FOREST, Va. - The Emory & Henry College Football Team has been picked to finish fifth along-side Guilford College in the 2013 Old Dominion Athletic Conference regular season, ODAC officials announced Friday. The eight head football coaches in the league are the voters on the poll.

E&H returns 18 starters, including a quartet of All-ODAC selections, from last year's team. The Wasps of 2012 posted a 6-4 record (3-4 ODAC) to earn the program's first winning season since 2009.

Defensive end Scott Hill (Jefferson, Ga.) and cornerback DeMikael Burse (Charlotte, N.C.) are the top returning seniors for Emory & Henry as both were named to the all-conference second team a year ago. Junior linebacker Paul Forney (Newton, N.C.) also returns and was an All-ODAC Third-Teamer last fall. Forney (77 tackles, 7.5 TFL) is the team's top returning tackler while Burse (51 tackles) led the league with 13 pass break-ups. Hill also reached the half-century mark in stops a year ago.

Offensively, running back Joe Vaughn (Gate City, Va.) is back for his junior season after rushing for 743 yards, catching 32 passes for 282 yards and scoring six total touchdowns last year. He was named to the All-ODAC Second Team for his accomplishments.

Also back is senior quarterback Kyle Boden (Knoxville, Tenn.), who is the reigning ODAC Scholar-Athlete and an Academic All-America Second-Teamer. Last year, Boden led the league in completions (250) and attempts (392) and threw for 2,511 yards. He is the only signal-caller in E&H history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark twice in his career.

Picked to win the league this year is Hampden-Sydney College, with 42 points and three first-place votes. Closely behind are the Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon College (40 pts., three FPV), Bridgewater College (39 pts., one FPV) and Washington and Lee University (38 pts., one FPV). It is the closest margin between first and fourth in recent memory and acknowledges the parity of the league.

Emory & Henry and Guilford are tied for fifth in the survey (22 pts.) while Shenandoah University (12 pts.) and the Catholic University of America (9 pts.) have been chosen seventh and eighth, respectively.

The Wasps will open the 2013 season on Saturday, September 7 with a 1:00 p.m., contest against the Panthers of perennial non-conference rival Ferrum College. The contest will also play host to the induction ceremony of the Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2013. E&H will open ODAC play on October 5 when it travels to Ashland, Va. to face Randolph-Macon.

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2013 ODAC FOOTBALL PRESEASON POLL

(#) Denotes first place votes