Football is, without a doubt, my favorite sport. More specifically, I love college football. Even more specifically, I love Division III college football. Big-time Div-I football is hopelessly corrupted by -- what else -- money. But Div-III, at least in my mind, is the highest level of truly amateur football in the country.
And lately the Rochester area has been a hotbed of Div-III activity. St. John Fisher made it to the national semis last year, and Street & Smith's has the Cardinals ranked No. 3 in the country in its preseason poll. SJFC is led by preseason first-team All-American offensive lineman Brennan Fortune. The Cardinals open the 2007 against King's College on Sept. 1.
But 2006 also saw the rise of the University of Rochester's squad; after years of mediocrity, the Yellowjackets posted a 7-4 record last season and earned a spot in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Northwest championship game. They were led by first-year head coach Scott Greene, who gave the 'Jackets energized the program with a new, no-excuses attitude.
I'm fortunate enough to write about sports (and other stuff) for the UR alumni magazine, and one my current projects is a preseason 2007 preview of the football team. I've talked to two returning UR stars, running back Matt Bielecki and receiver Jay Jay Vanderstyne, who were both giving honorable mention All-America status after the 2006 season.
In 2006 Bielecki rushed for a school single-season record 1,390 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry and scoring 14 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Vanderstyne also set a UR single-season record with 1,128 yards on 85 catches, 11 of which were TDs.
They're both optimistic about the '07 season, and they both said the 'Jackets are ready to meet the increased expectations that will be placed on them this year.
"We just have to play how we can play," Bielecki told me. "We have a lot of young guys who have to step up and take on their roles, and I know they can. We have to do what we did last year."
Vanderstyne e-mailed me answers to a handful of interview questions. He said the goals for this year include competing for a Liberty League title and landing a bid to the NCAA tourney, and he'll do what he has to to make that happen.
"I just want to do anything to help us win," he said. "Whether it is blocking on a run play or catching a pass, I want to help this team any way possible."
How can you not like guys who have that type of mindset?
UR opens the 2007 season against Carnegie Mellon.
And circle Sept. 15 on your calendars -- that's when Fisher and UR clash in the Courage Bowl.
