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.
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, Sept. 2, at Concord University at 1 p.m.
