WASHINGTON, Pa. - The Sporting News released its annual NCAA Division III Top 25 preseason poll recently and Washington & Jefferson College is the national magazine's 16th-ranked team.
In addition, the W&J-Thomas More game scheduled for Sept. 24 at Cameron Stadium (1:30 pm) was listed as one of the top nine "Games To Watch" nationally.
Lindy's Sports did not list W&J among its Top 25 teams; however, placed the W&J-Thomas More clash as one of five games to watch in NCAA Division III this fall. Thomas More has defeated the Presidents three consecutive years for the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship by a combined 21 points.
The top three teams in both polls are the same with two-time defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater, Mount Union and Wesley. St. Thomas (Minn.) is fourth in The Sporting News, while Mary Hardin-Baylor is fifth. Bethel (Minn.) and Mary Hardin-Baylor round out the Lindy's Sports top five teams.
Thomas More is 11th in the Lindy's poll and 14th in The Sporting News. W&J's week two opponent, Delaware Valley (at W&J, Sept. 10, 1:30 pm), is ranked in both polls, 24th by Lindy's and 25th in the TSN Top 25.
Washington & Jefferson returns 40 letter winners and 14 starters (7 - offense, 7 - defense) from last year's team which clinched the 27th consecutive winning season in school history after posting a 9-2 record. The Presidents' 27-straight winning years is the eighth-longest active streak in all of college football and fourth among NCAA Division III programs.
W&J has also made 12 consecutive postseason appearances (10 - NCAA, 2 - ECAC) and captured the 2010 ECAC Division III Southwest Bowl with a 54-41 victory over Franklin & Marshall. Head Coach Mike Sirianni (79-14, .849) has guided W&J to at least nine victories in all eight of his years, including the 2004 and 2008 squads which advanced to the national quarterfinals.
Junior running back Tim McNerney (Butler, Pa./Knoch) will be the focal point of the 2011 offense after rushing for 1,009 yards and 18 touchdowns last year in his first season as a starter. Senior wide receiver Adam Dominick (North Irwin, Pa./Norwin) will aid whomever emerges as the Presidents' starting quarterback. Dominick had 32 receptions for 402 yards and two touchdowns a year ago.
The leading returning tackler on defense is senior linebacker Neil Sorice (Youngstown, Ohio/Canfield). Sorice had 70 tackles (10 for a loss) and 2.5 sacks in 2010. He has played 32 career games for the Presidents and owns 132 tackles.
When Washington & Jefferson College takes the field at Juniata College's Knox Stadium (Sept. 3, 1:00 pm) for its 2011 season opener, the Presidents will begin their 120th season of varsity football with 675 all-time victories (3rd-most in NCAA Division III history).
The Sporting News
1. Wisconsin-Whitewater
2. Mount Union
3. Wesley
4. St. Thomas
5. Mary Hardin-Baylor
6. Linfield
7. North Central
8. Wittenberg
9. St. John's (Minn.)
10. Montclair State
11. Wheaton (Ill.)
12. Wartburg
13. Baldwin-Wallace
14. Thomas More
15. Bethel
16. W&J
17. Cal Lutheran
18. Hardin-Simmons
19. Washington and Lee
20. Johns Hopkins
21. Cortland State
22. Redlands
23. Coe
24. Rowan
25. Delaware Valley
Lindy's Sports
1. Wisconsin-Whitewater
2. Mount Union
3. Wesley
4. Bethel
5. Mary Hardin-Baylor
6. Linfield
7. St. Thomas
8. Wartburg
9. Cortland State
10. Cal Lutheran
11. Thomas More
12. Rowan
13. Baldwin-Wallace
14. Wittenberg
15. Central
16. Alfred
17. North Central
18. Redlands
19. Ohio Northern
20. Hardin-Simmons
21. Trine
22. Louisiana College
23. Albion
24. Delaware Valley
25. Wheaton
-- PRESIDENTS --