Greenville College is coaches' pick to win in 2010
2010 UMAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. 58 Points - Greenville College (5 First Place Votes)
2. 51 Points - Martin Luther College
3. 48 Points - Northwestern College
4. 46 Points - Westminster College (3)
5. 34 Points - Crown College (1)
6. 33 Points - College of St. Scholastica
7. 26 Points - Eureka College
T-8. 14 Points - MacMurray College
T-8. 14 Points - University of Minnesota-Morris
ST. PAUL -- Greenville College took the cake in the 2010 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Preseason Coaches’ Poll, earning 58 points and five first place votes in the first preseason ballot to include all nine conference teams in one division. Greenville bested second place-Martin Luther College in the poll. Greenville and Martin Luther team won their respective division in the two-division conference in 2009. In 2010, the divisions will be eliminated and all nine UMAC teams will be competing for one conference championship. A year later in 2011, all nine teams - plus Presentation College - will compete for an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Greenville will look to defend their 2009 divisional crown with new teammates, a new field and a new head coach. Ordell Walker, who was an assistant coach with the Panthers program for seven years before being promoted to head coach after last season, will take the team’s reigns in 2010. Walker has high expectations for his team on the upswing. Greenville’s offense starts the upcoming season with the core of its 2009 team in place. The Panthers return seven starters from an offense that averaged over 25 points and 175 yards rushing per game a year ago. Greenville’s running game will again be the team’s offensive strength this season, as the front line has four returning starters, including the 2009 UMAC South Lineman of the Year in Tim Burroughs. UMAC South Co-Offensive Player of the Year Anthony Ambers, the team’s featured back, is expected to have a strong season. The Greenville defense also comes into the 2010 season with high expectations despite only returning five starters and losing the 2009 UMAC South Defensive Player of the Year and three first team UMAC South All-Conference defensive linemen.
Martin Luther, who received 51 points in the coaches’ poll, will look to build off of last season which saw the Knights win the north division with a perfect 4-0 record. Head coach Doug Lange returns 15 starters from that team in the hopes of putting together another strong season. Offensively, the Knights return a very experienced backfield as quarterback Greg Holzhueter returns for his fourth season at the helm of Martin Luther’s attack, while Aaron Voss and Andrew Becker each enter their third seasons as starters. They will play behind an offensive line that returns three starters, but the offense will need to find a threat at wide receiver to replace all-conference award-winner Ryan Kolander from last season. On defense, the Knights return nine players with starting experience, including defensive tackle Chuqee Fletcher, the UMAC North Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. Matt Rothe, Bill Fuerstenau and Jake Rothe also return as part of the front seven, while Joseph Lindloff, Josh Schultz, Jake Unke and Benjamin Olson give the team’s secondary experience.
After a UMAC championship in 2008 and a second place divisional finish in 2009, third place Northwestern College (Minn.) will feature a much different team in 2010 as the Eagles return only three starters on offense and four on defense. Not only will the squad have new faces on its first team of offense, but a new number will be called for every position besides that of the offensive line. Josh Balzer, Noah Hadro and Cody Crum will arise from the shadows of Zach Tarter, Ryan Long and Kyle Thomforde in the hopes of leading Northwestern to a UMAC title, an award the team has won 16 times since the conference’s inception. Balzer was a freshman understudy under a three-time UMAC Offensive Player of the Year in Tarter last year, while Hadro actually started on defense in 2009. Crum saw plenty of playing time as the team’s third wide receiver last season and will be the featured receiver this season. A more solid core returns for Northwestern’s defense, especially on the line and in the secondary. Dave Kleiner returns to an experienced defensive line after taking a year off due to military duties. In his sophomore season of 2008, Kleiner recorded 76 tackles and 3.5 sacks in nine games.
Just two points out of third place in the poll was Westminster College (Mo.), who earned 46 points and three first place votes. With the return of 17 starters - nine on offense and eight on defense - optimism for success in 2010 is high for head coach John Welty and his Blue Jays team. The big question on offense is who will replace three-year starter Daniel Eidson at quarterback. But the return of three all-league receivers is a positive for an offense that was 31st nationally in NCAA Division III Total Offense a year ago (423.5 ypg) and 18th nationally in passing offense (297.3 ypg). The return of a consistent kicker is another plus for Westminster, who was 34th nationally in scoring offense at 34.5 points a game in 2009. Combining the number of returning players and the experience the team gained last year, Westminster looks to cut down on yards and points allowed, which will give the offense more opportunities to compile yards and score.
Crown College edged the College of St. Scholastica by a vote in the poll, taking fifth place with 34 points including one first place vote. The Storm enters the 2010 season returning 21 starters from a 2009 squad that finished 4-6 overall and 1-4 in UMAC play. Offensively, Crown brings back 10 starters from last season’s team which finished ninth in the country in points per game (39.6). The Storm are led by fifth-year senior and All-UMAC performer Adam Hayes, who threw for 27 touchdowns and ran for 7 more scores in eight 8 games last fall. The Storm also return a talented receiving corps which includes seniors Drew Milner, Steve Boger, Eric Chavoustie and Robert Yang. Milner and Boger are both members of last year’s UMAC First Team while Yang was a first team award-winner on special teams a season ago. Crown’s running game will be bolstered by returning sophomore starter Tyler Hallblade, who rushed for 15 touchdowns last year behind a veteran offensive line which returns three seniors. The Storm defense struggled at times in 2009 as an undersized and inexperienced group; however their development has been noticeable over the course of the off-season. Senior defensive back Marquise Dixon returns as a starter for his fourth season. Dixon will be joined by second team All-UMAC member Brandon Green.
St. Scholastica improved by three wins in 2009 from its inaugural season. Last year saw the team’s first conference victory, first road win, and first homecoming triumph. The Saints had a chance for a share of the conference crown heading into the final week of the season. This season, St. Scholastica brings back key players on both sides of the football. Offensively, the Saints are led up front by first team All-UMAC selection Stephen Vaulkner. He is joined by second team selection Kyle Groves, while quarterback Jake Olson is back for his junior season. Last year’s leading receiver and second team All-UMAC choice Jonny Bennett is also back for head coach Greg Carlson, who started the Saints program three years ago. St. Scholastica’s biggest question will be who will replace last year’s UMAC North Division Co-Offensive Player of the Year Christopher Henagin at running back. Defensively, the Saints’ leading tackler and second team All-UMAC choice Sean Graskey is back for another go around. First team All-UMAC selection Scott Greening will be roaming the defensive backfield while second team All-UMAC choices Zack Dubanoski and Christopher Doran also return.
Eureka College came in seventh in the poll, earning 26 points as a second-year member of the UMAC in 2010, which is also the second year for head coach Kurt Barth. Barth’s squad returns 10 starters and five All-UMAC selections from a year ago. While the Red Devils will undergo a quarterback change after the graduation of 2009 UMAC South Division Co-Offensive Player of the Year Nick Lindsey, junior wide receiver Wes Schmidgall will return to lead an offense that averaged 30.0 points per game in 2009, the fourth-best mark in school history. Schmidgall averaged 124.7 receiving yards per game last season to rank fourth among all NCAA Division III players and earn All-UMAC First Team All-Conference honors. Senior Dillon Reed is back at the tight end position after earning All-UMAC South Second Team honors last fall. A pair of defensive backs will return to help anchor the Eureka defense in 2010. Senior cornerback Rosney Beverly and junior strong safety Mike Minehan are back in the fold after earning All-UMAC Second Team honors last season. In addition to the returning players, Barth will welcome one of the largest recruiting classes in program history. A total of 44 newcomers are listed on the 2010 roster, including 30 that will have freshman eligibility.
MacMurray College and the University of Minnesota, Morris tied for eighth place in the poll, each receiving 14 points. Both teams will be looking to improve upon last year’s campaigns, when neither team recorded a conference victory. MacMurray’s highlight of the 2009 season was the Highlanders’ 68-62 overtime victory over Crown at the UMAC’s annual Dome Day event, which was the highest scoring game in the event’s history. Together, the two teams posted 1,100 yards of total offense in the three and a half hour shootout. Offense was not a problem for MacMurray in 2009 as the Highlanders scored a total of 301 points last year, averaging 30 points per game. The team’s defense, however, was a different story. All-conference wide receiver Marc Randle will lead the Highlander offense. Last season, Randle tallied more than 150 receiving yards. Steven Etheridge will also be a key returning player on MacMurray’s offensive line as well as wide receiver Dan Routh. Second team all-conference running back Brian Clay also returns to the offensive backfield. The Highlanders’ defense will be the main the emphasis of improvement going into the new season as head coach Jake Box’s emphasis will be to get physical against opponents’ rushing attack. Leading MacMurray’s defense in 2010 will be linebackers Kelsey Mankins and Tobias Alaribe, who are poised to improve their solo tackles mark this season.
Minnesota, Morris returns 15 starters in 2010, including six all-conference performers. Sophomore quarterback Derek Foss returns to run the Cougars’ offense after playing in all 10 games and passing for over 1,100 yards in his rookie season. Foss threw 12 touchdowns last year against just nine interceptions. Morris must replace Foss’s favorite target, Brady Rose, who graduated after hauling in 47 catches for 655 yards and nine touchdowns last season. Ready to fill the void, however, is John Russow, who returns after an all-conference sophomore season. Russow caught 30 passes last year for nearly 400 yards. Leading the attack on the ground will be Robert Koranda who carried the ball 154 times for 585 yards, and gathered second team All-UMAC accolades in his sophomore campaign. Koranda was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2008. On defense, lineman Mitch Zimmer leads the charge in his junior season, fresh off his second straight first team All-UMAC nod. Zimmer racked up 45 tackles from his defensive end spot, including eight tackles for a loss of 30 yards. He also notched 3.5 sacks on the season. Nate Lund joined Zimmer on the All-UMAC first team, and returns for his senior season after leading the team with 80 total tackles as a defensive back.
All nine UMAC schools will play seven conference games in 2010 with the exception of Greenville College, who will play six league contests due to non-conference agreements that were already in place before the UMAC took its new shape last year. With the addition of Presentation and moving to a complete round-robin schedule, every UMAC team will play nine conference games in 2011, the first year that the league champion will earn a spot in the NCAA playoffs.
Fans won’t have to wait long for UMAC competition to begin, as MacMurray and Minnesota, Morris will kick off the conference schedule on Saturday, Sept. 4 in Jacksonville, Ill. UMAC Dome Day moves to a two-day format for the first time in 2010 as league teams and fans invade Mall of America Field at the Metrodome in Minneapolis for five games on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 29 and 30.