Tuesday, July 20, 2010

LSC South Division poll

And now for the LSC South Division poll. Don't forget, ACU has been picked to win the LSC South in each of the last three years (2007, 2008 and 2009), winning the LSC title in 2008:

1. West Texas A&M (9)            105
2. Abilene Christian (3)            103
3. Midwestern State (3)              91
4. Tarleton State (2)                   87
5. Texas A&M-Kingsville (2)   84
6. Angelo State                          42
7. Incarnate Word                      20

Defensive Pre-Season Player of the Year -- Aston Whiteside, DE, Abilene Christian
Offensive Pre-Season Player of the Year -- Zack Eskridge, QB, Incarnate Word

Mike Santiago, UIW head coach:  "We're very proud to be part of this great conference.  Last year we were very young.  This year we are seasoned sophomores.  Noticed a lot of guys were welcoming us and anxious to see us and I'm sure they are.  But this is a good football team we're putting together.  They grew up dramatically last year.  To win five football games last year was dramatic.  But this year the challenge is dramatically different.  But it's one our players are looking forward to taking on."

Dale Carr, Angelo State head coach:  "This is the team that we've been building toward for five seasons.  Don't know that we have a chink in our armor.  We're telling our guys that this year could be like last year in that I don't know that anyone will go through the LSC South undefeated.  If we can make the playoffs I think we can make a deep run in the playoffs.  There's a lot of excitement surrounding Angelo State football right now."

Bo Atterberry, Kingsville head coach:  "Good thing it's a pre-season poll because fifth place won't work in Kingsville, Texas."

Cary Fowler, Tarleton State head coach:  "I'm very excited to be here today as the head coach at Tarleton State.  We're very excited at Tarleton and we have high expectations.  Our tradition is that we're a hard-hitting, physical football team and we're going to try and live up to that."

Bill Maskill, Midwestern State head coach:  "There's seven teams in the LSC South that could win the league.  This is the strongest this league has been in my time here.  Anytime you have a returning quarterback like we have in Zack (Eskridge) you have a chance to win a lot of games.  We've had to re-tool our defense and we'll be young on that side of the ball.  But I think we'll get better as the season goes along."

Chris Thomsen, ACU head coach:  "We believe we've got a really good team coming back, but when you look around this room you see a lot of great teams.  Almost our entire front seven is returning and we feel good about those guys.  We've got to re-tool our secondary and we'll feel really good about our defense.  Offensively we've got almost everyone back and we're really excited about the development and progress those guys have shown."

Don Carthel, West Texas A&M head coach:  "I found out a lot about the Buffaloes last year, and I know going into this season that this is the highest-character group I've ever coached.  The depth and experience we have is by far more than we've ever had before.  I'm really excited about coaching these guys.  I think this will be the year a team from the Lone Star Conference makes a strong move toward winning a regional and national championship."

LSC North Division poll

Here's the first pre-season poll of the 2010 season:

LSC North Division
1. Texas A&M-Commerce
2. SE Oklahoma State
3. Central Oklahoma
4. Eastern New Mexico
5. Northeastern State
6. SW Oklahoma State
7. East Central

Defensive POY -- Cory Whitfield, LB, Texas A&M-Comerce
Offensive POY -- Baylen Laury, RB, SE Oklahoma State

Dan Cocannouer, SWOSU head coach:  "Thought at times last year we looked like a junior high team, but we got better as the year went on.  We learned a lot last year.  This season we've got great expectations, just like everybody else does.  I'm one of those guys who believe we're going to win every game we play."

Kenny Evans, NE State head coach:  "I think we're finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  We've got the same coaching staff intact for more than a year.  We've brought in some good football players and we're excited about the direction in which we're headed.  We have a solid nucleus and getting some consistency from the coaching.  I just hope the light I'm seeing at the end of the tunnel isn't an oncoming train."

Mark Ribaudo, ENMU head coach:  "We're very excited about what's going on with the Greyhounds.  For the first time in a long time we've got an older football team.  We've got a good corps of receivers led by Jesse Poku and Dorian Dale.  Our quarterback (Wes Wood) is a winner and he had a great spring and we're looking for great things out of Wes.  We're really excited about being in the North Division.  We've had some great, great games against teams in this division.  Still have the opportunity to play against some of the great teams from the South and we're excited about that.  We're excited to be in the LSC and we're going to do our best to bring that LSC North Division title to Portales, N.M."

Tracy Holland, Central Oklahoma head coach:  "We expect our defense to be an anchor point for us.  We never step on the field unless we believe we can play for championships.  But we know we've got to rise up to the challenge every week."

Ray Richards, SE Oklahoma State head coach:  "Our best football player is Baylen Laury and we need him to make big plays for us.  I feel pretty good about our team defensively.  We've got some experience coming back there.  We look forward to a great year at Southeastern."

Guy Morriss, Texas A&M-Commerce head coach:  "Certainly appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm not sure we're that good, honestly.  Time will tell.  We're going to play a lot of young players and we'll have to have a lot of guys step up and be difference-makers for us."

Media Day is Here

Well, we just arrived here in the Sky Room on the campus of the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio for the annual LSC Media Day.  Which can only mean one thing ... we're only a few short minutes away from one of the coaches picked to finish at the bottom of the league standings standing up in front of everyone and proclaiming that they'll "shock the world" by winning their division.

Happens every year.  We're already discussing amongst ourselves this year's favorite.  I won't tell you who my money's on, but I will tell you it's the coach of a team the Wildcats will play this season.

We'll get started with the festivities in about an hour and I'll be back with more, including pre-season polls and pre-season players of the year in football, soccer and volleyball.