Aug 7, 2013 4 min read

LATROBE – It was a day that offered optimism for the future, and for Washington & Jefferson College’s football team, a chance to continue to heal from the past.

At Wednesday’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference media luncheon at St. Vincent College, the Presidents were selected in the preseason football poll to finish first.

That good news was preceded by news Tuesday night that arrests were made in the murder of Tim McNerney, who was robbed and killed Oct. 4, 2012. McNerney was the starting tailback for the Presidents.

“Last year, I was sitting next to Tim up here,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni during the conference’s interview session. “Even though this is a great day, it won’t bring Tim back. Hopefully, we never have to go through that again.”

W&J’s emotional turmoil of last season was somewhat salved with a 31-14 victory over previously undefeated and arch rival Waynesburg in the regular season finale that produced a tie for first place in the conference with 7-1 records. The Presidents received the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs because of that win and fell to Johns Hopkins, 42-10, in the first round.

The Presidents were picked to finish in first place in the conference in yesterday’s media poll, receiving 16 first-place votes and 271 points. Thomas More was second with 10 first-place votes and 48 points. Waynesburg was third with six first-place votes and 233 points.

“The way we are going to remember Tim this year is by the way we act toward other people,” Sirianni said. “It’s changed us. It’s changed me. … This year is about the kids. Yeah, we want to win. This has taught us a lot, and we will never forget Tim.”

W&J returns 28 seniors, including quarterback Matt Bliss and wide receiver Alex Baroffio, two key cogs in the offense.

Baroffio, a senior from Bethel Park High School, enters the season needing 15 receptions to become the school’s career leader. David Ravido set the record of 192 from 2005-08.

“It’s an individual accomplishment,” said Baroffio. “It’s more about the team. Without the team, you can’t get anything accomplished. Still, it will be a cool thing.”

Waynesburg enters this season with one key player – safety Bryan Gary – returning from a knee injury and another – top running back Bertrand Ngampa – leaving the team. Ngampa rushed for 979 yards and scored eight touchdowns.

“We went into last season with a different approach,” said Waynesburg head coach Rick Shepas. “We’re trying to set the tone for teaching. We have a no-nonsense approach. We don’t care who is in the ballgame, because we have confidence that if someone is injured, you plug the next guy in.”

Gary, one of the conference’s top defensive backs, tore his right ACL and meniscus in a Week 8 victory over Geneva and was just cleared to resume practice last week.

“The injury was devastating to me,” he said. “The rehab went well, and I’ve worked hard to get back to where I am now.”

Thomas More, which strung together four PAC championships before falling off last season, gets Domonique Hayden back at tailback. Hayden tore his knee in the first game of last season after rushing for 811 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2011.

The PAC will be adding two teams next season – Carnegie Mellon and Case Western – to bring the total of teams in the conference to 11.

“This helps us in so many ways,” said CMU head coach Rich Lackner. “It’s great for our schedule. We have a lot of kids with local connections.”