W&J headlines PAC preseason football poll 8/2/2018 3:00:00 PM Composite Schedule PAC Players to Watch 2017 PAC Statistics Q-and-A videos from PAC Football Media Day (On-Demand, courtesy PAC Sports Network) LATROBE, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--For the 10th time since 2000, Washington & Jefferson College has been tabbed the favorite in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC), according to this year's PAC Preseason Football Poll. The results of the league’s preseason poll, voted on by PAC head coaches, sports information directors and members of the media, were announced Thursday afternoon at PAC Football Media Day, hosted for the 12th-straight year by Saint Vincent College at the Sis and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. W&J collected 19 (of 30) first-place votes and totaled 289 points to headline the poll. "Preseason rankings are based off of previous season’s standings and history. With that being said, [the PAC] has to be won on the field, but we are a very confident football team that believes we can make the voters seem correct at the end of the year," said W&J 15th-year head coach Mike Sirianni. Joining Sirianni at PAC Media Day Thursday was senior defensive back Zach Royba (Beaver Falls, Pa. | Beaver Falls). “It is an honor to be voted at the top of the conference before the season begins. At the same time, it still needs to be decided on the field. This puts a target on our backs, and should only motivate us to work harder,” said Royba. Case Western Reserve University finished second with eight first-place votes and 265 points and was followed by Westminster College in third place with two first-place votes and 234 points. Carnegie Mellon university finished fourth with 220 points while securing the final first-place vote. Before this afternoon’s question-and-answer sessions got underway, PAC Commissioner Joe Onderko and W&J Director of Athletics Scott McGuinness presented Joe Tuscano, assistant sports editor at the Observer-Reporter (Washington, Pa.), with this year's Dow Carnahan Media Award. A longtime supporter and friend of the PAC, Carnahan passed away unexpectedly on April 29, 2016. The award is presented annually to a member of the local media for his or her commendable service while covering the league’s student-athletes, coaches and programs. Tuscano, in his 38th year at the O-R, has covered local PAC schools for decades. He took over the W&J beat in 1992. A three-time finalist and two-time winner of the Press Club of Western Pa. Golden Quill Award for sports writing, a competition recognizing professional and student excellence in print, broadcast, photography, videography and digital journalism in Western Pa. and nearby counties in Ohio and West Virginia, Tuscano was a 2014 inductee into the Southwest Pa. Wrestling Hall of Fame after earning Wrestling Writer of the Year honors from the Pa. Wrestling Coaches Association earlier in his career. Tuscano graduated from Duquesne University in 1980 with a journalism degree. A native of New Castle, Pa., he and his wife, Pamela, have a daughter, Megan. They reside in South Franklin Township in Washington, Pa. The 2018 football season opens on Saturday, September 1. This year's PAC Kickoff Classic, scheduled for Saturday, September 8, will feature Bethany College hosting Grove City College. Kickoff at Bison Stadium is slated for 3:30 p.m. 2018 PAC Football Preseason Poll (Predicted order of finish) School (first-place votes) Points 2017 Record (PAC) 1. Washington & Jefferson College (19) 289 11-1 (8-0) 2. Case Western Reserve University (8) 265 11-1 (8-0) 3. Westminster College (2) 234 7-3 (6-2) 4. Carnegie Mellon University (1) 220 7-4 (5-3) 5. Grove City College 163 4-6 (4-4) 6. Geneva College 141 3-7 (2-6) 7. Saint Vincent College 101 2-8 (1-7) 8. Bethany College 97 2-8 (2-6) 9. Waynesburg University 87 2-8 (2-6) 10. Thiel College 53 1-9 (1-7) 2018 PAC Football Players to Watch Bethany Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Chas Blango Jr. DL Pittsburgh, Pa. | Mount Lebanon Joseph Fiasco Sr. LB Wilmerding, Pa. | Penn-Trafford Will Gatling Sr. LB Baltimore, Md. | Northwestern John Lee Sr. DB Worthington, Ohio | Thomas Worthington Raekwon Wright Jr. RB Baltimore, Md. | Patterson Carnegie Mellon Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Ethan Anderson Sr. CB McMurray, Pa. | Peters Township Alex Cline Sr. QB Dublin, Ohio | Dublin Jerome Rory Hubbard Sr. RB Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. | Palos Verdes Peninsula Michael Lohmeier Jr. DE Clarendon Hills, Ill. | Hinsdale Central Long Tran Sr. DE Harrisburg, Pa. | Susquehanna Township Case Western Reserve Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Steven Bachie Sr. OT Berea, Ohio | Berea-Midpark Cameron Brown Sr. DE Westlake, Ohio | Westlake Patrick Crossey Jr. S Pittsburgh, Pa. | Plum Ian Henderson Sr. DL Detroit, Mich. | Detroit Country Day Justin Phan Sr. WR Atlanta, Ga. | Greater Atlanta Christian Geneva Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Trewon Marshall Sr. RB Leetsdale, Pa. | Quaker Valley Nick Monteleone Jr. RB East Palestine, Ohio | East Palestine Casey Nau So. LB Louisville, Ohio | Louisville Torrin Sallis Jr. LB Moon Township, Pa. | Moon Joe Shively Sr. DB Monaca, Pa. | Central Valley Grove City Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Cody Gustafson So. WR Newburg, Pa. | Newburg Randall Labrie Jr. QB McKees Rocks, Pa. | Montour Connor Lowe Sr. NT Perry, Ohio | Perry Patrick Mark So. FS Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. | Wellington Wesley Schools Jr. RB Sparrowbush, N.Y. | Port Jervis Saint Vincent Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Izaak Gray Jr. DL Indiana, Pa. | Indiana Cameron Mack Sr. S Beechwood, Ohio | Beechwood Ariel Martinez Sr. WR Gaithersburg, Md. | Gaithersburg Mike Stasko So. RB Lehighton, Pa. | Palmerton Hauns White So. LB Temple Hills, Md. | Saint Mary's Ryken Thiel Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Nick Barca Sr. RB Pittsburgh, Pa. | Baldwin Matt Crawford Jr. LB Greenville, Pa. | Greenville Dalton DuBrosky Sr. DB Pittsburgh, Pa. | Baldwin Trou Johnson So. CB Penn Hills, Pa. | Penn Hills Cody Wagner Sr. DL Pittsburgh, Pa. | Brashear Washington & Jefferson Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School Jacob Adams Jr. QB Louisville, Ohio | Louisville Jake Cullen Sr. TE Orchard Park, Md. | Orchard Park Nick Getz Jr. LB Tyrone, Pa. | Tyrone Andrew Reo Sr. OL Canton, Ohio | Canton McKinley Zach Royba Sr. DB Beaver, Pa. | Beaver Waynesburg Name Yr. Pos. Hometown | High School John-Glen Davis Sr. LB Waynesburg, Pa. | Waynesburg Central VaShon Graham Jr. DB Pittsburgh, Pa. | North Catholic Alex Paulina Jr. OL Canonsburg, Pa. | Canon-McMillan Chad Walker Jr. RB/WR Waldorf, Md. | Thomas Stone Justin Willkow Sr. DB Somerset, Pa. | Somerset Westminster Name Yr. Pos. Hometown |High School John Fitzgerald Sr. DT Youngstown, Ohio | Youngstown East Brady Hogue Jr. OL Sharpsville, Pa. | Sharpsville Miguel Luis Sr. S Hollywood, Fla. | Mater Academy Bill Madeja Sr. LB Pittsburgh, Pa. | Brentwood Bryson Paulinellie Sr. WR DuBois, Pa. | DuBois —top—