There was nowhere to go but up.
The Fort Lewis College football team was picked sixth out of 10 teams in the 2014 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Football Preseason Coaches Poll after being picked 10th last year.
The Skyhawks return to the field after finishing the 2013 campaign 4-7 overall and 3-6 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. A strong offseason of recruiting assistant coaches and players has FLC and the rest of the RMAC believing the Skyhawks can continue to trend in an upward direction.
Colorado State University-Pueblo, the three-time defending RMAC champions, once again was picked to finish first in the conference, with both the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year Chris Bonner, a 6-7, 225-pound senior quarterback, and Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Darius Allen, a 6-3, 239-pound senior defensive end returning to this year’s team.
Bonner passed for 3,413 yards and 33 touchdowns while completing 60.2 percent of his passes in 2013. He threw just nine interceptions while averaging 284.4 yards per game through the air.
Allen had 60 total tackles – 35 solo – while leading all of Division II football with 15.5 sacks, good for a new CSU-Pueblo single-season record. His 26.5 tackles for a loss also set a new school record and ranked him in the top 10 in the nation.
In all, CSU-Pueblo placed 10 players on the preseason All-RMAC teams. CSU-Pueblo received nine of the 10 first-place votes in the preseason poll while accumulating 81 total points. Chadron State College received 69 points to come in at second place, and Colorado Mines earned one first-place vote while totaling 67 votes to enter the season picked third.
Highlighting the RMAC media day for Colorado Mines was junior kicker Avery Llewellyn, a Durango High School alumn who was named the Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year following his 2013 Special Teams Player of the Year honor after serving as the kicker and punter for the Orediggers.
Llewellyn, son of Jack and Karen Llewellyn, led the RMAC with 14 field goals – including a 50 yarder – and 86 total points in 2013. He also sent 34 kickoffs into or out of the end zone for touchbacks while averaging 44.2 yards per punt. Llewellyn is on the preseason Fred Mitchell watch list, which is awarded to the best small college kicker in Division II, Division III, Division FCS, NAIA and NJCAA.
Llewellyn also has been named a USA Football All-American and to the Beyond Sports Network Second Team All-American list.
The lone Skyhawk to earn preseason recognition was junior defensive lineman Ryan Ross, who was named to the Preseason All-RMAC Defensive Team.
Ross, native of Colorado Springs who stands at 5-10, 220-pounds, had 48 solo tackles and 11 assisted tackles in 2013 for FLC. He recorded six sacks and nine tackles for a loss while also getting involved in turnovers with two forced fumbles and an additional fumble recovery.
“Ryan came on and played extremely well for us in the second half of the season,” FLC head coach John L. Smith said in a news release. “We expect him to continue to improve and make a great contribution to our team.”
FLC made Smith, senior offensive lineman Arthur Ray Jr., and senior defensive back Kaulana Waalani-Arroyo available at RMAC media day. Ray, a transfer from Michigan State who battled cancer in 2007 before his freshman year at Michigan State, will start on the offensive line for FLC. His cancer now has been in remission for seven years.
FLC opens the 2014 season Sept. 6 on the road at the University of California-Davis.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll
1. CSU-Pueblo, 81 (9)
2. Chadron State, 69
3. Colorado Mines, 67 (1)
4. Adams State, 53
5. Colorado Mesa, 46
6. Fort Lewis, 35
7. New Mexico Highlands, 29
7. Western New Mexico, 29
9. Western State Colorado, 22
10. Black Hills State, 19
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Chris Bonner, quarterback, CSU-Pueblo
Preseason Defensive
Player of the Year
Darius Allen, defensive end, CSU-Pueblo
Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year
Avery Llewellyn, kicker/punter, Colorado Mines
