CIAA coaches pick FSU, VSU
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) announced the 2004 preseason All-Conference Football team and the predicted order of finish Thursday at its annual Football Press Conference and Luncheon held on the campus of Virginia State University.
Two-time defending conference champion Fayetteville State
was chosen to again come out on top of the
Western Division. Kenny Phillips' Broncos knocked off Eastern Division
champ Virginia Union 23-19 in last year's
CIAA Championship Game to claim their second crown in a row. FSU lost to
SIAC champion Albany State in last
year's Pioneer Bowl in Atlanta.
Virginia State, in its third year under head coach Andrew Faison, is picked by the coaches to claim the East Division crown. The Trojans knocked off 2002 division champ Bowie State on the last weekend of the regular season to open the door for Virginia Union to claim the division title last year.
The all-conference team, chosen by the CIAA Football Coaches Association, is highlighted this year by three of the top defenders in Division II football, linebackers Moises Gordon of Livingstone College and Anthony Robinson of Winston-Salem State University and defensive back Shawn Woodard of Shaw University.
Gordon, a 5-11, 215-pound senior from Paterson, N.J., led Division II
in tackles last year, finishing the season with 139. Robinson, a 6-2 junior
from Winston-Salem, N.C., recorded 129 total
tackles last season, third best in Division II. Woodard,
a 6-0, 180-pound junior from Rock Hill, S.C. led the nation in
interceptions last season, picking off 13 passes in nine games.
Winston-Salem State led the team with seven selections, while defending champion and Western Division favorite Fayetteville State garnered five picks. Virginia Union and Shaw tied the Eastern Division with three preseason picks.
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