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EDINBORO, PA – The Edinboro University
football team has been picked second in the Pennsylvania State
Athletic Conference Coaches’ Preseason Poll. The Fighting
Scots enter their first season under first-year head coach Scott
Browning, a long-time assistant who was named Edinboro’s 13th
head coach on January 5.
California(Pa.) was chosen as the preseason
favorite by the PSAC West coaches. Edinboro and the Vulcans
finished tied for first a year ago with identical 5-1 records in
league play. The two squads also ended the season with identical
8-2 records overall. It marked the third straight season that
Edinboro had finished in a tie for the league crown. The Fighting
Scots look to join Indiana(Pa.) (twice) and Slippery Rock as the
only teams to win four straight PSAC West titles.
Slippery Rock (5-5, 4-2 PSAC West) was picked
third, followed by Indiana(Pa.) (5-5, 4-2) in fourth place.
Shippensburg (4-7, 2-4) is fifth, with Clarion (3-7, 1-5) sixth
and Lock Haven (2-9, 0-6) seventh.
“This is a compliment to the
returning players when you consider all the key people we’ve
lost that were so productive over the past three years,”
Browning commented.
Edinboro is nationally ranked in a pair of
preseason polls. The Fighting Scots were picked 15th by Lindy’s
Magazine Top 25, and were 18th in the Football Gazette Top 40.
The Fighting Scots return 38 letterwinners, including 14 starters.
Seven of the starters return to a defense that
led Division II in three statistical categories, ranking first in
scoring defense (9.3 ppg.), total defense (211.1 ypg.), and
rushing defense (53.7 ypg.). A pair of defenders were recently
chosen to Football Gazette’s preseason All-American
squad. Chris Amico (Webster, NY/West Irondequoit), a 6’0”,
250 lb. tackle, was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the
Year in 2005. The junior finished with 49 tackles, living in the
backfield with 14.5 tackles for losses and 8.5 sacks. He was
joined by Ben Stroup (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Davidson),
like Amico a first team All-PSAC West selection. Stroup, a 6’1”,
213 lb. senior linebacker, led the Fighting Scots with 76 tackles,
with a team-high 15.5 for losses and 5.5 sacks.
The defensive line also showcases A.J.
Cousins (Chillicothe, OH/Chillicothe), a 6’1”, 280
lb. senior who enters his third season as the starting noseguard.
Cousins finished with 47 tackles and 6 sacks while earning first
team All-PSAC West honors.
In addition to Stroup, the linebacking corps,
considered by Browning among the best in Division II, includes
Jim Soltis (Garrettsville, OH/Cardinal) and Dave
Jazenski (Erie, PA/Iroquois). Soltis was a second team
All-PSAC West selection last year, finishing with 64 tackles,
second on the team. Jazenski, like Soltis a senior, added 48 hits.
The secondary is led by the safety tandem of
Tom Davidson (Geneva, OH/Geneva) and Damion Malott
(Akron, OH/Akron North). A year ago Davidson played strong
safety and Malott was the free safety, but they will swap spots in
2006. Davidson, a junior, already has 12 career interceptions. A
former junior college transfer, Malott had a pair of pickoffs a
year ago in his first season as a Fighting Scot.
The offense will bear a different look,
although five starters return. Gone is record-setting quarterback
Justin Bouch. In his place is Trevor Harris (Waldo, OH/Marion
Pleasant), a highly-touted redshirt freshman. He’ll throw
to a deep receiving corps led by Ryan Valasek (Natrona
Heights, PA/ Highlands), the team’s leading receiver in
2005 with 28 receptions for 509 yards and 5 TDs.
Ulysee “Spud” Davis (Bryans Road,
MD/Bishop McNamara) finished as the second-leading rusher with
739 yards on 151 carries with 8 TDs. The 5’10”, 200 lb.
sophomore had three 100-yard games in his first five outings a
year ago. Several talented freshmen are expected to push Davis for
playing time.
Edinboro has paced the PSAC in fewest sacks
allowed the last two seasons thanks to strong offensive line play.
It is a rebuilt unit, with Cactus Bowl performers Greg Bzorek and
LaMont Singleton gone. In addition, there were several position
changes made in the spring. However, this should still be an area
of strength.
Chris Kaczor (Brook Park, OH/Berea) has
started all 34 games in his career and is a three-time All-PSAC
West selection. After playing center the last two years, the 6’2”,
300 lb. senior moves back to left guard, where he played as a
redshirt freshman. Kaczor was recently selected to the Football
Gazette preseason All-America team, and joined Amico as a Lindy’s
first team preseason All-American.
Browning looks for a big senior season out of
senior Kody Robertson (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Davidson),
who handles both the punting and placekicking duties. Robertson
made 11 of 19 field goals and 34 of 39 extra points while
averaging 35.8 yards on 43 punts.
Edinboro opens the season on Saturday,
September 2 against West Chester, a team which was 8-4 a year ago
and made the NCAA Division II Playoffs. The following week the
Fighting Scots debut at home against first-time opponent St.
Anselm. Week number three finds the Fighting Scots hosting
Bloomsburg, last year’s PSAC East champion. The Huskies were
11-1 a year ago, losing to East Stroudsburg in the regional
semifinals.
The Fighting Scots face a brutal stretch midway
through the season, beginning with a matchup against former head
coach Lou Tepper and Indiana(Pa.) on September 30 at Sox Harrison
Stadium. The next week Edinboro celebrates Homecoming against
California(Pa.), the PSAC West preseason favorite. The third game
is an October 14 date at Sox Harrison Stadium against East
Stroudsburg. The Warriors finished with an 11-3 record a year ago,
winning the Northeast Region title before losing to Grand Valley
State in the Division II semifinals.
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