Monday, August 29, 2005

ST. LOUIS, Mo. � The 2005 Pioneer Football League season gets underway this week with all nine conference members in action either Thursday or Saturday. Jacksonville will have the honor of kicking off the season with a 7:05 p.m. ET contest at Southeastern Louisiana.

Meanwhile, the Pioneer Football League's coaches tabbed Drake and Morehead State to win their respective divisions in the PFL's preseason poll. Drake is picked first for the first time since divisional play began while it is the fourth time in five seasons Morehead State has been chosen as the PFL South winner.

Drake, the 2004 PFL Champion, received five of the nine possible first-place votes in the PFL North. Dayton and San Diego split the four remaining first-place votes and were picked second and third, respectively. Valparaiso and Butler round out the five-team PFL North, the two teams selected in a fourth-place tie.

Morehead State, the three-time PFL North defending champion, received five first-place votes. Second-place Jacksonville picked up three first-place votes while Austin Peay, which was picked third, claimed one first-place vote. Davidson rounds out the four-team PFL South.

Drake enters the 2005 season following a 10-2 campaign in 2005 that included an undefeated run through the PFL North schedule. The Bulldogs were picked No. 1 in the Sports Network Mid-Major poll and No. 23 in the Street & Smith preseason poll. Drake returns 44 letterwinners, including 15 starters, from last year's team. Among those returnees is All-PFL North selection and 2004 rushing champion Scott Phaydavong, who enters his sophomore season after rushing for 128.3 yards per game last season.

Morehead State, defending PFL South champion, finished with a 6-6 mark in 2005 and went 2-1 against PFL South foes, winning a tiebreaker against co-champion Jacksonville for the division's berth to the PFL Championship game. The Eagles return 37 letterwinners, including 13 starters from last year's team. However, questions remain at quarterback but the Eagles have four signal callers in camp this summer, including sophomore Brian Yost - who played most of 2004 before suffering a season-ending injury - and senior Tyler Cvitkovic who took over in Yost's absence.

The league schedule gets underway Thursday, Sept. 1, with Jacksonville and Drake on the road. The rest of the conference begins regular-season play Saturday, Sept. 3. The divisional winners will meet Nov. 19, at the PFL North champion for the 2005 PFL Championship.