By Pat Cummings
D3sports.com

The South Region of Division III remains a sprawling cross-section of America, and once again, covering the contentious Mid-Atlantic Region will be most enjoyable. Two-a-days are back in action and the grass is freshly mowed. You can smell it. 

Let's refresh some memories.

2003 Conference Champions
Centennial Conference: Muhlenberg (5-1 CC, 7-3 overall, CC playoff representative), Johns Hopkins (5-1 CC, 10-1 overall)

Middle Atlantic Conference: Lycoming (8-1 MAC, 9-2 overall)

Old Dominion Athletic Conference: Bridgewater (6-0 ODAC, 12-2 overall)

USA South Athletic Conference: Christopher Newport (5-1 USAC, 8-3 overall, USAC playoff representative), Shenandoah (5-1 USAC, 8-2 overall)

Now, let's take a look at the 2004 contenders and dark horses. Individual conference predictions follow at the bottom. The fun begins.

Top Contenders
Bridgewater
Last year, I predicted that the winner of the ODAC would be decided just five weeks into the season when the Eagles played at Hampden-Sydney. Sure enough, trailing by four with just more than two minutes remaining, Bridgewater mounted an 80-yard drive to topple the Tigers in Farmville. As expected, BC and HSC won out, solidifying Bridgewater's position in the playoffs.

Yet, the Eagles suffered a humiliating defeat in the national semifinals with a 66-0 defeat at Mount Union. Quarterback Brandon Wakefield, who struggled mightily in the last two playoff games of 2003, returns as a senior, as does a majority of the Eagles' offense. Wakefield's position under center is in jeopardy as BC adds several quarterback transfers and until one takes some reps in game action, we'll reserve judgment. 

What the Eagles have lost is a ton of defensive prowess, including All-American Jermaine Taylor (to the Green Bay Packers) and two of his former linebacker teammates. Head coach Mike Clark is an astute recruiter and I expect the defense to hold its own since the secondary and defensive line remains mostly intact. Add new defensive coordinator Grant Higgison, promoted from within the program, and we give the Eagles three weeks before legitimately assessing the breadth of their linebacker losses.

Props go out to Clark for not ducking a challenge. With one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country, the Eagles will play at McDaniel and Shenandoah before hosting HCAC champ Hanover in their home opener. Adding to the challenge, they will face Christopher Newport in the Oyster Bowl in Hampton, Va., essentially a home game for the Captains. 

Oh, lest I forget, the Eagles then go home to tackle Hampden-Sydney in the ODAC lid-lifter. The bye week follows the ferocious five-week string for the Eagles where they face teams with a 2003 combined record of 38-14, with two playoff schools among them. 

BC's game against Hanover is intriguing. The game is useless for both schools in the realm of playoff considerations since they are in different regions (games against regional opponents are those considered by the playoff committee). The poll voters will have a field day if Hanover is back in the hunt this year as that is the only place this game will matter; there, and the psyche of the tournament committee!

Ponder that for a moment while also considering just how far Bridgewater has grown as a program. From a consistently poor to mediocre squad, with a 5-5 record in 1999, to a first-time playoff team, winning in remarkable fashion in 2000 in a driving snowstorm against Washington and Jefferson -- a game which lives in D-III legend. Follow that with a near miss in a 30-27 loss to Mount Union in the Stagg Bowl, and continued playoff appearances in 2002 and 2003. The Eagles remain the team to beat until they prove otherwise. 

Christopher Newport
It took two trips to the playoffs with mediocre records and the luck of having a seven-team conference, but Matt Kelchner's plans at Christopher Newport came to fruition in 2003. His newlywed squad of Captains was embarrassed in the NCAA playoffs with their first appearance in 2001, rebounding to a decent showing in a loss to Washington and Jefferson in 2002. Still lacking a signature win for the program, the Captains broke through with a 16-12 win against Bridgewater. 

Once again the Captains, now in their fourth season of football, have a tough non-conference schedule laid out for them, including the regular season highlight in the Oyster Bowl. Preceding the intrastate rematch are two solid games in McDaniel and Rowan, both of which will take place at POMOCO Stadium. Following the Oyster Bowl is the USAC lid-lifter at Shenandoah, whom the Captains finally pushed past in 2003. 

Offensively, the Captains lose nothing. As in -- not one single player on the offense's depth chart was a senior in 2003. The defending side of the ball loses four seniors from their 2003 team, all of them starters. Kelchner digs through the vast library of Virginia high school talent to bring those who can contribute most, and that was emphasized in last year's recruiting class, which netted the Captains' leading receiver, George Jones. It was junior quarterback Philip Jones who found the receiver Jones two times more than any other receiver. Keeping up with the Jones' may prove difficult for opponents in 2004.

Delaware Valley
The Aggies of Delaware Valley shocked the region with the fifth-best single season turnaround in history with a 9-2 record in 2003. G.A. Mangus, the Aggies' third-year coach and graduate of Steve Spurrier's school of offensive mayhem, has assembled a tremendous roster after recruiting 65 freshmen and transfers. One very successful season draws attention, but several successful seasons earn respect. The word around the MAC is that DVC needs to remain at the top of the class for the conference to recognize the outstanding job Mangus and his Aggies have done; an explanation for the third-place position in the MAC preseason poll. 

Mangus and his squad hit the streets hard in the offseason, managing a handful of Division I-AA recruits (six) and two busloads of freshmen (68 in total). There are few D-III schools outside of the elite that can boast such a large recruiting class.

Junior signal-caller Adam Knoblauch retains control of the Aggies fun-and-gun offense. Throwing for over 2,500 yards and 26 touchdowns, Knoblauch's experience will only help this growing program. In 2003, five receivers had more than 20 catches and four of those receivers caught five or more touchdowns. The Aggies spread the love and the hype in Doylestown for the 2004 season is unlike any other in recent memory. 

DVC gets both Lycoming and Wilkes at home, a key for the tough MAC schedule. Running back Taylor Ramos has left the school and takes his 11 touchdowns from 2003 with him. Chances are Mangus will have a crew of youngsters ready to step in and fill the role. At the very least, in just two years, Del Val has become one of the most entertaining and exciting teams to watch in the region. When that translates into points on the board, as it did last year, this alone makes them dangerous.

Hampden-Sydney
The Tigers will be lying in wait for the Eagles to crumble under the pressure of four brutal weeks for their intrastate rivals. Their first three opponents, Sewanee, Gettysburg and Guilford, struggled through 2003 with a combined 10-20 mark. After a bye week, the boys from Farmville head up to Bridgewater in search of revenge.

Marty Favret's squad will return junior quarterback J.D. Ricca who threw for more than 3,000 yards with 29 touchdowns in the 2003 campaign. Despite losing his main target, Conrad Singh, Ricca retains the rest of his offensive weapons, including senior running back C.W. Clemmons. Clemmons continues to mature at H-SC and should he remain healthy, this season should be his best. 

All that said, I still cannot get past the tremendous gap in strength of schedule between BC and HSC. This could be the one intangible advantage the Tigers have over BC and may signify the difference in the season for both teams ... again. 

Frankly, between the remaining programs in the ODAC (Catholic, Emory and Henry, Guilford, Randolph-Macon, Washington and Lee), there is not much to offer. Only two teams other than BC and HSC have finished their ODAC conference schedule with records above .500 (Catholic and Emory and Henry, both in 2000). 

Johns Hopkins
Jim Margraff's Blue Jays have been consistently strong in the last few years; just never quite strong enough to earn their first-ever NCAA playoff appearance. A 23-10 lost to Muhlenberg in 2002 and a 14-6 defeat to the Mules in 2003 is all that stood between the Blue Jays and the postseason. The question remains: Can Hopkins get past the Mules and will it be enough to win the Centennial outright?

The loss to Muhlenberg was the only blemish for JHU in 2003, a year in which they started 7-0, and outscored opponents by an average of 21 points per game, allowing only 77 points against over 11 games.

While losing their signal-caller, the offensive line returns intact, led by D3football.com second-team preseason all-American senior Matt Weeks. Such seniority in the trenches will be of great assistance to whoever steps up to take the role of quarterback (likely Zach DiIonno, who made six starts as the No. 2 the last two seasons), not to mention the return of first-team all-conference running back Adam Cook.

Cook recorded a school record of 1,047 yards on the ground in 2003 and is joined on the offensive side of the ball by two experienced receivers. Add to the mix four starting defensive lineman returning and the omnipresent defensive back in Matt Campbell, a first-team safety on the D3football.com preseason all-American squad and, well, you get the point. Johns Hopkins has an outstanding chance to get over the final hurdle to the playoffs.

Homewood Field doesn't exactly instill the Blue Jays with an overwhelming homefield advantage, but they get Muhlenberg and McDaniel in Baltimore this season. Better than having to travel to Allentown and Westminster with significantly tougher crowds.

Top Dark Horses
Albright
"Albright College: Lions playing like tigers, then bears, oh my!" That might as well be the title for the last half-decade of Lions football; you never know which Albright team is going to show up. After a disastrous 2000 season, where the Lions went 2-8, they rebounded to a solid 7-4 in 2001, which included an ECAC appearance. Hopes high for 2002, E.J. Sandusky's squad turned in a clunking 2-8. As if knowing the pattern, the Lions bounced back to a 7-3 mark in 2003, losing only to the top three teams in the standings. How's that for inconsistency? 

John Port, last season's "Around the Mid-Atlantic Region Offensive Player of the Year," will be at the helm of the den for his senior season. It would be hard to top his 2003 numbers where he completed 64% of his passes for an average of 339.7 passing yards per game. 

Port's passes found paydirt 29 times while being intercepted on only 10 occasions. Port's passing efficiency (don't ask me how to calculate it) was 10th in the nation, but second highest among quarterbacks with more than 300 pass attempts. His 533 passing yards against Juniata led the nation for most in a game. The Lions were third in the country in total passing offense, behind only Anderson and Hanover. 

The question remains whether or not the Lions can find the consistency they need to challenge for the top spot in the MAC. Fortunately for them, they host Lycoming and Delaware Valley, but will travel to Wilkes.

Lycoming
Lycoming stands in defense of their 2003 MAC championship and playoff success. Look at the Warriors this way: consistent contenders. Until Lyco has just a terrible season, I continue to expect to see them at the top of the MAC ranks. It will be interesting to see how they bounce back after 2003's playoff run. 

Frank Girardi's crew tragically lost Ricky Lannetti at the end of last season and lose Sean Hennigar to graduation. Those two best friends combined for 122 of 187 receptions last season. Third on the list in 2003 was Tim Brown, who snagged 19 catches, and returns as the wideout with the most experience. 

Phil Mann, now in his senior season, calls the signals once again for the Warriors. Mann's tumultuous and painful 2003 led to him playing all 11 of Lyco's games despite playing through numerous injuries, included a cracked rib. Overall, the Lyco offense returns just six total starters and needs some reps early on to establish themselves. The defense is still solid and three of four starters from the secondary return. 

The schedule for the Warriors is best defined as even, hosting Wilkes while traveling to Albright and Delaware Valley. For the first time since 1993, the Warriors will play 10 regular season contests with the addition of a non-conference opponent, Oct. 2 at Ithaca. And it's a regional game.

It would be no surprise if the Warriors have their date in Doylestown circled with the boldest of ink. Del Val waltzed into Williamsport and ripped the Warriors, 38-27, the only blemish on the regular season. Oct. 16 will be a big date for both squads.

Overall, it's hard to get a read on how Lyco will perform in 2004 -- so my best prediction remains rooted in their past performance as consistent. Is consistency enough to win the MAC or simply be competitive? I predict the latter.

Shenandoah
Shenandoah notched its first winning season in school history and shared the USAC conference championship with CNU. Yet, they failed to score a point against their two toughest opponents of the season, blown out by a combined 63-0 at Bridgewater and CNU. This year, the Hornets aim for revenge and get both squads at home, under the lights of Shentel Stadium. 

Opening up against North Carolina Wesleyan, the first-ever football game for the Battling Bishops, It should leave Shenandoah with plenty left for their Week 2 battle against Bridgewater, whom they are winless against in three attempts. 

There is quite a rivalry between the Hornets and CNU. The Captains got their first win against Paul Barnes' Hornets in last year's 21-0 win. Prior to that, the Hornets twice-spoiled CNU's chances for a perfect USAC mark. 

Maintaining success above .500 may be difficult for the Hornets who find themselves losing some significant experience to graduation, including quarterback Wayne Hogwood. Four relatively untested quarterbacks will vie for the role of starting signal-caller and the game against inexperienced N.C. Wesleyan might not be the best judge of early success at the position. Barring the arrival of a monster, Shenandoah might be up against it when Bridgewater rolls up I-81.

Regardless, Shenandoah remains a team that has matured well in its initial stages unlike many of the startups in the East Region. This is a testament to the coaching and recruiting ability of coaches such as Barnes and Kelchner, not to mention the existing superior skills of Mike Clark from Bridgewater. Add together a plethora of talent from the Virginia high school ranks and the Mid-Atlantic region power-base might go through the state for some time to come.

Wilkes
The MAC is an enigma in this 2004 season. Del Val, Lyco, and Wilkes all have, in my opinion, a strong, legitimate chance to take home the season-ending bacon. The preseason coaches' poll is as divided as the presidential race, six first-place votes going to Lyco and the other five to Wilkes. Game on.

Trichilo returns. Enough said, right?

Well, not really.

The legend of Wilkes-Barre can't beat 10 teams alone, and for that, his supporting cast of junior quarterback Duran Porrino, senior fullback Kyle Gallagher, sophomore receiver Jim Jordan, and three offensive linemates will help Trichilo to break some more records this season. That is, of course, assuming Trichilo remains healthy.

Trichilo single-handedly accounted for 49.99% of Wilkes' 2003 offense, rushing or receiving on 342 of 827 plays. Every Wilkes opponent will undoubtedly focus on Trichilo. 

Frank Sheptock's squad needs to prove that a one-dimensional team on paper
is multi-dimensional on the field. Let's take a moment to review Trichilo's 2003:
 332 carries
 2,175 rushing yards
 27 rushing touchdowns
 6.6 yards per carry
 100 yards carried in nine of 11 games (the others were a 98-yard performance against Lycoming and a 96-yard day versus Washington and Jefferson in an ECAC playoff game)

Trichilo's numbers are astounding. Especially when considering that our research has found that his longest carry in 2003 was 59 yards (a first quarter touchdown against Susquehanna on Oct. 18). We aren't talking about a guy with a few 90-yard rushes inflating his total; this is glaring consistency worthy of the All-American attention he has received.

Outside of a tremendous back and an otherwise decent football team, I place Wilkes away from the main "contenders" based on the numbers. Trichilo is fantastic, but it doesn't automatically make them a main contender. For Wilkes fans, hope they prove me wrong.

Conference Predictions
Centennial
The years of McDaniel (nee Western Maryland) domination are over and my general thoughts of the Centennial migrate to ones of parity. It would be shocking to see someone go undefeated in conference play. 

1. Johns Hopkins
2. Muhlenberg
3. McDaniel
4. Ursinus
5. Franklin & Marshall
6. Gettysburg
7. Dickinson

MAC
Ah, the MAC. Eleven teams of crowded football enjoyment. Make no mistake about the competitiveness of this conference. With 11 teams, anything can, and probably will, happen. Scheduling peculiarities abound. One team in the MAC plays all 10 teams, while nine of the remaining 10 will not play one of their fellow teams for two consecutive seasons. For example, Wilkes played all 10 MAC teams last year without a non-conference opponent. Lycoming has not played Lebanon Valley since 2002. Odd? Yes. That's the MAC we have come to know and love. Accept it for what it is -- a most competitive football conference. 

1. Delaware Valley
2. Lycoming
3. Wilkes
4. Albright
5. King's
6. Widener
7. Susquehanna
8. Juniata
9. FDU-Florham 
10. Moravian
11. Lebanon Valley

ODAC
Two teams with a legitimate chance. If it doesn't play that way, I reserve the right to fire myself as regional columnist. Shame on you for believing me.

1. Bridgewater
2. Hampden-Sydney
3. Emory & Henry
4. Catholic
5. Washington & Lee
6. Randolph-Macon
7. Guilford 

USAC
One team with a legitimate chance. See above ODAC note.

1. Christopher Newport
2. Shenandoah
3. Ferrum
4. Averett
5. Greensboro
6. Methodist
7. North Carolina Wesleyan

Preseason Mid-Atlantic Region Top 5
A subjective analysis from your faithful columnist

1. Christopher Newport
2. Bridgewater
3. Hampden-Sydney
4. Johns Hopkins
5. Delaware Valley

Top 10 Games to Watch in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Sept. 11: Albright at Wilkes, Ralston Field, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Game one of the 2004 season for both squads and someone ends up with a big conference lost right at the top. It may set the table for the winner's and loser's season.

Sept. 25: Bridgewater v. Christopher Newport, Oyster Bowl, Hampton, Va. Virginia bragging rights on the line at a "neutral" site, even though Hampton is a short skiff ride from CNU. CNU split with the Eagles in 2003, but the one that mattered most, a 26-3 playoff loss at POMOCO Stadium left a nasty taste with the Captains.

Sept. 25: Lycoming at Ithaca, Butterfield Stadium, Ithaca, N.Y. Lyco's first non-conference regular-season game in more than 10 years. Enjoy it.

Oct. 2: Christopher Newport at Shenandoah, Shentel Stadium, Winchester, Va. The Captains finally got past the Hornets last season but tripped against Ferrum. Shenandoah remains, in my estimation, the team with the best chance to knock CNU out of the USAC's top spot. That however is unlikely in itself.

Oct. 2: Hampden Sydney at Bridgewater, Jopson Field, Bridgewater, Va. It was the ODAC's deciding game in 2003. Ditto in 2004.

Oct. 2: McDaniel at Ursinus, Patterson Field, Collegeville, Pa. Ursinus has added transfer receiver Josh Hannum from Penn State -- that's The Pennsylvania State University, as in, the Nittany Lions, Joe Pa, Beaver Stadium. Hannum was going to compete for starting time this season but switched to Collegeville due to his father's illness. All in all, this could be a tough game for McDaniel starting their Centennial schedule. 

Oct. 16: Lycoming at Delaware Valley, Work Stadium, Doylestown, Pa. The rematch. Lyco will be focusing on this game all season, which makes them vulnerable in the weeks before. Del Val's 2003 win over Lyco was the biggest in recent Aggies history. 

Oct. 23: Delaware Valley at Albright, Shirk Stadium, Reading, Pa. Who knows how DVC comes out of the Lyco game, but both teams love to light it up. Be there for this one just to witness the scoreboard light-bulb changes at halftime.

Nov. 6: Hampden Sydney at Johns Hopkins, Homewood Field, Baltimore. Intriguing game regardless, but could have massive Pool C consequences. 

Nov. 6: Muhlenberg at McDaniel, Bair Stadium, Westminster, Md. Centennial could be on the line if JHU stumbles.