W&J team to beat in PAC
LATROBE – Despite losing their starting quarterback and top receiver, the Washington & Jefferson Presidents still have the respect of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
W&J was the pick Thursday in the PAC preseason football poll, receiving 19 of 30 first-place votes and outdistancing Case Western Reserve by 24 points, 289-265. Case Western, which did not play W&J last season and shared the conference title with the Presidents, received eight of the remaining 11 first-place votes by the group of coaches, media and sports information directors.
This is the 10th time in the last 18 years the Presidents have been the preseason favorites.
Last season, W&J went 10-0 in the regular season, clinched or shared its 25th PAC championship and won its first round game in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
“You can’t hide from it,” said W&J head coach Mike Sirianni, who became the winningest coach in program history last season (139-31). “The kids read social media. They read the newspapers. We expect to win it every year so we might as well be first now. It’s a tough league.”
Sirianni said the Presidents will be prepared for PAC play after its preseason scrimmages and its nonconference opener.
“We’ll be well prepared when the season starts with St. John Fisher (in the nonconference opener),” he said. “The NCAA allows us two scrimmages this year, and we decided to scrimmage Mount Union twice. So by the time it rolls around … we’ll be ready for the conference schedule.”
W&J will be breaking in a new quarterback, as Jake Adams steps in for the graduated Alex Rowse. Jesse Zubik, one of the most prolific wide receivers in Division III history, also graduated.
“It is an honor to be voted at the top of the conference before the season begins,” said W&J defensive back Zach Royba. “At the same time, it still needs to be decided on the field. This puts a target on our backs, and should only motivate us to work harder.”
Waynesburg came in ninth place in the 10-team league.
Grove City, coached by South Fayette graduate and Wolverines alumnus Andrew DiDonato, was picked fifth. It’s quite a jump from the past few years when the team struggled. The Wolverines were 4-6 last season.
“Our motto all along is brick by brick,” said DiDonato. “We started at the bottom and we had a vision for where we wanted to go. Last year, we laid enough bricks to get four wins. The message is that we have to keep moving forward. It’s not going to happen overnight. It’s a process, and we have to make sure it keeps moving forward.”
This will be the first year the PAC operates without Thomas More, which joined an NAIA conference after a 13-year stay.
The 2018 football season opens on Saturday, Sept. 1. This year’s PAC Kickoff Classic, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 8, will feature Bethany College hosting Grove City College. Kickoff at Bison Stadium is at 3:30 p.m.