By DAN LEWERENZ
Associated Press Writer 

MANSFIELD, Pa. (AP) … Football has long been the butt of joke in this small, mountain town. At a university renowned for its music program, people jokingly longed for a football team the band could be proud of.

With a freshman tailback named Poohbear leading the way … and leading Division II in rushing and all-purpose yards … the Mountaineers are on a roll, ranked No. 23 after a 6-0 start that has guaranteed the school's first winning since hip-huggers were in style back in 1975.

“We always said, even through the low times, that when we turned this around in a couple years it would be that much more special. And it is” said senior quarterback Travis Motley, who has already won as many games this year as in his first three seasons combined.

“It takes time, and you can't turn things around in a year. But we've got everything in position right now, from the athletes to the coaches, and everything is just going the way we planned.”

It's not as if Mansfield is a football wasteland. The Mansfield State Normal School played host to the first night football game in 1892, a 0-0 tie against Wyoming ( Pa. )

Seminary. Several Mansfield graduates went on to be Walter Camp All-Americans at larger schools in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Mansfield alumnus George Woodruff had a 124-15-2 coaching record at Penn. From 1910-1921, the Mountaineers won more than 69 percent of their games.

But since 1948, Mansfield has been a picture of futility, with just five winning seasons and a record before this year of 155-331-17.

The low point came Oct. 31, 1998, one of two winless seasons at Mansfield in the last 25 years. That day, PSAC rival Cheyney scored 34 unanswered points in the second half and snapped its 52-game winless streak, the longest in NCAA Division II, by beating the Mountaineers 40-13.

Two years later, Joe Gilbert took over as head coach and brought in Wittenburg assistant Chris Woods as his defensive coordinator. Gilbert resigned after a single season, leaving Woods to rebuild a team that had finished 1-9, but that had played several true freshmen in key positions.

“The guys who stuck it out … there were a lot of guys who didn't stick it out … that was the main selling point,” Woods said. “Some of the guys who are our best football players now have been our best football players for four years. You knew that if you could get to the point where those guys were your leadership base, you could win.”

The Mountaineers went 2-8 in Woods' first season and 3-7 last year. What they lacked was a tailback who could take the pressure off their potent passing attack.

What they found was Earnest “Poohbear” McNeal, a 5-foot-7, 195-pounder who was looking to transfer from Bowling Green , where he was not on scholarship. A Mansfield alumnus who worked at McNeal's middle school sent Woods a highlight tape from McNeal's senior year at Orlando, Fla., Lake Highland Prep.

“I felt I didn't have a chance to prove myself at running back because ( Bowling Green ) moved me to slot back, wide receiver,” McNeal said. “Behind three good running backs, I didn't think I'd ever have a chance to showcase what I could do.”

He's found his showcase at Mansfield. McNeal leads NCAA Division II in rushing with 186.3 yards per game. McNeal and Northern Colorado's Vincent Jackson are tied as the nation's leading scorers, but McNeal is among the nation's top punt returners and is more than 70 yards per game ahead of Jackson atop the all-purpose yards list.

“In the past, Travis Motley had to make a lot of plays for them and was put in a lot of situations where he was under a lot of duress,” Kutztown coach Dave Keeny said after McNeal rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-24 victory over the Golden Bears. “Now you've got a running back like that, and I think their line of scrimmage is bigger, and that's going to take a lot of pressure off Motley and let him really play.”

McNeal isn't doing it alone:

… With a 51 percent completion rate and 15 touchdowns to just one interception, Motley has a passing efficiency rating of 166.85, fourth-best in Division II.

… Wide receiver Joe Bennett is seventh in Division II in receiving yards (117.3 per game), averaging more than 24 yards per catch. His 11 touchdown catches this year are a school record and tie him for sixth nationally in scoring.

… Dan Holland, rated by some as the nation's top Division II linebacker last year, is tied for eighth in the nation with 11.5 tackles per game, on pace for his fourth 100-tackle season. His 274 solo tackles are a Mansfield career record, and already this year more than 20 NFL teams have sent scouts to watch him play.

Mansfield still has tough road games at East Stroudsburg and Bloomsburg, and ends the season at home against West Chester .

But if the Mountaineers can stay healthy, Woods said, the school's first trip to the NCAA playoff is not out of the question.

“How good can we be?” Woods asked. “I think we can play better, but I really think we can compete at the highest level of this conference.”