ODAC preview
Date published: 9/2/2010
By Steve DeShazo
Returning playmakers on both sides of the ball make Hampden-Sydney the favorite to win its third Old Dominion Athletic Conference title in the past four years.
Junior running back Kirk Rohle led the ODAC in scoring (17 touchdowns), rushed for 854 yards and caught 49 passes for the Tigers (10-1, 6-0) last season. He should keep the heat off new starting quarterback Travis Lane.
Also back is senior defensive end Will Riggenbach, the reigning ODAC defensive player of the year. He had a league-high 14.5 sacks for the ODAC's best defense....
After a few down years, Bridgewater (7-3, 4-2) seems poised to return to the top of the ODAC standings. Caroline graduate Hagan Driskell fought off a challenge from Carlos Gonzalez, a transfer from Division I Florida International, to keep his starting quarterback job.
He threw for 1,896 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and also has an all-ODAC running back in Thomas Tate (1,167 yards).
Emory & Henry (7-3, 3-3) welcomes back ODAC offensive player of the year Caleb Jennings, who led the league in rushing (1,371 yards) and all-purpose yardage (1,919) and scored 15 touchdowns. All-ODAC linebacker Ed Smith (78 tackles) leads a solid defense.
There's plenty of local offensive flavor at Randolph-Macon (6-4, 4-2). Quarterback Austin Faulkner (Riverbend) and running back Thaddeus Scruggs (Massaponax) were both named second-team all-ODAC in 2009. Faulkner threw for 1,679 yards (1,101 of them to all-ODAC receiver Earl Peoples), and Scruggs ran for 737 yards. The defense must improve for the Yellow Jackets to contend.
Washington & Lee (4-6, 2-4) also boasts an experienced quarterback in Charlie Westfal (1,603 total yards in 2009) and the league's second-best rushing attack in 2009 (201.4 yards per game).
Guilford (4-6, 2-4) has scrapped its pass-happy offense for a more balanced attack featuring second-team all-ODAC running back Justin Parker (55 receptions, 359 rushing yards in 2009).
Catholic (1-9, 0-6) will also lean more toward a ground attack, relying on running back Rich Barry (840 yards, nine touchdowns in 2009).
--Steve DeShazo
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