Football Ranked No. 4 In First AFCA D-III Poll
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Sept. 14, 2004 -- Springfield College is ranked No. 4 in the first American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III National Poll of the 2004 season, announced today.
SC is currently ranked sixth in the D3football.com poll. The Pride was 12th in Lindy's Annual Preseason poll and 16th in Street & Smith's preseason poll.
The Pride is coming off a 31-13 win over Union in its season-opener last Saturday. SC is idle this week before hosting Alfred on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 2 p.m. in its first Empire 8 Conference game.
Seven-time national champion Mount Union holds down the top spot in the AFCA poll. The Purple Raiders, who picked up 37 of a possible 40 first place votes, opened the 2004 season with a 38-0 win over Washington (Mo.) a week ago and meet John Carroll in the Ohio Athletic Conference opener for both schools this Saturday. Wisconsin-La Crosse opened the season with a convincing 34-13 win over Division II Minnesota-Duluth and is ranked No. 2. Linfield also captured its opener, downing Western Oregon, 58-17. No. 4 SC defeated Union, 31-13. Wheaton rounds out the top five after a 42-21 win over Gustavus Adolphus.
No. 6 Hardin-Simmons rolled past Sul Ross State 79-17 in its season opener while No. 7 Wartburg moved to 2-0 on the season after a 27-24 win at Augsburg. No. 8 Baldwin-Wallace was idle this week after opening the season with a 27-14 win over Allegheny. Mary Hardin-Baylor comes in at No. 9 after surving a scare from Willamette and winning 25-22 in double overtime. Ithaca rounds out the top 10 after the Bombers opened with a 45-0 win over Buffalo State.
No. 11 Trinity (Texas) is also 2-0 after a 41-32 victory over Texas Lutheran. No. 12 Capital opened with a convincing 49-16 win over Wittenberg on September 4. Defending national champion St. John’s (Minn.) recovered from a season-opening home loss to Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a 48-0 win over Northwestern (Minn.) and checks in at No. 13. Wisconsin-Stevens Point earned the No. 14 spot in the poll after a 57-3 win over Tri-State. Hampden-Sydney upped its record to 2-0 on the young season with a 59-16 win over Gettysburg.
Augustana (Ill.) is also 2-0 after the Vikings squeaked by former Division III member Upper Iowa, 29-28. A playoff semifinalist a year ago, Rensselaer begins the season at No. 17 after a 42-7 win over Endicott. No. 18 Montclair State was off this week after opening with a 42-27 win over I-AA Iona. No. 19 Washington & Jefferson moved to 2-0 this season when the Presidents downed Hanover, 27-15 on Saturday. No. 20 Bridgewater (Va.) evened its record at 1-1 with a 35-13 win over Shenandoah.
No. 21 Wisconsin-Eau Claire won its second road game in as many weeks, 28-7 at Illinois Wesleyan. No. 22 Johns Hopkins and No. 22 Wisconsin-Whitewater are also 2-0 after wins on Saturday. Wabash and Waynesburg round out this week’s poll.
Team Links
Head Coach Mike DeLong
Michael C. “Mike” DeLong ’74 enters his 31st season as a head football coach in the fall of 2012. He enters his 29th year at Springfield College alone. For the past 28 years, he has been the head coach at Springfield, his alma mater. Mike had also been the head coach at Maine Maritime in Castine, Maine in 1979 and 1980.
Read more.
Contact Head Coach Mike Delong
E-Mail | Phone: 413.748.3156
