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POLL: Bearcats picked to defend titleFROM IBabout the season. But in the middle of the pack, there is a lot of room for improvement.”Northwest Missouri State, the five-time defending conference champion, topped both polls. The Bearcats, return seven starters on offense and two on defense, received seven of a possible nine first-place votes from the coaches and 23 of 35 No. 1 votes from the media.“I always have, whether I was a player or a position coach, felt like they were more for the media and our fans,” new Bearcats head coach Adam Dorrel said. “I think they are great because it gets us talking about football again. I’ve heard enough about Major League Baseball, so it’s an exciting time for our fans.“But I think myself and every head coach in here, our expectation every year is to win the conference championship. The expectations for us aren’t going to change, whether we have a poll or not. We are always going to set the bar high.”Washburn, armed with 17 returning starters, was second in both polls and had three No. 1 votes from the coaches and seven from the media. Central Missouri, with five No. Is from the media, was third, Missouri Western fourth and Pittsburg State fifth in both polls.They are called preseason polls for a reason,” PSU quarterback Zac Dickey said. “I remember we were ranked pretty high the year that we went 5-6. Sol don’t try to read too much into them.”The Gorillas return 17 starters — nine on offense, eight on defense — from last year’s squad that capped a 6-6 season with a Mineral Water Bowl victory.“So much of everything is based on how people did last year, and that’s how it needs to be,” Gorillas head coach Tim Beck said. “Our players will see it, and we really won’t talk about it much other than maybe mention it one time. But when the ball is kicked off Sep-Top MIAAReturneesFirst-team al-MIAA selections returning from the 2010 team:OffalttRB—Vershon Moore, WashburnWR—Jake Sov, Northwest MissouriOL—Bnan Folkerts, WashburnKR-PR—Jordan Simmons, Northwest MissounDefense01—Brandon Williams, Missoun Southern DL—Josh Lorenson, Northwest Missoun LB—Chad Kilgore, Northwest Missoun OB—Marion Douglas, Central Missoun DB—Jack Long, Missouri Western DB—Michael Bliott, Truman Statetember 1 at Missouri Western, nobody is going to be thinking about the preseason polls. You’re going to be thinking about your assignments, what you’re supposed to do, and try to find a way to win that game.”Lincoln returns to the MLAA football schedule for the first time since the 1989 season. The Blue Tigers shared the 1972 league championship with Northwest Missouri with 5-1 records. Lincoln then went 3-3 in league play the next year but won only eight conference games during the next 16 seasons.“We understand where Lincoln was the last 25 years,” head coach Mikte Jones said. “The problem wasn’t created overnight, and we understand it ’s not going to be corrected overnight. What we have to do is break it down to the bare necessities and start building it back up. The first thing we have to do is know how to compete every single play.“I’m excited to be back in the MIAA. I think it’s a great opportunity for us. You can look at it as a challenge, but you also can look at it as an opportunity.”Jones, former St. Louis Rams linebacker who made the game-saving tackle at the 1-yard line in Super Bowl XXXIV, joins Dorrel and Chris Brown at Fort Hays State as new head coaches in the league.
Newspaper Details
Joplin Globe
Joplin, Missouri, US
Tue, Aug 02, 2011
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Blake O.
NA, NA 27 Sep 2024
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