Bridgewater football picked third in preseason ODAC poll

Following a vote of the league’s coaches, the Bridgewater Eagles football team was tabbed to finish third in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) during the 2013 season according to a press release from the league office.

Bridgewater finished with a 4-3 overall record in conference play a season ago, picking up wins over Washington and Lee, Emory & Henry, Shenandoah and Catholic.

For the first time since the 2007 season, head coach Michael Clark and the Eagles will enter preseason football camp with certainty behind center. Senior quarterback Willie Logan will enter camp as the primary trigger man for the Eagles and will guide an offense with veteran returners at each of the skill positions. Seniors litter the depth chart at each skill position, with the lone exception coming in the form of a pair of juniors at the running back post.

Bridgewater’s lingering question will come in the trenches as the Eagles will look to replace the center of its offensive line and will see three new starters on a defensive line that turned in a stellar 2012 season. One of the primary strengths for the Eagles on the defensive side of the ball will be in a defensive umbrella that returns all five starters from last season.

Hampden-Sydney College and Randolph-Macon College both received three first place votes, but the Tigers collected 42 total points to lead a tightly packed crop at the top of the 2013 ODAC Football Preseason Poll.  The Yellow Jackets sit second with 40 tallies, while Bridgewater College is a close third with 39 points and one first place nod.  Washington and Lee University is just four back of H-SC in the annual coaches’ survey with 38 markers and the remaining top billing.

The Eagles open the 2013 season on September 7 with a showdown at home against St. Vincent. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

2013 ODAC FOOTBALL PRESEASON POLL (#) Denotes first place votes