St. John Fisher Selected as Preseason Football Favorite
St. John Fisher College, which has shared four of the past six conference football titles, is the choice to capture the championship this season according to the 2010 Empire 8 Football Preseason Coaches Poll. The conference champion earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship.
St. John Fisher, which received four first-place votes after sharing the conference title with Alfred University last season, is ranked 14th in the Lindy’s Magazine Preseason Top 25. The Cardinals finished 7-3 last season and topped Cortland in the ECAC Northwest Bowl Championship.
The Cardinals return three all-conference players to the offensive line, which produced 413.8 yards per game a year ago. Senior left tackle Pete Soehner earned first-team honors, while senior Matt Lowney and junior Corey Balcerzak each garnered second-team recognition. Senior quarterback Tim Bailey and sophomore running back Christian Zemaitis earned second-team honors a year ago. Bailey completed 62.5 percent of his passes, throwing for more than 2,500 yards and tossing 21 touchdowns, while Zemaitis rushed for 502 yards and 12 touchdowns in seven games in 2009.
Three second-team all-conference selections return on defense for St. John Fisher. Senior Kyle Macy and junior Chris Sawyer anchor the defensive line, while junior defensive back David Vosburgh recorded 66 tackles, four forced fumbles, and two interceptions last season.
Alfred, which earned a share of its first Empire 8 title in 2009 and finished 8-2, received two first-place votes and is the coaches’ choice to place second this year. Junior quarterback Tom Secky, the 2008 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, was named to the all-conference first team last season. He ranked among the top-10 nationally with a 161.84 passing rating and in two years, has thrown for 4,810 yards and 53 touchdowns.
Senior offensive lineman Zach Morgan and junior linebacker Nick Clark were also named to the all-conference first team for the Saxons in 2009. Clark led the team with 76 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss last year. Linebackers Chad Pieri and Wes Smith, and junior defensive back Alec Currier earned second-team all-conference recognition a year ago. Ithaca, ranked 16th in the Lindy’s Magazine Preseason Top 25, was picked third in the coaches’ poll. Junior placekicker Andrew Rogowski and senior tight end Dan Higgins return after being named to the all-conference first team last season. The Bombers finished 7-3 last fall for their 39th consecutive winning season, the second-longest active streak at any level of college football.
Senior wide receiver Tom Vossler, and defensive backs David Ahonen and Spencer White were named to the all-conference second team last season for the Bombers. Either Ithaca or St. John Fisher has won or at least shared each of the nine football titles in Empire 8 history, including when the two teams shared the 2004 title. The Bombers lead all teams with five conference titles, but four of their seven conference losses in the past four years have been to the Cardinals by a combined score of 148-49.
Springfield College, the 2006 co-champions, is the choice of the coaches to place fourth this season. Junior offensive lineman Sean Meagher earned second-team all-conference recognition last season. The Pride finished 8-2 in 2009 and routed Plymouth State in the ECAC Northeast Bowl. The only two losses for Springfield were to Empire 8 co-champions St. John Fisher and Alfred.
Hartwick, which shared the 2007 conference championship with St. John Fisher, and Utica were picked to share fifth place in the coaches’ preseason poll this year. The Hawks won all four of their non-conference regular season games in 2009 and earned a spot in the ECAC North Atlantic Bowl against Union.
Utica broke 23 single-season school records on offense last year and quarterback Andrew Benkwitt was named Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. The Pioneers scored 118 more points than any other team in program history and lost three games by a total of 10 points. Senior defensive lineman Tracy Branch was named to the all-conference second team a year ago.
In eight seasons, the Empire 8 has recorded 20 postseason victories with five of the six current teams playing in at least one postseason game in the past two years. The current Empire 8 teams posted a 24-6 non-conference record last season and a 54-23 mark against non-conference Division III opponents over the past three years for a .701 winning percentage.