By: James Garcia, Sports Information Director
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The Mountain East Conference (MEC) released its annual football preseason poll on Wednesday morning with West Virginia State slated to finish fifth in the league. The poll is determined by a vote of the league's coaches.
WVSU is coming off a 2021 campaign in which the Yellow Jackets won 6-of-11 contests on their way to a fifth-place finish in the league standings. West Virginia State's magic number was 30 last year as the Yellow Jackets were victorious in every game that they scored 30 or more points.
Head Coach John Pennington returns for his sixth season at the helm while 3-of-4 teams picked ahead of WVSU will be led by new head coaches this season. Pennington's coaching record stands at 27-21 overall and 25-19 in league play going into the 2022 season.
Pennington's West Virginia University teammate George Shehl also returns to lead the defense while Paul Price, the former head coach at Concord University, comes back for his second year as West Virginia State's Special Teams Coordinator. A wealth of experience on the coaching staff will be met by a wealth of experience on the field with a slew of key players returning this upcoming season.
Starting quarterback Donovan Riddick is back for his senior campaign after he threw for over 2,000 yards, rushed for nearly 200 yards, passed for 16 touchdowns, and ran for four more a season ago. Two of his favorite targets, Barry Hill and Keedrick Cunningham, will join Riddick after combining for 1,100 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns last season. Starting left tackle Mylan Howard will be back again to provide passing protection at the offensive line's most crucial position.
On defense, shutdown corner Ibrahim Sesay returns for a fifth season. He's garnered all-conference honors in the past for his ability to lock down receivers and prevent passes for being thrown in his direction. Sesay will be joined in the secondary by senior Jalen Jones who is a disruptive presence wherever he lines up. Jones made 31 tackles, including three sacks, forced two fumbles, and snagged one interception in his breakout season a year ago. Two sophomores in nose tackle Nazir Jones and linebacker Jeremiah Covington-Griggs also return after earning starting spots in their first year with the Yellow Jackets.
The teams to beat this season will include Notre Dame College, Frostburg State, Charleston, and UNC Pembroke. NDC was the clear favorite to win the MEC once again with 119 points and 10 first-place votes in the preseason poll. Frostburg State was a close second with 108 points and two first-place votes after the Bobcats won a share of the MEC title in 2021.
Charleston (99 points) edged out UNC Pembroke (93 points) for the third-place spot in the MEC preseason poll. WVSU nearly defeated UNCP last season with a fourth-quarter comeback that fell short by one point, 14-13.
West Virginia State (74 points) finished just ahead of Fairmont State (73 points) in the voting. The Yellow Jackets fended off a late comeback by the Falcons when they squared off last year and came out on top, 30-23.
Concord (54 points), Wheeling (52 points), and Glenville State (49 points) were bunched up in the seventh through ninth slots of the preseason poll. West Liberty was not too far behind with 39 points while Alderson Broaddus and West Virginia Wesleyan rounded out the poll with 21 and 11 points, respectively.
The Yellow Jackets will begin their 2022 season with a non-conference home game versus Shippensburg on Saturday, Sept. 3 at noon. WVSU will be looking to avenge a 25-17 defeat to the Raiders on the road in last year's season opener.
