ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Emory & Henry College Football Team has been picked to finish ninth place in the South Atlantic Conference this year by the league's head coaches. The poll was released by the SAC office on Monday.
E&H was eighth overall in the league last year with a 5-6 record, with a fourth-place finish in the Mountain Division at 4-5. This year's conference slate will see the Wasps play the same group of opponents in the same order, flipping the homes and aways.
RELATED – SAC Preseason Poll & Preseason All-Conference Teams
Leading the way in the poll is two-time reigning champion Newberry College. The Wolves garnered half of the first-place votes in this year's poll. Wingate University, which made it to the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals a year ago, is the pick for second with four top nods. Lenoir-Rhyne University and Limestone University are third and fourth, respectively with the final two first-place selections. The Saints also made it to the NCAA Playoffs a year ago.
Additionally, the SAC has announced its Preseason All-Conference Teams with E&H earning six spots on the All-Mountain Team. Four of those spots come on the offensive side of the ball with fifth-year offensive lineman Ricky Dodson (Front Royal, Va.) leading the way. Senior quarterback Kyle Short (Lebanon, Ohio), senior wide receiver Tmahdae Penn (Martinsville, Va.) and sophomore running back Justin Hill (Dallas, N.C.) also were selected to the team.
Defensively, senior Addison Knicely (Mount Crawford, Va.) is the Wasps' representative on the preseason all-league team while fifth-year punter Ethan Muncy (Bluff City, Tenn.) will lead the special teams.
Emory & Henry gets the 2023 season underway on Saturday, September 2 at Concord University at 1:00 p.m.
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2023 SAC Football Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | School (FPV) | Points | ||
| 1. | Newberry (6) | 114 | ||
| 2. | Wingate (4) | 109 | ||
| 3. | Lenoir-Rhyne (1) | 101 | ||
| 4. | Limestone (1) | 88 | ||
| 5. | Mars Hill | 85 | ||
| 6. | Tusculum | 79 | ||
| 7. | Carson-Newman | 58 | ||
| 8. | Barton | 48 | ||
| 9. | Emory & Henry | 41 | ||
| 10. | UVA Wise | 33 | ||
| 11. | Catawba | 22 | ||
| 12. | Erskine | 14 |
2023 Preseason All-SAC Football Teams
| ALL-MOUNTAIN OFFENSE QB – Kyle Short, Emory & Henry RB – T.J. King, Carson-Newman RB – Tyree Nelson, Carson-Newman RB – Justin Hill, Emory & Henry WR – Tyler Burke, Tusculum WR – Malik Laurent, Mars Hill WR – Tmahdae Penn, Emory & Henry OL – Leondre Andreas, Mars Hill OL – Ben Shellenback, Tusculum OL – Justin Bullock, Mars Hill OL – Ricky Dodson, Emory & Henry OL – Christian Jones, Carson-Newman TE – Bryce Moore, Tusculum PK – Christian Erwin, Carson-Newman LS – Andrew Bradshaw, Carson-Newman RS – Eddie Watson, Tusculum |
ALL-PIEDMONT OFFENSE QB – Dustin Noller, Limestone RB – Dwayne McGee, Lenoir-Rhyne RB – Jordan Terrell, Barton RB – Tre Stewart, Limestone WR – Jelani Baker, Limestone WR – Kelin Parsons, Lenoir-Rhyne WR – Drew Dixon, Limestone OL – Blake Jefferson, Lenoir-Rhyne OL – Noah Mangum, Newberry OL – Luke Bond, Limestone OL – Xavier Jennings, Lenoir-Rhyne OL – Alex Buschow, Barton TE – Tommy Washington, Newberry LS – Blake Arnoult, Newberry RS – Kujuan Pryor, Catawba |
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| ALL-MOUNTAIN DEFENSE DL – Dajavon White, Tusculum DL – Boris Lewis, Mars Hill DL – Damipi Lamboni, Mars Hill DL – Joslyn Mira, Tusculum LB – Landon Honeycutt, Mars Hill LB – Ryan Dolce, Tusculum LB – Wesley Scott, Tusculum LB – Earnest Johnson III, Tusculum DB – Monroe Sanderson, Mars Hill DB – Major Williams, Carson-Newman DB – Addison Knicely, Emory & Henry DB – Tristan Rankin, Mars Hill P – Ethan Muncy, Emory & Henry |
ALL-PIEDMONT DEFENSE DL – Devante Gambrell, Newberry DL – Marquise Fleming, Wingate DL – Malik Devine-Brown, Newberry DL – Andre Jefferson, Lenoir-Rhyne LB – Jaquan Edwards, Wingate LB – Shane Perry, Barton LB – Jon Ross Maye, Lenoir-Rhyne LB – Chandler Matthews, Limestone DB – Tre Morrison, Wingate DB – C'Darius Kelley, Lenoir-Rhyne DB – Ahmond Glass, Limestone DB – Jaheim Mullen, Wingate P – Bryan Frey, Limestone |