Delaware
Football Picked No. 2 in Pre-Season
Atlantic 10 Poll
 RICHMOND,
VA (August 4, 2004) -- The defending
NCAA I-AA national champion University of
Delaware football team was the No. 2 pick
in the Atlantic 10 Conference South
Division by the media and league coaches
as part of the annual Atlantic 10 Football
Media Day Wednesday afternoon at the Omni
Richmond Hotel.
The Blue Hens, who put
together one of the top seasons in school
history in 2003 as Delaware posted a 15-1
record, shared the Atlantic 10 title with
Massachusetts, and swept through the field
on the way to the school's sixth national
championship and first since 1979, were
picked second in the new Southern Division
behind Villanova in a vote of 24 league
coaches and media members who regularly
cover the league.
The Atlantic 10, which
added Towson University this fall to
become a 12-team league, will move to two
divisions this season. In the North
Division, Maine was the pre-season pick
with 12 first place votes followed by
Northeastern (7), Massachusetts (3), New
Hampshire (2), Rhode Island, and Hofstra.
Villanova earned 13 first place votes to
finish atop the South Division poll
followed by Delaware (11), William &
Mary, James Madison, Richmond, and Towson.
The team with the best record at the end
of the season will earn the Atlantic 10's
automatic bid to the I-AA playoffs.
Massachusetts was the
only other Atlantic 10 team to advance to
the NCAA Tournament a year ago when the
Minutemen posted a record of 10-3 and lost
to eventual national runner-up Colgate in
the first round. Maine is coming off a 7-5
record a year ago while Villanova was 7-4
last season.
"We are now the hunted
and I like that," said Delaware head coach
K.C. Keeler, whose team will open
pre-season camp Monday, Aug. 9. "Our kids
know the situation and that we won't sneak
up on anyone this season. Every team we
play will have our game circled on their
schedule. It's interesting but we enjoy
being in this position. We lost five great
players but we do have a lot back and we
have a tremendous defense. I think
Delaware and Villanova have the two best
defenses in the country."
In addition to the
announcement of pre-season team rankings,
a pre-season all-conference team was also
selected with Delaware placing six players
on the first and second teams.
Senior cornerback
Sidney Haugabrook (at
right), a three-time All-Atlantic 10
selection, was a pre-season first team
pick at defensive back and a second team
selection as a kick returner, senior
defensive tackle Chris Mooney was a
first team selection, senior linebacker
Mondoe Davis earned first team
notice, senior offensive tackle Trip
DelCampo earned first team honors, and
junior linebacker John Mulhern and
senior offensive guard Jared Wray
were named to the second team.
Haugabrook, a
pre-season All-American candidate, posted
84 tackles, two interceptions, and a
team-high nine pass breakups a year ago;
Mooney, a two-time second team
All-Atlantic 10 selection, had 10 tackles
for loss and five sacks a year ago; Davis
earned second team All-Atlantic 10 honors
in 2003 when he led the team with 110
tackles; DelCampo earned third team
All-Atlantic 10 honors as a first-year
starter in 2003; and Mulhern posted 101
tackles and 10. 5 tackles for loss as a
sophomore a year ago.
The Atlantic 10
pre-season first team also consisted of
quarterback Lang Campbell, tight end Adam
Bratton, and linebacker Travis McLaurin
from William & Mary, running back
Steve Baylark, wide receiver Jason
Peebler, offensive lineman Rob Kane, and
defensive back Shannon James of
Massachusetts, running back Marcus
Williams, offensive lineman Mike LeConte,
and defensive back Brandon McGowan of
Maine, wide receiver J.J. Outlaw,
defensive linemen Darrell Adams and Jamil
Butler, linebacker Brian Hulea, and
defensive back Raymond Ventrone of
Villanova, offensive lineman Dustin Bayer
of Rhode Island, offensive lineman Adam
Bourget, defensive lineman James Abosi,
linebacker Liam Ezekiel, and kicker Miro
Kesic of Northeastern, kick returner David
Bailey of New Hampshire, and punter Nick
Englehart of James Madison.
Delaware will open the
regular season Sept. 2 when the Hens host
New Hampshire in a non-league game at 7
p.m. at Delaware Stadium.
- DDD -
Copyright,
© 2004, University of Delaware. All
rights reserved.
Please direct Athletics questions to the
Athletics
Media
Relations
office.
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