Olivet College tied for second in MIAA preseason football poll

FREELAND, Mich. -- The Olivet College football team received one first-place vote and 13 total points to be tied for second-place in the 2016 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) preseason poll.

In voting by the coaches, the Comets tied Albion College for second-place. The Britons picked-up three first-place votes. Adrian College was chosen the preseason favorite with one first-place vote and 12 points. Trine (Ind.) University earned the final two first-place votes but was picked fourth with 17 points. Alma College came in fifth (27 points), followed by Hope College in sixth (30 points) and Kalamazoo College in seventh (35 points).

Under the direction of fifth-year head coach Dan Pifer, the Comets welcome back approximately 70 players from the 2015 team, which had a 9-1 overall record and shared the MIAA title with a 5-1 mark.

On offense, Olivet welcomes back senior All-MIAA quarterback Braden Black. He is the Comets' all-time passing leader with 7,278 yards and 64 touchdowns. Impact players returning on offense include senior running backs Christopher Jones and Damorria Lilly, senior wide receiver Mitchell Bailey and junior wideout Kornelius Saxton.

Olivet's defense is led by senior two-time All-MIAA defensive end Justin Madar. He enters his final season in a Comet uniform with 109 career tackles, including 33.5 for loss yardage. Additional returning players on defense are senior tackle Robert Cuba, senior linebacker Thomas Gary-Homes, junior safety Walter Love III and sophomore 2015 All-MIAA cornerback Jaquan Short.

On special teams, senior preseason D3football.com All-American Ryan Anderson returns. He averaged 41.8 yards on 32 punts last season. Junior Gunnar Aper is back to handle placekicking duties. He made 39-of-47 PAT kicks and averaged 52.3 yards on 66 kickoffs during the 2015 season.

The Comets open the season Saturday, Sept. 3 when they make the trip to Rochester, New York, to play St. John Fisher College. Kickoff at Growney Stadium is 1 p.m. Olivet's home-opener is one week later, Sept. 10, when it welcomes Elmhurst (Ill.) College to the Cutler Athletic Complex for a 1 p.m. contest. The Comets begin defense of their MIAA championship Saturday, Oct. 1, with a 6 p.m. game at Hope.