ICC football earns Top 20 preseason ranking
“Our preseason ranking is based off last year’s squad that came off a great season and I think that’s a testament to the kids we’ve got coming back,” said Cannon. “We’re excited about it, but we hope to be ranked higher by the last poll of the season.”
ICC football earns Top 20 preseason ranking
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com
FULTON, MS – Fresh off their first playoff appearance since 2007, the expectations are already climbing for first-year head coach Sean Cannon and the Itawamba Community College football team.
The Indians will open the 2014 football season ranked No. 19 after the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) released its preseason Top 20 poll on Tuesday.
"Our preseason ranking is based off last year's squad that came off a great season and I think that's a testament to the kids we've got coming back," said Cannon. "We're excited about it, but we hope to be ranked higher by the last poll of the season."
ICC finished 6-4 over and 4-2 in the North Division and advanced to the semifinals of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) playoffs.
The Indians are one of five MACJC programs ranked in the preseason poll and are scheduled to face all four ranked teams in the league in 2014; including opening the season on the road on Thursday, August 28th against No. 3 Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
"There is nowhere to hide in this league and being one out of five teams ranked to start the season shows you just how tough our league is and we talk to our kids about that all the time," Cannon commented. "Even though a team might not have as good of a record on paper, but they can still beat you week in and week out."
ICC will travel to No. 10 Jones County Junior College on Saturday, September 6th and will face defending national champion and top-ranked East Mississippi Community College on September 25th before closing the regular season on Saturday, October 25th with a homecoming duel against No. 9 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Click here to see complete NJCAA Preseason Poll.
The Indians' home opener will be against Holmes Community College on Thursday, September 11th for Military Appreciation Night at Eaton Field.
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