June 7, 2016-The preseason football magazine's are showing up and Emporia State's trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals last year is being recognized. The Hornets are ranked #24 in the Sporting News NCAA Division II Preseason Top 25.
Emporia State went 6-0 on Jones Field at Welch Stadium last season on the way to an 11-3 overall mark. The Hornets advanced to the NCAA Division II National Quarterfinals for the first time in school history. Emporia State is set to return 14 starters, seven on offense and seven on defense, along with all of their specialists next year.
Mitchell Foote will lead a talented receiving corps for the Hornets. An all-region selection last season, Foote led the MIAA and was ranked 17th in the nation in touchdown receptions with 12 scoring catches.
He had 79 receptions for 877 yards in 13 games last year. He was ranked third in the MIAA in receptions and fourth in receiving yards. A total of 59 of his 79 catches on the season went for either a first down or a touchdown, with 30 of his 34 catches on third or fourth down resulting in a first down or touchdown.
Kole Shankie was the Hornets leading tackler last season and returns for his senior season. The linebacker had a team high 105 tackles last year with 13.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. He had a season high 14 stops against Missouri Western with 12 against Minnesota State in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs and against Northwest Missouri in the MIAA Championship game.
Among the specialists is Sporting News Preseason All-American kicker Austin Morton. He made 22 of 25 field goal attempts last season to set Emporia State records for makes and accuracy and also converted a school record 56 of 59 extra points. His 22 field goals broke Justin Gray's mark of 20 made in 26 attempts in 2004 while his 56 PATs bettered Eli Kuhns mark of 54 on 56 attempts in 2013. The 22 made field goals are second in MIAA history to former Missouri Western Griffon Greg Zuerlein's 23 makes in 2011. His 122 points scored is an Emporia State school record and ranks third in MIAA single season history behind Northwest Missouri kicker Simon Mathiesen who had 151 points last year and the Bearcats David Purnell who scored 123 points in 1999.
Emporia State is one of two MIAA teams in the top 25. The Hornets have gone 34-14 over the last four seasons. Emporia State is 23-9 in the last six years on Jones Field at Welch Stadium with four of the losses coming to teams ranked in the top 15 at the time.
Emporia State will open the season in a rematch of last year's national quarterfinal when they play host to defending national champion and preseason #1 Northwest Missouri in Welch Stadium. It will be the first game for the Hornets on the new Jones Field turf. The opening night of MIAA football will be Thursday, September 1.
The new playing surface will be the site of five home games for Emporia State this fall. The Hornets have advanced to post-season play in three of the last four years, including last season's trip to the regional championship game.
Season tickets are on sale now through the Athletic Ticket Office in the Emporia State Memorial Union. Reserved season tickets are just $66, while adult general admission season tickets are $42 with season tickets for children and people over 65 years old can be picked up for just $26.
Sporting News NCAA Division II
Preseason Top 25
1. Northwest Missouri 15-0
2. Grand Valley State 12-3
3. West Georgia 12-2
4. IUP 9-3
5. Shepherd 13-1
6. Colorado Mines 8-3
7. Humboldt State 10-2
8. Ashland 10-1
9. Slippery Rock 12-2
10. Indianapolis 10-2
11. Colorado State-Pueblo 12-2
12. Henderson State 11-2
13. Tuskegee 10-3
14. North Alabama 9-3
15. Catawba 9-3
16. Minnesota State-Mankato 10-2
17. Ferris State 11-1
18. California (Pa.) 8-3
19. Bemidji State 7-4
20. Midwestern State 10-2
21. Florida Tech 7-4
22. Colorado Mesa 9-2
23. Augustana 9-2
24. Emporia State 11-3
25. Assumption 11-2
MIAA Teams in Bold
Super Region 3 Teams in Italics
Sporting News Preseason All-Americans
OFFENSE
QB – Justin Dvorak (Colorado Mines)
RB – Ja'Quan Gardner (Humboldt State)
RB – Austin Ekeler (Western State)
OL – Jake Daugherty (Ferris State)
OL – Joe LoSchiavo (Slippery Rock)
OL – Stephen Evans (North Alabama)
OL – Ethan Cooper (Indiana, Pa.)
OL – Jordan Morgan (Kutztown)
TE – Kenny Johnston (Florida Tech)
WR – Billy Brown (Shepherd)
WR – Matt Williams (Grand Valley State)
DEFENSE
DL – Collin Bevins (Northwest Missouri)
DL – Marcus Martin (Slippery Rock)
DL – Dylan Donahue (West Georgia)
DL – Richard Nase Jr. (Shippensburg)
LB – Connor Harris (Lindenwood)
LB – Kyle Kitchens (Catawba)
LB – Jordan Herdman (Simon Fraser)
DB – Carlo Thomas (Johnson C. Smith)
DB – Kevin Berg (Northwest Missouri)
DB – Aaron Terry (California, Pa.)
DB – Jonah McCutcheon (Tuskegee)
SPECIALISTS
K – Austin Morton (Emporia State)
P – Brett Benes (Charleston)
