Published: July 27, 2008 12:57 am            

Shepherd picked to win WVC title

Falcons selected sixth in preseason grid poll

BUCKHANNON — It’s status quo at the top of the West Virginia Conference Football Coaches’ preseason poll and with good reason.

Shepherd University has won the last four league titles and veteran Ram coach Monte Cater was tabbed Saturday by his peers to claim an unprecedented fifth straight conference championship during the league’s annual media day, which was held at the Benedum Campus Center at West Virginia Wesleyan College.

“I’m a little surprised that we're ranked (nationally) in three different preseason polls because we've lost a lot of really good players the past two years,” said Cater, who has a 150-71-1 record at Shepherd. “We’re going to go through some growing pains this season, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have talent.

“We know, though, in this league we’re going to be tested week in and week out.”

The going this season for Shepherd, which received six of a possible nine first-place votes in the competitive WVC, may be a bit more difficult.

West Liberty State, the University of Charleston and Glenville State, which placed second, third and fourth respectively in the preseason poll and received one first-place vote apiece, are all poised to make a serious bid at dethroning the Rams this fall. Both West Liberty and the University of Charleston narrowly missed making the NCAA D-II playoffs last fall and return a wealth of talent from teams which finished 8-3.

West Virginia State and Fairmont State, two teams who ended strings of non-winning seasons last fall with victorious campaigns, were selected fifth and sixth, respectively, in the league. Rounding out the poll are Seton Hill University, West Virginia Wesleyan and Concord University.

Cater’s Rams are the first WVC team to win 10 or more games in three consecutive seasons and have gone 30-1 in their last 31 conference games. Shepherd has made three straight NCAA Division II Playoff appearances, reaching the Northeast Region title game the past two years.

The sixth-place selection didn’t come as any surprise to second-year Fairmont State head coach Mike Lopez, who guided the Falcons to a 6-5 overall record and a 3-5 league mark last fall in his initial season. It was FSU’s first winning season since 2001. The Falcons lost a wealth of talent from that team, especially on defense, where Lopez will have to replace seven starters.

“Being picked sixth out of nine teams isn’t a surprise,” said Lopez. “That’s where we finished last year. We were 6-5 overall and 3-5 in a very competitive league with a great group of seniors and had a pretty good schedule in terms of home and away games.

“This year, we’ve got six games on the road and four of them are overnight trips with a young team. That’s going to be a challenge and it’s our job as a staff to get our guys ready every week to play Fairmont State football the way we want it to be played and not to worry about things we can’t control.

“There’s no question we've got holes to fill, but if you’re a young player in our system you’ve got to look at this like a tremendous opportunity to step to the forefront and make a name for yourself so to speak.”

In addition to losing 13 seniors from last year’s squad, the Falcons have also suffered a few defections during the offseason. The most notable is that of sophomore cornerback Andre Pope, who has elected to give up three years of eligibility at FSU to transfer to Division I University of Houston and play one year. Pope, who was injured prior to last year’s contest with Shepherd and missed the final seven games of the season, will have to sit out this season with the Cougars.

Also gone for various reasons are sophomore offensive lineman Brendon Smith, sophomore backup linebacker Chad Dutrow and promising redshirt freshmen Fred Massa, a safety, Karl Evans, a linebacker, and Rondell Kelly, a cornerback.

“Our philosophy is if you want to go, go,” said Lopez. “Is the loss of some of those guys going to hurt us? Sure, but we want everyone to be happy.

“Losing the number that we did coming off a 6-5 season was a little disheartening to me as a first-year coach, but what’s done is done and now we can move forward with the guys we do have coming back. We’re excited and looking forward to the season. It’s an exciting time of the year and we’re ready to get started.”

FSU's players will report for fall camp on Tuesday, Aug. 5. The squad’s first on-field workouts are scheduled to take place Thursday, Aug. 7.

Fairmont State opens the 2008 season on the road on Thursday, Aug. 28 when it travels to Clarion (Pa.) University for a 6 p.m. meeting with the Golden Eagles. The Falcons’ home opener is Saturday, Sept. 6 when Lake Erie (Ohio) College visits Duvall-Rosier Field for a 1 p.m. game.

        

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