Washington & Lee, Guilford Round Out Top Three

SALEM, Va. --- Bridgewater College earned five of seven first place votes to garner the top spot in the 2007 ODAC Football Preseason Coaches Poll.  Defending champion, Washington & Lee University, picked up just three fewer votes than the Eagles and the remaining two first place nods for total 42 tallies.  Guilford College rounded out the top three with 33 total votes.

Bridgewater saw its ODAC winning-streak extend to 36 victories before falling to Guilford in mid-October, one of two losses in the month that prevented the Eagles from claiming the league crown for the sixth straight season.  Despite last season's outcome, the Eagles finished the ODAC's best overall record and are the coaches' favorite to again reach the NCAA playoffs.  Bridgewater returns several strong performers on both sides of the ball including a dynamic trio of offensive weapons in quarterback Jeff Highfill, running back Phillip Carter and receiver Brandon Copeland.  Playmaking safety Desmond Jalloh leads the crimson and gold defense.

Washington & Lee returns several strong components from last season's title team, the first ODAC crown for the Generals since 1985.  Quarterback R.J. Varner, the 2006 ODAC Rookie of the Year, heads an offense that features All-ODAC versatile back, Stuart Sitterson and receiver Jack Martin.  Offense aside, defense is the stabilizing force for the Generals, finishing last season as the ODAC's top-rated unit.  All-ODAC cornerbacks Mark Snoddy and Jimmy Gift return to the secondary after helping the blue and white to a national ninth ranking pass efficiency defense.

Guilford features one of the most explosive offenses in the region thanks to an all-out aerial assault.  Quarterback Josh Vogelbach returns under center after earning an All-ODAC first team selection last season, a campaign in which he set two ODAC individual season records and ranked in the top five in two others.

Emory & Henry College has big names to replace on either side of the ball (QB Todd Woods, WR Brennan Stewart, LB Marshall Doss), and doing so could mean the difference on the way to a successful season.  All-ODAC running back Matt Gillespie leads the offense while linebacker Evin O'Sullivan and cornerback Bryan Furr will have the blue and gold defense running on all cylinders.

Hampden-Sydney College looks to make its way back to the top of the ODAC standings after joining Bridgewater and Emory & Henry in a tie for second place last year.  Running back Josh Simpson returns to the backfield after leading the league with 12 touchdowns last year, and receiver Drew Smith provides a top-tier option for second-year quarterback Craig Warnement.

Catholic University and Randolph-Macon College both look for solid seasons from their programs.  The Cardinals boast a strong duo of receivers for quarterback Keith Ricca to throw to in Noah Rogers and Andrew Buis.  All-ODAC linebacker Bill Gross returns to anchor the defense.  The Yellow Jackets will look to running back Zak Thornton to pick up where he left off before missing the latter part of his freshman season due to injury.  All-ODAC defensive end Gamal Alwan returns after leading the league in sacks with 9.5 last year.

2007 ODAC Football Preseason Coaches Poll
(#) - Denotes first place votes received