LANCASTER -- Defending champion Johns Hopkins is the preseason favorite to capture the 2012 Centennial Conference football title in a poll of head coaches and sports information directors.
The Blue Jays, who won their seventh Centennial title last year with a perfect 10-0 regular season, picked up 14 of a possible 18 first-place votes for 153 points. Voters were not permitted to select their own team. Ursinus was second in the balloting with four firsts and 137 points, while Muhlenberg also was tabbed as the favorite on one ballot and placed third with 126 points.
Gettysburg (96) and Susquehanna (92) round out the top five, while Franklin & Marshall (85), Dickinson (71), McDaniel (68), Moravian (53) and Juniata (19) follow.
The Centennial preseason poll has predicted the Conference champion in 12 of the last 14 years, including four in a row.
1. Johns Hopkins (14) 153
2. Ursinus (4) 137
3. Muhlenberg (1) 126
4. Gettysburg 96
5. Susquehanna 92
6. Franklin & Marshall 85
7. Dickinson (1) 71
8. McDaniel 68
9. Moravian 53
10. Juniata 19
Information used in this story is courtesy of the Centennial Conference.
