By Bryan DeArdo
Canton, Ohio - Seemingly every coach and player who spoke at the OAC Football Media Day on Tuesday expressed their enthusiasm about not only their team, but also the overall strength of the conference.
“We are in a very special conference that allows us to work with some really great kids,” Capital head coach Jim Bickel said. “This league is very competitive, and it’s one that forces you to bring your best effort every game. The conference has always been strong because Ohio high school football is so good.”
“The athletes that are attracted to this conference are talented and academically motivated, and the coaches do a great job, which makes this the great conference that it is. Going into this year, the conference is as competitive as ever. The offenses are going be very high-powered, which will make this an interesting year.”
Defending Division III national champion Mount Union is pitted again at the top of the preseason rankings, with Otterbein joining them in the Top 25 rankings. Capital is the third-highest preseason OAC team, being picked as the 31st team nationally in the D3football.com Poll.
“This is the best and most competitive conference in the country,” Baldwin-Wallace head coach John Snell said. “We beat each other up every Saturday.”
Ohio Northern head coach Dean Paul also added praise to the OAC, saying, “Along with Mount Union winning the national championship last year, other teams in this conference won big games outside of the league last year. Capital, for example, beat a very good 8-2 Adrian team 34-14.”
Crusader All-OAC performer Brad Pickens said Capital’s optimistic spirit is one of their biggest attributes heading into training camp.
“We have players who aren’t scared to dream big and to go for big goals,” the senior safety said. “Regardless of how we did last year, winning a national championship is on our minds. Mount Union is very good, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t play our best against them and come out on top. We’re really looking forward to this season and seeing what we can achieve.”
The Purple Raiders have represented the OAC conference well over the last two decades, as Mount Union will be gunning for their eleventh national championship since 1993.
“Like everyone in this league, we have good young people in waiting that are looking forward to our evaluation of them as players,” Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres said. “This year, we need to develop a personality for this team, reshape positions where we need to, and have leaders emerge.”
Mount Union All-American wide receiver Cecil Shorts III added, “Winning the championship last year and sending out senior out was a great feeling. We want to win back-to-back championships this season, but we are taking no body lightly. When you play quality schools like Capital, Otterbein, Ohio Northern, they demand that you are prepared to play your best every game. Playing them during the regular season defiantly got us ready for the playoffs last year, and we hope the same thing happens again this year.”
Otterbein, who earned their first playoff birth in school history last season, is hoping for a repeat trip to the post season in 2009.
“This is the best chance we’ve ever had to win the conference and make noise in the playoffs,” Cardinal receiver Ryan Rowley said. A native of nearby Grove City, Rowley is already looking forward to Otterbein’s home date with Capital on October 24.
“I have a lot of friends on their team, so it’s always fun and interesting to hear the back and forth that goes on between us and them,” Rowley said. “They always have a good defense that makes us work for everything we get. They’re a very fun team to watch on offense as well. They play a wide-open attack on offense like we do. It’s going to be a great matchup.”
Pickens, who was Capital’s player representative at the OAC Media Day, is excited to return to Capital after helping coach with his dad and younger brother at Western Reserve High School this summer.
“It was really a blessing to be able to meet all of these great coaches and players in our conference today, as well as being able to represent Capital,” Pickens said. “Football season is officially here, and I can’t wait to get back to campus and be with my teammates and get to work.”