Slife becoming a force for Iowa Wesleyan defense at strong safety

      MT. PLEASANT ? Last year, Iowa Wesleyan College strong safety Ben Slife was working as a meter reader for Alliant Energy in Cedar Rapids.

      The itch to play football was still there. With Slife?s friend Chad Myers, a former Mt. Pleasant Community High School standout, coaching the defensive line here at Iowa Wesleyan, an opportunity presented itself.

?I wanted to make the most of this opportunity,? said Slife in an interview Thursday afternoon. ?I wanted to put on pads and hit somebody.?

In last Saturday?s 29-13 Iowa Wesleyan victory over Taylor University, Slife led the Tiger defense with 12 tackles, including three solos, to go along with one interception, one fumble and one tackle for a four-yard loss as IWC snapped a 15-game losing streak.

      Slife, who stands 6-foot, 205 pounds, was honored for his hard work as he was selected to be the Mid-States Football Association?s (MSFA) Defensive Player of the Week, conference officials announced on Monday.

      This season, Slife leads Iowa Wesleyan with 33 tackles, 8.3 stops per contest. Slife ranks 17th overall in tackles in the MSFA. Slife said he doesn?t take all the credit for the honor.

      ?If the rest of our defense didn?t play well,? said Slife. ?I wouldn?t have been recognized.?

      Slife was a first-team Class A selection by the Iowa Newspaper Association while playing scholastically at Walker-North Linn, in a district which featured H-L-V, East Buchanan and Lisbon. He was district player of the year in 1996.

      Then Slife played at Central College in Pella as a reserve linebacker and special teams performer before taking a year off from school. Slife came to Iowa Wesleyan last winter and remembers the first day of spring practice.

(Please purchase Friday's edition of the Mt. Pleasant News [10/5/01] at area newsstands or racks for the rest of this story. The Tiger Beat runs every Friday during the academic year in the Mt. Pleasant News.)