football picked second in preseason poll

Senior tight end JJ Contessa is one of five Mule captains for the 2009 season. The others are Cameron Ahouse, Phil Cresta, Frank Emmett, Jake Floyd.

Last season the Muhlenberg football team barely held on for a 28-23 win at Johns Hopkins. Ten months later it’s Hopkins that has narrowly edged the Mules, overtaking the two-time defending Centennial Conference champions in the CC preseason poll.

The Mules finished tied with Dickinson for

CC Preseason Poll School 2008 Record Points 1. Johns Hopkins (10) 8-3 115 2t. MUHLENBERG (5) 9-2 102 2t. Dickinson (2) 6-4 102 4. Moravian (1) 8-3 91 5. Gettysburg 5-5 75 6. Franklin & Marshall 4-6 63 7. Ursinus 3-7 45 8. McDaniel 2-8 26 9. Juniata 1-9 22

second in the preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors, garnering five of 16 first-place votes and 102 points overall, second only to the Blue Jays’ 10 first-place votes and 115 points.

Last season Muhlenberg topped the preseason poll with a record-setting 28-point margin and then backed it up by winning the CC for the second straight year.

Though the Mules (9-2, 7-1 CC) lost 12 starters from a year ago, including the conference’s offensive and defensive players of the year, they return six All-CC picks and seven starters on a defense that allowed a conference-low 16.2 points per game.

“The championship trophy is still in Allentown,” Hopkins head coach Jim Margraff said via chat during the CC’s Football Media Day. “Muhlenberg always plays great defense and has been incredibly consistent and effective on offense. They are sure to continue to be a great team this year.”

Muhlenberg received 22 votes for the D3football.com preseason poll but did not crack the top 25 after finishing last season ranked No. 25. Dickinson was the only other CC team to pick up votes in the poll, receiving four.