(Posted August 3, 2005)

Huntingdon, PA - The Juniata College football team has been picked to finish 11th in the 2005 Middle Atlantic Conference Preseason Football Poll as voted on by the conference's 11 head coaches. Defending conference champions Delaware Valley topped the poll with 98 points, while 2004 conference runner-up Moravian tied with Widener for second place with 78 points. Juniata is ranked 11th with 10 points, 15 points behind 10th-place FDU-Florham.

Delaware Valley claimed nine of the possible 11 first-place votes, while Moravian snagged the other two. Ranking fourth in the poll is Albright which claimed 71 points. Wilkes and King's follow in fifth and sixth position with 69 and 61 points respectively. Lycoming holds down the seventh position with 50 points, followed by Susquehanna with 37. Lebanon Valley was picked in ninth position as they garnered 28 points.

Juniata enters the season looking to rebound from a challenging 1-9 campaign in 2004. The Eagles went 1-8 in the MAC a season ago, with its victory coming on the road against Lycoming. Head Coach Darrell Alt was named as the interim head coach prior to the 2004 season, and has since been selected as the full-time head coach of the Juniata football program. The Eagles have also added a new offensive coordinator for 2005 as Gabe Luvara joins the Juniata staff after two successful seasons at 1AA Duquesne.

The Eagles enter the season with experienced players on both sides of the ball, including seven starters on defense. Juniata lost 22 letterwinners from the 2004 team and enter the season with 50 returning players who have spent time in the Juniata system. The Eagles will also be bolstered by a strong incoming class as the Eagles are expecting 40 freshmen to report to camp in the fall.

Juniata will open its season with a home non-conference outing against Dickinson on Sept. 3 at 1:30.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.