By Shannon Russell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

When Charles Boyd started his Urbana University football career, he made it known that he'd been part of a Division I-A college program first.

"Where'd ya come from?" teammates would ask. "Miami University," he'd boast.

"What are you doing here, then?"

That's when things got dicey.

"I don't regret leaving as much as being young and plumb dumb," Boyd says now. "The bottom line is me being lazy and thinking things would still be OK"

Four years later, Boyd can't imagine a louder wake-up call. The 24-year-old senior linebacker owns nearly every Urbana defensive record, including career tackles (373), career solo tackles (222), single-season total tackles (152) and single-season solo tackles (112) and is tied for single-game tackles (22).

The Western Hills graduate also led the Mid-States Football Association in tackles per game (13.6).

Boyd found out quickly what his decision entailed. He traded Miami's Yager Stadium for Urbana (High School) Stadium, where the Blue Knights play their games.

He went from a now-Top 25 program to an NAIA team with a coaching carousel and zero winning seasons in football history.

All, Boyd says, because of one piece of paper.

In 1997, he says he failed to file a required form to drop a class, received an incomplete for the course, fell below the required 12 class hours and became ineligible.

"(The paper) was posted on my desk. Every day I was like, 'I've got to take it in. I've got to take it in.' But then I'd think it was a long walk or I had things to do, and by the time I decided to take it, the deadline had passed," Boyd says.

A then-Miami assistant was already en route to Urbana for a coaching promotion. Boyd followed, knowing he would have three full years of eligibility after sitting out a transfer season.

Boyd didn't visit Urbana before enrolling, didn't look up Urbana's Web site and didn't care about anything but playing.

"I didn't know a lot about losing 'til I got here. It was tough," Boyd says. "But after awhile, I knew I had to do whatever I could to help us win. I didn't care how many tackles I got."

His mother, Carolyn, didn't care about football as much as her son earning a degree. She died the year he transferred to Urbana.

Boyd, who will graduate with a computer systems degree, says he doesn't squander chances anymore. After one season, he stopped bringing up his Miami connection.

Second-year Urbana coach Todd Murgatroyd has 19 years' coaching experience, and Boyd is the best linebacker he has ever seen.

"He's relentless," Murgatroyd says. "He's got great character and work ethic. He's one of the first players here and one of the last ones to leave after watching film."

Boyd doesn't regret capping his football career with a 3-8 Blue Knights effort, though he would have changed some things about himself along the way.

"I wouldn't have been so stubborn. I would have tried to talk to academic advisers instead of trying to be a grown man when I was a young boy," Boyd says.

"I made a mistake, but I think I made the best of it."

Others

• Wingate's Kelly Munchel (Colerain) and Tusculum's Rachel Barron (Glen Este) and Tara Henderson (Norwood) were named first-team All-South Atlantic Conference for women's soccer. Elaine Knudsen (Amelia) was a second-team selection.

• Maryville senior Jenna Jones (Mercy) was named Great South Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.

• Defiance's Branden Able (Amelia) was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference's Freshman of the Year in soccer. Defiance's Jeff Meyer (Amelia) and Joel Wilkins (Amelia) were named to the first team.

• Mary Brunner (Roger Bacon) of the Urbana volleyball team was named to the All-AMC South Freshman Team. Tammy Schuler (Turpin) was the top defender in the American Mideast.

• Duquesne soccer player Caitlin Holmes (Loveland) and Dayton's Shannon Kuhl (Badin) and Reba

Sedlacek (Badin) were named to the Atlantic 10 women's soccer academic all-conference team.

• Findlay freshman volleyball setter Kelly Byrnes (Ursuline) was named second-team Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

• UC Clermont volleyball player Michele Prichard (Fairfield) was named to the Ohio Regional Campus Conference second team. Kellie Ranford (Western Brown) and Meagan Ooten (Felicity-Franklin) were honorable mentions.

• Matt Rooks (Moeller), Bethel College's third all-time leading scorer with 2,183 points, had his basketball jersey (No. 24) retired Nov. 1 in McKenzie, Tenn.

• Mount St. Joseph junior right-side/opposite hitter Tammi Toney (Harrison) and junior outside hitter Jayne Kemphaus (McAuley) have been selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Team. Meghan Meador (Mount Notre Dame), a senior setter, was an honorable mention.

• Wilmington senior center Abe Lawson (Fairfield) has been named to the CoSida Academic All-District IV team for the 2003 season.

• Union junior offensive tackle Matt Shafer (Princeton) and sophomore defensive back Ramon Redding (Princeton) were named Mid-South Conference all-conference honorable mentions in football.

• UC junior Julie DuPont was named Conference USA Volleyball Player of the Year. Senior Laura Lauder was named the C-USA Setter of the Year, while Myanna Hellsten was the league's Freshman of the Year. Junior Rachel Torblaa and sophomore Lindsey Garrison were named to the conference's third team.

---

E-mail srussell@enquirer.com