It’s not often that a Division II football player can wake up in the morning, turn on the television and watch his highlights on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
Then again, it’s also rare to see any running back, regardless of division, break the 400-yard mark in a game.
Glenville State running back Rahmann Lee came within 7 yards of breaking the Division II record for rushing yards in a game when he gashed West Virginia Wesleyan last Thursday for 412 yards and three touchdowns on just 22 carries in the Pioneers’ 64-48 win over the Bobcats. When he flipped on the TV on Friday morning, “SportsCenter” anchors were discussing his jaw-dropping night.
“It’s amazing, a really great feeling,” Lee said. “When you’re little, growing up, all you do is watch ‘SportsCenter,’ and to see yourself on there is like a dream come true.”
The University of Charleston football team will see the senior in person at 1 p.m. Saturday when the Golden Eagles (1-1, 1-1 Mountain East Conference) host the Pioneers (1-1, 1-1).
Glenville coach Steve Hutchinson admitted that if the Pioneers had put more distance between themselves and the Bobcats near the end of that game, Lee probably wouldn’t have had the chance to reach that mark. But Wesleyan had enough firepower late in the game to necessitate Lee staying in to ice it.
“We got into the fourth quarter and somebody said something about him being close to 400 yards, and I just couldn’t believe it,” Hutchinson said. “And it was one of those things where, if [the Bobcats] don’t score, he’s not going back in. Well, we give up a kick return for a touchdown, so we put him back in and he just kept running.”
Lee knew entering last Thursday’s game he was 98 yards shy of breaking Jerry Seymour’s school record for career rushing yards. He had no idea how close he was coming to breaking the D-II single-game rushing record of 418 yards, held by Southern Connecticut State’s Jarom Freeman, who set that mark in 2007.
Lee was more focused on helping the Pioneers end the night at 2-0 and stay atop the MEC standings.
“As the game was going on, I really didn’t realize what I was doing,” Lee said. “Wesleyan was scoring and we had to answer back and put up points. I guess I was just the guy to make the plays that day.”
The 6-foot, 190-pound Maryland native has been the guy to make the plays most games for the Pioneers since first taking the field for Glenville in 2012. He’s eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark every season, with a high of 1,407 yards as a sophomore. This year, he leads Division II in rushing yards (504), rushing yards per game (252.0) and yards per carry (13.62).
“He’s got speed,” Hutchinson said. “He’s quick. He’s small, so he doesn’t need a huge hole to get through. He slides and slips through the hole. His immediate burst is unbelievable and he has top-end speed.”
Lee also has the eyes of every MEC defensive coordinator studying him, hoping they can stop him from topping that MEC-record performance. He’s not worried, though. The Pioneers also lead the conference with 321 passing yards per game.
“I know it’s going to come, but our offense is much better this year than it was in the past,” Lee said. “We have other weapons that will step up.”
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Wesleyan’s offense, shut out and shut down in Game 1 versus Shepherd, redeemed itself with an explosive night last week versus Glenville. West Virginia State (1-1, 1-1 MEC) will be tasked with trying to bring the Bobcats back down to earth when the Yellow Jackets head to Buckhannon for a 1 p.m. Saturday kickoff.
The Bobcats (0-2, 0-2) gained just 81 yards of total offense against Shepherd, 57 passing and 24 running, in a 43-0 loss. Wesleyan was able to turn things around against the Pioneers, finishing with 431 yards of total offense, 317 passing and 114 rushing, in a 64-48 loss.
Part of the improvement came from Wesleyan coach George Shehl settling on a quarterback. After playing both Tyler Bolen and Luke Casey in the opener, Shehl settled on Casey, and the freshman responded with four touchdown passes and no interceptions on top of his 317 yards on 22-of-33 passing. His top target was junior receiver Zach Schademan, who caught 11 passes for 98 yards and three touchdowns.