

“I mean, it’s nice when you know that you only have to get, you know, inside the 35 basically, to be able to put points on the board,” Dodson said. “Special teams have been a pleasant surprise for us, like even our first two games. Yeah, we didn’t play well on offense or defense, but our special teams did play well.”

The Panther offense has also improved leaps and bounds. This is in large part due to the retooled offensive line, which was the entire coaching staff’s no.1 priority in the offseason.

“Our biggest focus last year for the recruiting class was the offensive line, because the year before we had to move defensive lineman over to offensive line just to give us 12,” Dodson said. “We did a good job of bringing in offensive linemen, but not just a lot of them, but good quality guys.”

The improvement along the offensive line has allowed the passing and rushing attack to make major strides. Goldman Butler VI, one of the only seniors on the team, is leading the Panthers rushing attack with 496 yards and five touchdowns. His 119 carries are nearly 100 more than the next highest rusher on the team.

The Panthers have also got quality play from transfer quarterback Henry Brodnax, who has thrown for over 1,000 yards and six touchdown passes this season.

“Offense has been moving the ball, but not finishing drives. So now that’s where we need to get our offense finishing drives with points,” Dodson said. “We’re not turning the ball over, which is great and our offense isn’t putting our defense in bad situations. But now we have to figure out how to finish.”

Despite not being able to finish drives, the offense has avoided negative plays. The Panthers have allowed just five sacks this season and have a +4 tackaway advantage. 

Making the Division III playoffs this season will be an uphill battle. The Panthers currently sit tied for second in the USA South conference and will lose the tie breaker to the no. 1 team Maryville (the conference champion gets an automatic bid to the playoffs and the conference is unlikely to receive an at-large bid). 

The Panthers went toe-to-toe with Maryville this season and are on the verge of a major breakthrough. The team will look to move above .500 for the first time at any point in the season since 2019 when they host Greensboro College (1-5) on Saturday for homecoming.