The Southern Conference has prided itself on its Carolina schools in years past.  However in recent years outsiders have captured the crown of the conference, namely Marshall and Georgia Southern.  This season’s forecast appears to look about the same with the Eagles on top of every pre-season poll in the nation to win a national championship.

Although making a perfect run through the conference last season, the Eagles fell short of a championship that they thought was well within their reach.  A stunning 55-43 Massachusetts upset in the championship at Chattanooga last year burst the bubble of the 14-1 number one seed in the playoffs.

The Eagles have the fire power to return to the limelight again after returning seven starters from an offense that was second in the nation in rushing, scoring and total offense.  Two of those starters are freshman tailback Adrian Peterson and senior quarterback Greg Hill.  Peterson was a one-man highlight reel last year racking up a monstrous 2,615 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns as a redshirt.  Hill did just about everything for an Eagle offense that averaged 492.5 yards per game including his 1,587 yards rushing and another 1,638 through the air.  He will have two all-conference lineman push the way for the offense again, returning as seniors.

The Eagles spent almost the entire season at number one last year until the second to last week in the regular season.  The Eagles are a sure bet to reign again among the polls in ’99.

Western Carolina’s story is one certainly worth mentioning.  Two seasons ago, Coach Bill Bliel’s first attempt as head coach of the Catamounts ended with a sour 3-8 record.  Last season, the Catamounts finished at 6-5 including a 23-6 flogging of Appalachian in the final game of the season at Cullowhee for the Old Mountain Jug.

WCU is certainly ready to contend with the players of the Southern Conference this year as they will only get better.  With six returning starters on both sides of the ball, and 42 redshirts from last season, the Catamounts are ready to use their depth to make a run.  

A major reason for Western’s improvement was the transition of senior Brad Hoover from fullback to tailback last season.  Hoover, who returns as the tailback, rumbled over the Mountaineers in last year’s meeting and ran up 1,663 yards on the ground with 13 touchdowns his first year.  
The Catamounts will also return senior transfer quarterback from Tennessee Shawn Snyder, who missed almost all of last season due to injury.  Snyder will be the starter with junior Justin Cella who threw for 1,015 in ’98 backing him up.

Western and ASU will clash in Boone on November 13 and could have serious conference implications.

One other team that could make moves in the Southern Conference  is the Furman Paladins.  Although ending last year with a disappointing 3-5 conference record, the Paladins will try to live up to high pre-season expectations by returning eight starters on offense and seven on defense.  

Returning junior quarterback Justin Hill will have much of the weight on his shoulders this year as the leader of the Paladin attack.  Hill threw for 1,120 yards and six touchdowns a year ago but was hampered by an ankle injury during mid-season.  His favorite target, senior wide receiver Desmond Kitchings, is also back after a 35 reception, 560 yard season.  Another big plus for Furman is the returning of four starting offensive linemen to protect Hill.

The defensive unit, which accounted for much of the Paladin problems, looks to improve after yielding 372 yards per game to their opponent last season.

With a confidence-boosted Catamount team, the Southern Conference should again be the premiere component of I-AA football.  

The key games to look out for this season should be Western Carolina at Georgia Southern on Oct. 9, Georgia Southern at Appalachian on Oct. 16 and Western Carolina at Appalachian for the jug on Nov. 13.