Rochester, NY – Salisbury University received seven first place votes and 49 total points as the Sea Gulls were picked atop the 2013 Empire 8 Football Preseason Poll. St. John Fisher sits second with 43 tallies and one top nod. Alfred University received 35 points on the way to the third position in the annual coaches’ survey.
The 2012 season marked the second conference crown for reigning Empire 8 Coach of the Year Sherman Wood’s Sea Gulls. Their victory over Utica College in week 9 proved crucial as St. John Fisher was tripped up by Buffalo State, 17-9, on the same day and the Sea Gulls held a one game advantage over Alfred who they beat earlier in the season.
While the losses to graduation can be felt at just about every position on each team, the Empire 8 is a premier Division III conference and the coaches are known for concentrating their recruiting efforts on building their overall depth to provide talent all over the field.
Who’s Back?
Salisbury begins its title defense as it tries to become the first team to win three consecutive titles since Ithaca won crowns from 2002-2004. Andre Carter, a 2013 D3football.com preseason second team All-American, has been one of the top defensive backs in the Empire 8 Conference over the past two seasons, having been named first-team all-conference each of the past two seasons. In 2012, he led the league with 18 passes broken up to go with 42 tackles and two fumble recoveries.
Kyle Hamby, the Empire 8 Special Teams Player of the Year and a first-team honoree, was fourth in the nation in punting, averaging 42.23 yards per kick. He placed 20 of 52 punts inside the 20-yard line to lead the league. Hamby booted four punts of at least 60 yards last season, including a school-record-breaking 84-yard bomb in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Steven Gamble, another first-team All-Empire 8 selection, led the team with 79 tackles, was third in the Empire 8 with 17 tackles for loss, had four sacks and one of Salisbury's six blocked kicks this season.
Fisher returns several key players from last year's squad that posted an 8-3 overall record and advanced to the postseason for the 10th straight year, earning a 63-7 victory over Castleton St. in the ECAC Northwest Championship Bowl. Offensively, the Cardinals look to senior Cody Miller, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2012, while quarterback Ryan Kramer (126-of-215, 1466 yds, 15 TDs) is back under center for the third-straight year. Defensively, senior Mason Judd (69 tackles, seven sacks in 2012) will lead a squad that allowed less than 16 points per game last fall.
Alfred was plagued by running back injuries in 2012 and is looking to turn things around this season especially with four of five starting offensive linemen set to return. Austin Dwyer, a two-time former Empire 8 Conference all-star (2010, 2011) and the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2010; Tyler DeRosa, who ran for over 600 yards in 2011 after transferring to AU from Western Connecticut, and was granted medical redshirt after last year’s injury; and Chuck Beckwith are all recovered from their injuries ready to provided experience at the running back position.
The Saxon’s are also bolstered by the return of 2012 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, Maleke Fuentes, who averaged 23.3 yards on kickoff returns and had 35 catches for a team-leading 427 receiving yards, with two touchdowns. The Saxon defense was hit hard by graduation and will be replacing eight of 11 starters this fall as well as welcoming a new starting quarterback as the Saxons look to improve a passing game that produced just 158.2 yards per contest last season.
Buffalo State made a statement in its first season with the Empire 8 finishing 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the league. The quarterback-receiver tandem of Casey Kacz and Ryan Carney were named all-conference honorable mention and led an offense that averaged 23.5 points. Kacz finished second in the league, throwing for 2,173 yards, completing 56-percent of his passes, and had 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also ran for 157 yards and three scores. Carney was third in the league with 46 catches and was fourth with 781 yards. He averaged 17.0 yards-per-catch and had four touchdowns. The biggest connection the two made on the season was a 10-yard touchdown with three seconds remaining to lift Buffalo State to a 7-6 victory over the No. 1 team in the nation UW-Whitewater.
Mike Feirabend, a second teamer, anchored a line that cleared the way for more than 380 yards of total offense-per-game, and surrendered just 15 sacks. Tawone Williams and Chris Hall claimed second team defensive honors. Williams, a sophomore defensive tackle, was a force in run defense, piling up 51 total tackles, including 1.5 for loss. Hall finished second in the league with six interceptions and also had 53 tackles, including 34 solo stops and added five pass breakups.
Ithaca sports a variety of all-conference standouts. Sam Carney earned All-Empire 8 First Team honors as a return specialist after leading the Empire 8 in punt return yardage (14.3 yds on 19 returns). Carney returned 10 kickoffs for 212 yards on the year and saw time in the Ithaca defensive backfield in nine games (15 tkl). Garrett Nicholson was a perfect 28-for-28 in extra-point attempts and was 6-for-9 on the season in field-goal attempts. Pat Stephenson started all 10 games for the Bombers, and was part of an offensive line that helped Ithaca to its best rushing yardage average in four seasons.
Tight end Jared Prugar earned all-conference honorable mention after totaling 263 yards on 21 receptions for the season. He scored five touchdowns and had at least one catch in nine of Ithaca's 10 games. Defensive lineman Joe Ricotta had 34 tackles on the year, including five tackles for loss.
The Pioneers tied for the school-record for wins in a single-season (6) and set a new record for Empire 8 Conference victories (4) in 2012. Known for a high-octane offense (averaged 34.2 points in 2012), Utica must break in a new starting quarterback this season. Despite some holes to fill on the roster, UC returns Jesse Baldassare, who earned second team all-conference after grabbing 39 balls for 332 years. He also rushed for 873 years and seven touchdowns on 175 carries. On the defensive end, Dana Christofferson led the team with 81 tackles, including 32 solo, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks. He also had two fumble recoveries.
With the return of 14 starters from a year ago, including eight on offense, Frostburg State University is ready to make a move up the conference standings. The headliner up front on offense will be Darius Arrington, a two-time First Team All-Empire 8 selection and one of the most versatile players after starting at three different positions on the offensive line during his career. Arrington started nine games at right guard last fall after starting all 10 games at both left guard and right tackle as a sophomore.
Junior Antonio Wood is ready to increase his numbers at wide receiver. He started all 10 games at last season and finished second on the team in yards (453), receptions (26) and touchdowns (3).
Junior Keith Smith (10 starts) and sophomore Salaman Riddell (8 starts) are the only two returning starters in the secondary from a year ago, but the duo has plenty of game experience. Smith, a safety, has appeared in all 20 games in his previous two seasons and finished second on the roster last fall with 67 tackles. Riddell is the squad's lone returning cornerback and finished the season with 28 tackles, 22 solo, with three pass breakups.
Hartwick College features a returning all-conference player on both sides of the ball in linebacker Bryan Schweitzer and wide receiver/kick returner Tanner Williams. Schweitzer, who earned second team honors from the league coaches, was Hartwick's leading tackler for the second straight campaign. He finished the year with 76 hits, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, three passes defended, and a forced fumble. His tackle total tied for fourth in the league and he registered a season-high 14 tackles with 3.5 TFL's in a game against Ithaca this year. At the wide out position, Williams recorded the team-high in receptions (39), reception yards (805), and touchdown catches (7). He also made 36 kick returns for 696 yards and gained 1,539 all-purpose yards.
Dates to remember
The 2013 football season begins on Saturday, September 7, with seven of the eight Empire 8 schools taking the field for non-conference action. The path to the 2013 Empire 8 Championship begins with the first conference game set to take place on Saturday, September 28, when Buffalo State hosts Ithaca.
Follow Online
If you can’t make it out to the game be sure to check if Live Stats are available or better yet the game may be web streamed courtesy of EzStream. Be sure to check out the schedule of streamed events by visiting
empire8.tv. The
Empire 8 scoreboard will have the latest schedule and results as well as media coverage links.
A closer look
For more information, visit any of the participating schools' websites or go to the Empire 8 home on the Internet at
www.empire8.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the Empire 8 on
Facebook and follow
@Empire8 on Twitter.
2013 Empire 8 Football Preseason Coaches Poll
|
Salisbury University (7 first place votes) |
49 points |
|
St. John Fisher (1) |
43 |
|
Alfred University |
35 |
|
Buffalo State |
28 |
|
Ithaca College |
28 |
|
Utica College |
20 |
|
Frostburg State University |
14 |
|
Hartwick |
7 |