Johns Hopkins rolled the league last year behind a ridiculous offense that outscored the second-best offense in the league by over 25% and a defense which was twice as stingy as the league’s fourth-best. However, the top four teams in the conference lose over half their starters, and while Hopkins still appears to be the odds-on favorite, that sort of chaos leaves things wide open for a team which adds the right parts.
Note the Centennial does not name a pre-season all-conference team. However, they are on top of things enough to allow me to provide team capsules after the jump.
Johns Hopkins Blue Jays: Only nine starters return to the defending league champions, and you would probably expect disaster. QB Robbie Matey was very effective in two starts last year in place of the graduated Hewitt Tomlin, though, and although only four starters return on defense, they include the team’s two leading tacklers in LBs Taylor Maciow and Adam Schweyer. With those keys in place, the cushion between Hopkins and the rest of the league is so vast that they’re probably going to be able to hold on and win their fourth straight conference title.
Ursinus Bears: Junior Chris Curran returns for his third year as a starter, and junior RB Bryan Ellis should easily crack the 2,000 yard career mark this year. Half the OL returns, so the offense should remain steady. The defense… not so much, as eight starters graduated. Still, since Hopkins and Muhlenberg also lost more than half their starters, Ursinus looks to be in decent shape for an improvement in the standings.
Muhlenberg Mules: The Mules finished second last year, and would be poised to take advantage of all the departures at Hopkins except for one small detail: they also only return nine starters, including only two from the league’s best defense overall. Senior Dan Deighan returns for his third year under center, so the offense will still be decent, but whether Muhlenberg can challenge depends entirely on nine new faces on the other side of the ball. Unfortunately, with Ursinus charging up behind the Mules, they’re likely to slip.
Gettysburg Bullets: QB Kody Smith returns to lead the Centennial’s second-most potent offense, but the loss of five starters may dampen the output. Worse, or perhaps better if the replacements are more effective, six starters were lost from the league’s worst defense. That all adds up to .500 ball in the end.
Susquehanna Crusaders: They get 14 starters back, but the offensive backfield isn’t part of that. If there’s a bright spot here, it’s that the entire defensive front returns, but this was an average team last year and look to remain so in 2012.
Franklin & Marshall Diplomats: They return their receivers and 3/5 of the offensive line, but need to replace John Harrison at QB and RB John Kaschak. Thankfully, they return all but one starter on defense, which will give the squad some time to get the offense in order. Expect an improvement over last year’s 3-7 campaign.
Dickinson Red Devils: Sophomore QB Cole Ahnell returns to guide the option offense, which needs to improve on a flaccid performance last year. The defense, with leading tackler LB Mike Miller returning, performed better, and returns more starters. They’re still looking at .500 or worse.
McDaniel Green Terror: After 20 years, including a wildly successful string in the late 90s, Tim Keating hung up his whistle after last season. New head coach Mike Hoyt inherits a squad which returns 16 starters from a 2-8 campaign that should have been much better, only being outscored by 37 points on the season. Sophomore QB Nick Valori returns with a full year under his belt, and the Centennial’s leading rusher, RB Joe Rollins, also comes back for his junior year. A reasonable improvement this year is extremely likely, although a challenge for the conference title may be a stretch.
Moravian Greyhounds: Seven starters return to the league’s worst offense; they’ll have a new hand under center in junior Robbie Moyer, and will have to improve to have any chance of staying in sight of the four improving programs ahead of them. The defense returns only four starters, which is bad news since that was the team’s bright spot last year.
Juniata Eagles: They were awful last year, but showed signs of life late in the season and return 15 starters from that gradually improving squad. They’re still probably destined for the cellar, but a break here or there could lead to a move up.