Tuesday, August 29, 2006
He passed for 4,571 yards and 50 TDs and won the Harlon Hill trophy.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference brings back three of the nation's best Division II players -- Jimmy Terwilliger, Jamar Brittingham and Joe Ruggerio -- and has three teams drawing attention in the various preseason rankings.
Terwilliger returns for his fourth season as East Stroudsburg's quarterback after winning the 2005 Harlon Hill trophy, awarded to the top player in Div. II.
With Terwilliger running the offense, the Warriors advanced to the NCAA Div. II semifinals for the first time.
East Stroudsburg is ranked as high as No. 2 in some of the preseason rankings, despite losing all but nine starters to graduation. Bloomsburg and California, Pa., also are ranked.
Terwilliger, who threw for 4,571 yards and 50 touchdowns last season, is one of three returning starters on offense for East Stroudsburg. Also back is his favorite target, Evan Prall, who set a PSAC record with 1,766 yards receiving on 88 receptions. The Warriors also have six starters back on defense.
"He's just such a winner, such a tough kid that battles to the last moment of every play," West Chester coach Bill Zwaan said of Terwilliger.
Brittingham can gain yards
Brittingham, a junior, led Div. II in rushing with 188.3 yards per game and scoring with 17 points per game for Bloomsburg. The 6-foot, 203-pound tailback finished third in the Harlon Hill voting.
"We've got two of the premier guys returning [in Div. II] from last year and fortunately we've got one of them in Jamar Brittingham," Bloomsburg coach Danny Hale said.
Bloomsburg won its fifth PSAC Eastern Division title in six years last season after beating East Stroudsburg, 31-24 in overtime. The two teams met again in the first round of the NCAA playoffs, with East Stroudsburg winning, 52-39.
Brittingham, who rushed for 2,260 yards and 32 touchdowns last season, is one of seven starters returning from an offense that averaged 38.8 points per game.
"Actually, I'm a little surprised," Hale said of being picked as the preseason favorite in the PSAC coaches poll. "I thought East Stroudsburg and West Chester would be the top two picks."
West Chester, last year's East runner-up, was second in the poll and East Stroudsburg was third.
West Chester seasoned
West Chester has 16 starters returning, including running back Osagie Osunde, who missed most of last season with an injury. Osunde ran for 1,151 yards in 2004 and has the entire starting offensive line from last season back to block for him.
California is the clear favorite in the West, returning 20 starters from the team that tied with Edinboro for the division title.
"It's always very difficult to repeat as champions," California coach John Luckhardt said. "Every team wants to knock off the top dog. However, we want to prove that we're the best program in the PSAC West and take it one step further this year to the NCAA tournament."
California must replace tailback Antoine Bagwell, who rushed for 3,353 yards the last two seasons. Joe Ruggerio returns after throwing for 2,200 yards and 20 touchdowns. Also back are his top two targets, Nate Forse and Marcellus Garner.
Edinboro has new coach
Edinboro, picked second in the Western Division coaches poll, has a new coach in Scott Browning, an assistant coach at the school for 20 years. He replaces Lou Tepper, who moved to Indiana, Pa.
"Our strength is definitely our defense," Browning said. "You win championships with defense. We think ours can be special this year.
Other new coaches are Jay Foster at Clarion and Raymond Monica at Kutztown. Both are making their college head coaching debuts.
East Stroudsburg coach Denny Douds enters his 33rd season with a 199-130-3 career record and is one victory away from becoming the second PSAC coach to reach the 200-win mark. Former Millersville coach Gene Carpenter had a 211-86-6 record in 31 years.
The PSAC has adopted a 10-game conference schedule for the next seven years, with each team having six division games and four crossover games against schools from the other division.
Eleven of the 14 schools have added one non-conference game to their schedules, while Indiana, Kutztown and Mansfield stayed with 10-game schedules.
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