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Johns Hopkins Tops Preseason Centennial Conference Football Poll for Third Straight Year
Aug. 8, 2006
2006 Prospectus in PDF Format
LANCASTER, PA - The Johns Hopkins football team, which has grabbed at least a share of the last four Centennial Conference Championships and compiled a 36-8 record over the last four years, tops the 2006 Centennial Conference Preseason Coaches and Sports Information Director's Poll for the third straight year it was announced today. The Blue Jays, who had never earned the top spot in the poll before 2004, grabbed 12 of 14 first-place votes (all 12 they could as coaches and SIDs are not permitted to vote for their own team) and totaled the maximum of 72 points after posting an 8-3 overall record and a 5-1 league mark last season. Hopkins capped the 2005 season with its first-ever trip to the NCAA Playoffs.
McDaniel placed second in the poll as the Green Terror amassed 51 points. Muhlenberg (44 points), Franklin & Marshall (40), Dickinson (34), Gettysburg (29) and Ursinus (24) round out the poll with F&M and Dickinson picking up the two remaining first-place votes.
Head coach Jim Margraff counts six returning starters on both sides of the ball and seven players return after earning All-Centennial honors last season. A trademark of the team's recent success has been a stingy defense and 2006 should see more of the same. A dominating defensive line that boasts a pair of returning First Team All-Centennial performers should set the tone. Seniors Brian Cook and Anthony Woodard lead the group as Cook counted a team-high 8.0 sacks among his 53 tackles last season, while Woodard led JHU's defensive linemen with 56 tackles, including 11.0 for losses and 5.5 sacks. Cook enters his final season needing just one sack to become Hopkins' career leader. He counts 20.5 sacks to his credit through three seasons.
Senior Matt Hagel returns to his strong safety (OLB) spot after earning Second Team All-Centennial in each of the last two years. He led the team in tackles for losses (11.5) last season and counts a team-high 187 tackles over the last two years. Junior Dan Requena posted five pass breakups, three interceptions and 30 tackles from his cornerback spot and headlines a secondary which will feature a pair of new starters.
Senior wide receiver Anthony Triplin, the 2005 Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Year, leads the way for an offense that should improve as the season progresses. Triplin posted 77 receptions for 809 yards and three touchdowns last season and is in position to challenge the Centennial Conference (233) and Johns Hopkins (258) records for career receptions. Over-looked junior Corey Sattler (34 receptions for 455 yards) provides a perfect complement to Triplin.
Senior Paul Markowski will anchor the offensive line after earning First Team All-Centennial honors in his first season as a starter and is joined by fellow seniors Phil Dixon and John Hunter as returning starters on the offensive line. Senior Shane Kibbe and sophomore Adam Waddell will enter preseason camp in a battle for the starting quarterback spot and both bring a different skill-set to the position. Kibbe has an excellent handle on the offense, while Waddell's ability to breakdown a defense with his feet adds a dimension the Blue Jays haven't had since George Merrell closed his career in 2003.
Senior Ben Scott is also back in the fold and has proven to be a tremendous weapon over the last two years. He earned First Team All-Centennial honors as a punter last season, when he dropped a school-record 21 punts inside the opposition's 20-yard line. He also garnered Second Team All-Centennial as a place-kicker for the second straight year. He already owns JHU's career record for field goals (30) and needs just four more to break the all-time Centennial record of 33. If he matches his total of 13 field goals made last season he will rank among the top five in NCAA Division III history in career field goals.
Johns Hopkins will open the 2006 season on September 2 when the University of Rochester visits Homewood Field. The Blue Jays play four of their first six games on the road, but return to Homewood Field for three of their last four.
2006 Centennial Conference Preseason Football Poll
Rank School (1st-place votes) Points |
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