Coming off of their second straight season with at least a share of the Northern Athletics Conference  title, the Benedictine University Football team has begun practices with a third conference title in mind.

Expectations are high for the team amongst themselves and from their peers, as the Eagles were recently picked to finish first in the NAC preseason poll.
 
The Eagles bring back several key members from last season's team, including defensive end and reigning co-NAC Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Lockton, and running back and reigning NAC Offensive Player of the Year, John Borsellino. Both figure to be key focal points on their respective sides of the ball.
 
“[Ben] means a lot. He makes a lot of plays,” said Defensive Coordinator Jim Schroeder. “He's definitely someone who's very aggressive and has a skill set that's special. He's really committed himself in the off-season, and we're looking for him to have another big year.”
 
“There's no hiding John Borsellino. He's going to have everybody's attention, and that's a good thing for us,” said new Offensive Coordinator Joe Freitag. “He's super dynamic. You can ask him to do anything; there isn't a single thing John Borsellino doesn't do well. I think he'll make a lot of opportunities for our other guys.”
 
At the quarterback position, the Eagles will likely be led by junior Cyle Schultz. A transfer from Division II Wayne State, Cyle will be throwing passes to his brother, Chris Schultz, who amassed 596 receiving yards last season.
 
“Cyle brings a tremendous amount of natural ability and arm strength,” explained Quarterbacks Coach Mark Halbach. “He can certainly make all of the throws that we ask of him, but more importantly he is an experienced college quarterback. Cyle has the intangible qualities that you look for in a quarterback and will do a nice job leading our offense in 2012.”
 
On the defensive side of the ball, the Eagles return mostly everyone from last year's team. The linebacker trio of Mike Theriault, Trent Altieri and Chris Buonavolanto after starting all 11 games last season, and Jake Sakal is back to join Lockton on the defensive line. Erik Rickert, Ben Carpenter and Drew Keil also are key returners from last season's secondary.
 
“Defensively, we just want to get better every week,” said Schroeder. “Having all of those returners back gives us a good base and a good foundation, but we got to be more consistent. At times we were very good last year, and at times we lost our focus a little bit. Consistency is a big thing, and I think we have the young men to do that.”
 
Offensively, the team has the task of replacing last year's quarterback, leading receiver and tight end: Matt Brown and Brandin Austin. However, Chris Schultz and John Alessi return, as Alessi was a key member of last season's backfield. Freitag is also confident that some of the younger players, like tight end Calvin Bonewits, can step up and fill the voids.
 
On special teams, Billy Dixon returns after being named first team All-NAC as a punter last season, and Borsellino of course returns after being first team All-NAC as a returner. Placekicker L.J. Stolarski is also back for his senior campaign.
The Eagles open up the 2012 season on the road at Wheaton College on Thursday, August 30 at 7:00 p.m. Wheaton was ranked preseason No. 15 but the Eagles are confident that they can give the Thunder a run for their money.
 
Benedictine Athletics and Student Life will be sponsoring a fan bus to and from the game. The bus will leave the Rice Center parking lot at 5:30 p.m. and will be returning to campus when the game ends.
 
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