MU football picked to finish 7th in PSAC East

August 4th, 2008 7:56 pm · 0 comments

JEFFREY REINHART jreinhart@LNPnews.com

10 FORMER L-L LEAGUE PLAYERS ON MARAUDERS’ PRESEASON ROSTER

Football must be right around the corner, because I just got my first press release featuring preseason rankings.

This one was from the PSAC, where Millersville was picked to finish seventh in the Eastern Division.

Ten (10) former Lancaster-Lebanon League players are listed on the Marauders’ preseason roster:

Jordan Shank - junior LB, Donegal
Colin McCall - freshman K, Lancaster Catholic
Geoff Hess - redshirt freshman DB, Penn Manor
Troy Englehart - junior LB, Annville-Cleona
John Banzhof - junior K, McCaskey
Chad Miller - sophomore DT, Cocalico
Don Thompson - freshman TE/LB, Columbia
Nick Kyper - junior OL, Cedar Crest
Chris Eldredge - freshman DL, L-S
Erik Arnold - sophomore LB, Annville-Cleona

Here is the press release from the PSAC:

Millersville Football Pegged Seventh in PSAC Eastern Division

Lock Haven, Pa. - The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) released its preseason football coaches’ poll Monday afternoon, and Millersville, under first-year head coach Greg Colby, was picked seventh in the Eastern Division.

The rankings were set by the conference’s 16 head coaches. Millersville was slotted one spot ahead of Cheyney in the Eastern Division. Defending champion and NCAA Division II Playoff qualifier West Chester was pegged the preseason favorite after garnering five first-place votes. Bloomsburg received two first-place votes and East Stroudsburg earned one to rank second and third respectively. Shippensburg, coming off a 3-8 campaign was ranked fourth. C.W. Post, which joins the conference as an associate member in 2008 earned the No. 5 ranking, and Kutztown was ranked sixth–one spot ahead of Millersville.

The Marauders, coming off a 3-8 2007 season, enter this year with a new head coach and just 23 letterwinners and 12 starters. However, five of the returnees garnered All-PSAC Eastern Division honors last season, and redshirt sophomore quarterback Jamal Smith is the reigning PSAC Eastern Division Rookie of the Year. Millersville finished last season fifth out of six teams with a 2-3 divisional record.

With the expansion of the PSAC to 16 teams, the conference announced the return of the PSAC Championship Game, which will be played between the first place teams from the East and West on the final week of the regular season. It will be the first time the game has been held since 1988. This season also marks the 75th anniversary of the PSAC recognizing a conference champion, and each team will wear the 75th anniversary decals on their helmets. Also, the Northeast Region, which previously included the PSAC, the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) and the Northeast-10, will also include the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA).