Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football coaches chose Colorado Mines quarterback David Pesek as their preseason offensive player of the year and teammate Marc Schiechl as the defensive player, yet the Orediggers are not the choice to win the conference.
The coaches selected Chadron State to win the league in their annual poll released Friday, giving the Eagles (11-2, 9-0 last season) six first-place votes and 12 points. Mines (8-4, 7-2) received three first-place votes and 18 points.
Pesek, a senior from Arapahoe High School, was first-team all-RMAC last season after leading the conference in total offense and finishing second in passing yards and completion percentage. Schiechl, a junior defensive lineman from Bear Creek High, was second in the nation in sacks (13.5) last season and has been named a preseason All-American by Lindy’s, The Sporting News and Consensus Draft Services.
Quarterback talent galore.
Color Colorado schoolboy football 2009 as the year of the quarterback. The latest tint sets the precedent for a Fab Five — Mullen’s Jonny Miller recently orally committed to Syracuse.
He joins four other in-state quarterbacks who also made significant pledges and will sign in February: Cherry Creek’s Kain Colter to Stanford; Steamboat Springs’ Austin Hinder to California; Columbine’s Danny Spond to Colorado; and Chatfield’s Sam Stratton to Wyoming.
“It’s amazing, I’ve never seen so many quarterbacks playing Division I football out of Colorado,” Miller said. A 6-foot-3, 215-pounder who has battled injuries for two seasons and shared time as a starter for the defending Class 5A champion Mustangs, Miller pronounced himself healthy and ready to rock among a gifted, skilled senior class.
Miller, who has a brother, Jimmy, playing offensive line at San Diego State, also has family ties to New York and said he was blown away by the Orange.
“I was a little shocked, really,” Miller said. “The history that Syracuse has is substantial, and the opportunity for education is just a plus.” — Neil H. Devlin
Fulton finishes sixth.
Eleanor Fulton, a junior at Highlands Ranch High School, set her second personal best of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Bressanone, Italy, with a time of 6:37.61 in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, finishing sixth.
Moore takes bronze.
Sean Moore, a Regis High School alum who dives for Ohio State, combined with his partner, David Colturi of Purdue, to win the bronze medal in the 10-meter synchronized event Thursday night at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia.
