By Jordan Nicewarner
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Monte Cater has been named to the College Football Hall of Fame ballot for the Class of 2022
Monte Cater has done it all in the game of football and says the key to all of it is having the right people around you. Coach Cater recently spoke with Panhandle Sports Live! and said “..the first thing you think about is all the people that contributed to that” and in 36 years coaching football, he’s undoubtedly surrounded himself with the right people.
His overall record speaks for its-self. 275-117-2. That record at one time made him the most successful football coach in all levels of play.
He spent 31 of those 36 years at Shepherd (College) University and dominated both the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) and the Mountain East Conference (MEC). In that time, Cater won 12 WVIAC titles, 4 MEC titles, was named WVAIC Coach of the Year eight times, and MEC Coach of the Year four times.
2015 was the best season the Rams had under Cater. The Rams finished the season with a record of 13-1 and went undefeated in their third year of MEC play. Cater and the high-flying Shepherd offense found themselves in Shepherdstown one win away from the National Championship facing #12 Grand Valley State University.
The Rams scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to defeat GVSU 34-32. When asked about the importance of that game to him, Cater said “It was great to get a win against a team of that caliber, and to be able to do it at home, to get us to that next point, was really special. That’s not something I’ll soon forget”.
The Rams moved on to face Northwest Missouri State University in the NCAA Division II National Championship. NWMSU took the lead early and ended up being too much for the Rams, winning 34-7.
“It was great to get there… We did what we could. We played a team that was better and proved why they should be there as well” said Cater.
Monte Cater will go down as the most fabled Football Coach in Shepherd history and, hopefully, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Although, his former assistant and current Head Coach Ernie McCook is making a good run at the title.
Monte Cater was a guest on Panhandle Sports Live! with Jordan Nicewarner, Luke Wiggs, and Parker Stone. Heard every weekday morning at 8 am on WEPM/WCST The Panhandle News Network.