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Derek Eitel -- first-team
all-HCAC in 2007. |
TERRE HAUTE, IND. --
Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology has been selected to finish third in the Heartland
Collegiate Athletic Conference this season, in a preseason poll
of league football coaches released today.
Franklin College was
selected as the preseason favorite to defend its 2007 league
title in the coaches poll, receiving six of eight first-place
votes. Mount St. Joseph, which joined Franklin in the NCAA
Division III Playoffs last season, was picked to finish second.
Rose-Hulman compiled its
best record since 1994 with a 7-3 overall record and a 4-3 mark
in conference play. Engineer head coach Steve Englehart
enters the campaign with the highest winning percentage among
coaches in school history at .650 (13-7).
Offensively,
junior quarterback Derek Eitel earned first-team
all-conference honors after a solid season. Eitel ranked second
in the HCAC in passing yards and total offense, while also
finishing second in school history in each category. He
completed 173 of 327 passes for 2,270 yards and 13 touchdowns
while recording an efficiency rating of 116.39.
The entire group of
Engineer running backs returns this season
to
make the backfield a point of strength. Senior Bryan Wong
earned first-team all-conference honors after rushing for 606
yards and six touchdowns. Senior Tim Schrock battled
through injuries to rush for 463 yards and three scores. Junior
Calvin Bueltel ranks led the squad with a 4.8 average per
carry as part of his 252-yard season total.
Rose-Hulman must replace explosive graduate Thomas Reives, who
finished second in the HCAC in receiving yards, with a veteran
group of receivers. Senior Nate Richter claimed
first-team all-league honors in 2006 and hauled in 35 passes for
415 yards and two touchdowns. A deep group of incoming
receivers will add depth at the wide receiver position, but
another top pass catcher is at the tight end position.
Sophomore Reed Eason was named HCAC Newcomer of the Year
and led the squad with 47 receptions for 535 yards and five
touchdowns in his first college season.
The
offensive line must replace three starters from the 2007 campaign.
Senior Nick Zee-Cheng and junior Jared Stermole return
to the starting lineup at guard and tackle positions. Zee-Cheng
enters his third year in the starting lineup, while Stermole enters
his second year as a starter. The return of senior Jonas Troyer
will also boost the line, as Troyer missed the last eight games of
the campaign to injury after emerging as a leader of the group
during fall workouts.
Rose-Hulman’s defense is led by the
return of the 2007 HCAC Defensive Player of the Year to the line.
Senior end Paul Spreen led the HCAC with 19 tackles-for-loss
and two forced fumbles and also paced league defensive linemen with
62 tackles. He finished second on the team in tackles and has
tallied 39 tackles-for-loss and 16.5 sacks in his Fightin’ Engineer
career.
Sophomore
Matt Behling also provided a boost to the defensive line as a
first-year starter. Behling recorded 37 tackles and finished second
on the team with nine tackles-for-loss and five sacks.
The Engineer must replace all three
starting linebackers from the 2007 campaign. Junior Kyle Stevens
will likely move to an outside spot after tallying 34 tackles,
three tackles-for-loss and one interception as a combination safety
and outside linebacker. Junior Ben Wassel started for half
the season and recorded 31 tackles, while sophomore Scott Eaton
contributed 27 stops and will be counted on as a force this fall.
In
the secondary, Rose-Hulman returns junior Nick Murphy and
sophomore Robby Alumbaugh as part-time starters from the 2007
season. Murphy tallied 26 tackles and a team-high six pass
breakups, while Alumbaugh recorded 21 tackles, two forced fumbles
and one blocked kick as an athletic corner.
Rose-Hulman must replace reliable
kicker Jeremy Sharp, who finished third in school history with 21
field goals and holds the career school record of 91 extra points.
Sophomore Alex Pantages will battle an incoming class of
kickers for the position. Eason and Eitel served as part-time
punters in 2007 with averages between 35 and 36 yards per boot.
Rose-Hulman's
schedule features five home and five away games, beginning with the
Battle of the Borders Game against Earlham College on Sept. 6.
The Engineers host Manchester College in the Homecoming Game on Oct.
4.
|
2008 HCAC FOOTBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL |
| RANK |
SCHOOL |
PTS. (1st) |
2007
RECORD |
2007 LEAGUE |
| 1) |
Franklin |
61 (6) |
9-2 |
7-0 |
| 2) |
Mount St. Joseph |
58 (2) |
9-2 |
6-1 |
| 3) |
Rose-Hulman |
46 |
7-3 |
4-3 |
| 4) |
Defiance |
35 |
5-5 |
4-3 |
| 5) |
Anderson |
31 |
4-6 |
3-4 |
| 6) |
Manchester |
27 |
3-7 |
1-6 |
| 7) |
Hanover |
18 |
2-8 |
2-5 |
| 8) |
Bluffton |
12 |
1-9 |
1-6 |
