FAIRMONT —
When his peers tabbed Mike Lopez’s Fairmont State football team to finish seventh in the nine-team West Virginia Conference this fall in the league’s annual preseason coaches’ poll announced Monday the fourth-year FSU boss wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“Hey it is what it is,” said Lopez, whose Falcons were 3-8 overall last fall, 3-5 in the league and finished sixth in the final conference standings for the third straight year. “Our football team right now has a 3-8 feeling. We wear that 3-8 tag until it goes away and we can turn some things into a positive. There’s no question right now that’s about where we deserved to be picked. No question.
“Now the good thing about each new season is it brings an opportunity to better yourself. Right now we have that opportunity and it’s up to us in the coming weeks and months to do something with it.”
To no one’s surprise defending WVC champion West Liberty (11-2, 8-0) was picked to repeat this fall as the league’s top team. The Hilltoppers return a plethora of talent from a squad which made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2009.
West Liberty, which is ranked third in the nation in preseason polls by both The Sporting News and Lindy’s and eighth in the American Football Coaches’ Assocation’s Top 25, returns 15 starters, including standout senior quarterback Zach Amedro, who finished second last fall in the voting for the Harlon Hill Award (Division II’s top player). The Moundsville native rewrote the WVC’s single-season record book in 2009 by throwing for 4,945 yards and 49 touchdowns. He needs just 1,210 passing yards this fall to replace former Glenville State star Joey Conrad as the league’s record holder for career passing yards.
If West Liberty, which received eight of nine first-place votes in the league’s preseason poll, is able to repeat this fall it will be the first back-to-back conference titles in football for the Hilltoppers since 1970-71.
Shepherd (6-4, 5-3) garnered the remaining first-place vote in the poll and is picked to finish second in the conference this fall. Veteran head coach Monte Cater, the winningest coach in league history (161-80-1 in 23 seasons), returns 38 lettermen this season.
The Rams are followed in the preseason poll by the University of Charleston (9-2, 6-2), Glenville State (7-4, 6-2), Concord (6-5, 4-4), Seton Hill (1-10, 0-8), FSU, West Virginia Wesleyan (2-8, 2-6) and West Virginia State (3-7, 2-6).
Concord, which made a remarkable turnaround last season under first-year coach Mike Kellar, will be the first WVC squad to play a game in 2010. The Mountain Lions open the season Thursday, Aug. 26 at home at 6 p.m. when they host Southern Virginia.
Four other conference schools, West Virginia Wesleyan, Charleston, Shepherd and Seton Hill, will open their seasons on Saturday, Aug. 28. Wesleyan will host St. Paul’s, Charleston will visit Tusculum, Shepherd will be on the road at Shippensburg and Seton Hill will host Bowie State.
Fairmont State and Glenville State will kickoff their 2010 campaigns on Thursday, Sept. 2. The Falcons will visit Clarion (Pa.) University for a 6 p.m. game at Memorial Stadium, while the Pioneers host West Virginia Tech at 7 p.m.
West Liberty and West Virginia State will be the final two teams to start their seasons and both will do it on Saturday, Sept. 4. The Hilltoppers will host Edinboro (Pa.) University at 1 p.m. in a much-anticipated rematch of their wild 2009 Division II playoff game which West Liberty won by a remarkable 84-63 score. The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, travel to Dayton, Ohio to tangle with Central State University at 6 p.m.
Duane Cochrane
FSU picked 7th in WVC poll
- Duane Cochrane
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Falling short: SLIDESHOW
For Fairmont State’s men’s basketball team, the story this season has been an all-too familiar one.
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Lady Falcons top State, extend streak: SLIDESHOW
Kaitlin Snyder and Hailey Garrett combined for 43 points to help lead Fairmont State’s Lady Falcons to their third consecutive victory, 87-78, here Monday evening over visiting West Virginia State at the Joe Retton Arena.
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Lady Falcons halt UPJ’s winning ways: PHOTOS
One of the hottest teams in the West Virginia Conference paid a visit to the Joe Retton Arena on Wednesday evening and received a rude welcoming from Fairmont State’s Lady Falcons.
Pitt-Johnstown, winners of three in a row and eight of its last 10, got thoroughly dominated for 32 of the game’s 40 minutes as FSU halted the Lady Mountain Cats’ winning ways with an 88-66 victory. -
UPJ wins thriller over Falcons, 92-87
It was an electric atmosphere here Wednesday evening at the Joe Retton Arena.
Unfortunately, Fairmont State University’s men’s basketball team ran out of juice in the waning minutes and fell, 92-87, to visiting Pitt-Johnstown. -
Glenville completes season sweep of Falcons
Glenville State can make a living playing Fairmont State this season in men’s basketball.
That’s because half of the lowly Pioneers’ four victories this season have come at the expense of the Falcons.
Thursday evening here at the Jesse R. Lilly Gymnasium, Glenville State completed the regular-season sweep of Fairmont State, rolling to an impressive 80-59 victory over the floundering Falcons. -
Streaking Lady Pioneers hold off late FSU rally
Glenville State, the second-place team in the West Virginia Conference, shook off a horrid shooting performance in the first half, caught fire from the field in the final 20 minutes and rolled to a 92-78 victory over visiting Fairmont State here Thursday evening at the Jesse R. Lilly Gymnasium.
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Garrett, Lohr lead Lady Falcons past A-B: PHOTOS
Fairmont State possesses two of the more talented true freshmen in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this season in Hailey Garrett and Emily Lohr.
Saturday afternoon at the Joe Retton Arena that duo combined for 36 points and nine rebounds to help lead FSU to 66-56 victory over visiting Alderson-Broaddus. -
Battlers top Fairmont State for 13th straight win
Despite heroic efforts from its dynamic duo of Steve Custis and Isaac Thornton, Fairmont State University’s men’s basketball team couldn’t derail red-hot Alderson-Broaddus here Saturday afternoon at the Joe Retton Arena.
The streaking Battlers posted an 81-70 victory over the Falcons for their 13th straight win. -
FSU gets much-needed win over Rams
Chris Thompson was perfect.
Steve Custis and Isaac Thornton were their usual selfs and Mike Hurd stepped up big time off the bench.
As a result, Fairmont State University’s men’s basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak and got a much-needed, 80-66, victory over visiting Shepherd University Wednesday evening here at the Joe Retton Arena. -
Lady Pioneers hold off late FSU rally: PHOTOS
Glenville State senior guard Beth Deren buried a trio of 3-point field goals in a span of less than a minute late in the second half to help the Lady Pioneers hold off a fierce Fairmont State rally and record an 88-80 victory here Saturday afternoon at the Joe Retton Arena.
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