Monday, July 26, 2004
Contact: Chris Kilcoyne  

Seven ODAC Football Standouts Earn Preseason All-American Team Status

SALEM, Va. – A total of seven ODAC football standouts have earned 2004 Preseason All-American Team status either from a national college football publication or D3Football.com.  

Ranardo Whitaker (Bridgewater), CW Clemmons (Hampden-Sydney), JD Ricca (Hampden-Sydney), Nick Bublavi (Catholic), Brian Awkard (Bridgewater) and Christian Adams (Guilford) were voted on to the Don Hansen  Football Gazette  team  by a panel of sports information directors from around the nation.   

A 5-foot-10, 291-pound offensive lineman, Whitaker is the lone first-team member after helping the Eagles to a 12-2 overall record and a perfect 6-0 league mark to capture the school’s third consecutive ODAC championship.  Whitaker was part of an Eagle offense that averaged 32.9 points-per-game, helping the Tappahannock, Va. native earn first-team all-conference honors.  

His teammate Awkard garnered third-team preseason honors as a kick returner.  Awkard sparked the Eagle offense by returning 28 punts for 464-yards and two touchdowns in 2003.

Hampden-Sydney’s Clemmons and Ricca were named to the second and third team respectively.  Clemmons is a 6-foot-2, running back that was named First-Team All ODAC in 2003 after rushing for 1, 187-yards and scoring 18 touchdowns. 

Ricca quarterbacked a Tiger offense that put up an ODAC best 47.2 points a game and averaged 521.4 yards a contest.  The two helped HSC to a 9-1 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the league.

A wide receiver at Catholic, Bublavi earned third-team honors after pulling in 68 passes for 1,113-yards and 11 touchdowns last season.  The rising senior was a first-team all-conference member 2003.

Adams of Guilford joins Bublavi and Ricca on third team as a punter.  Adams led the ODAC for the second straight season and ranked fourth in Division III with a school-record 41.6-yard average last year, earning him all conference and All- American honors.  

Lindy's National College Football and Street &Smith's College Football also named Whitaker to their preseason first-team.

Ricca was also tabbed by Lindy's as a first-team member and D3Football.com named him to its second-team. 

Bridgewater's Lawrence Frierson was named to D3Football.com's second-team as a defensive tackle.

The 2004 ODAC football season is slated to begin September 4^th with four games. 

-www.odaconline.com-