While his 2009 recruiting class is heavy on Florida players, Quincy University football coach Bill Terlisner likes what his coaching staff was able to find close to home.

Including among the 46 players the Hawks have signed this spring (a full list is on Page 6B today), are area products Ross Hutson of Illini West and David Arendt of Concord Triopia.

"Except for the two kids from Quincy Notre Dame who are going to play Division I (Dominic Pagliara and Jimmy Holtschlag), I felt we got two of the top kids in the area," Terlisner said. "I'm real excited about both of them."

Hutson will play defensive line after helping the Chargers win a state title last fall.

"He's probably the strongest high school player I've ever seen," Terlisner said. "I heard that he can bench over 500 pounds. I didn't believe it until the lifted 225 over 36 times for me."

Arendt, who was tabbed by KHQA as its offensive player of the year and the Jacksonville Journal-Courier as its player of the year, will be a linebacker for the Hawks, who are coming off their third straight winning season.

Nearly half of the class is from the Sunshine State. Twenty players from Florida will make their way north in August. Terlisner sees Port Charlotte wide receiver Mikhail Morgan as being one of those Floridians who could make an immediate impact.

Recruited by several Division I schools including Troy and Alabama-Birmingham, Morgan caught 93 passes for 1,267 yards and nine touchdowns during his prep career.

A Division I transfer could help bolster the Hawks' offensive line. Eastern Illinois transfer Rory Mammano, a 6-foot-4, 270-pounder from Champaign, Ill., will join the Hawks after using a redshirt season at the Charleston school.

After losing two starting cornerbacks -- Ryan Smith and Emmitt Harriel -- to transfers, Terlisner hopes he's found capable replacements in Toryan Smith from Seton Academy in suburban Chicago and E.J. Belle of Chapel Hill (Ga).

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The Hawks recently released their 2009 schedule, which includes two games against teams in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as NCAA Division I-AA).

The season-opener is an interesting matchup with Indiana State, which plays in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

The Sycamores have one of the longest losing streaks in the nation at 26 games. In their last 51 games, Indiana State is 1-50. The Hawks will try not to fall victim when the teams meet in a Thursday night tilt Aug. 27 in Terre Haute, Ind.

QU will follow that with a game the following Thursday against Southeast Missouri State of the Ohio Valley Conference. It will be QU's second visit to Cape Girardeau, Mo. The Hawks played their first-ever game against an FCS school against Southeast Missouri, suffering a 38-6 loss on Nov. 10, 2001.

The team's schedule includes five home games and four road games against Mid-States Football Association teams. Two new teams will be on the schedule. Grand View, which comes to QU on Oct. 10, and Waldorf, which plays host to QU in the season finale on Nov. 14, are both new to the MSFA.

Homecoming is set for Oct. 24 against MSFA power St. Ambrose.

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With the invasion of the Pepsi Little People's Golf Championships two weeks away, business has picked up significantly at tournament director Nan Ryan's home base in Colorado.

Last month, Ryan feared the tournament, which is in its 36th year, wouldn't get 400 entries. As of Wednesday, the field had grown to 420 players. Ryan's encouraged by the late surge of entries, but still has just four Quincy players in the field. Among the Gem City players entered is Quincy Notre Dame senior Rachel Powers, who will try to win the 7-G title.

The tournament has been helped by the addition of the college division at Harry Mussatto Golf Club in Macomb. There are 34 entries -- 22 women and 12 men -- for that course.

There are still spots open in all age divisions. For more information, visit the tournament's Web site at www.littlepeoplesgolf.com.

-- dobrien@whig.com/221-3365