COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Keystone ready for inaugural Landmark Conference season
Aug. 31—Keystone College won three of its final four games last season.
The Giants will look to build on that momentum as they head into their third season of NCAA Division III status and first as a member of the inaugural Landmark Conference football campaign.
For its first two seasons, Keystone played in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference.
"We're grateful for the time we spent in the ECFC. For a new program, it was important to be part of a conference," head coach Justin Higgins said earlier this month at the Landmark's football media day. "But when you look from a regional standpoint, the Landmark just made sense. It was something to not pass on.
"We're excited about the first season of the Landmark, especially as a newer program. For us to make the next step, we know it's going to be a process. But we have the right guys for it."
Several key players return for the Giants, although this is the first time they have had to replace players.
"This year, whether you are talking offense, defense or special teams, this is the first time we've had a graduating class. The ones who were there in 2019 when we started graduated," Higgins said. "We've always been able to add pieces each year. This is the first offseason where we had to evolve who we are. We've had to fill in pieces."
Heading the returnees on offense is junior running back Mujaheed Muhammad, a two-time ECFC first-team selection who last season rushed for 948 yards and 12 touchdowns. Senior Damir Green, who had 257 yards and three TDs last season, also is back.
Jorden Cook and Da'Juan Vales, both seniors, are top returning receivers. Cook had 16 catches for 242 yards and one touchdown last season, while Vales had 17 catches for 171 yards and a score. Junior tight end Reese Karp had 13 receptions for 85 yards and two TDs and was an ECFC honorable mention.
Senior center and junior tackle James Campos will anchor the offensive line. Both were ECFC honorable mentions last season and part of the unit that was named to the d3football.com Team of the Week following its 45-44 overtime win over Dean College in the season finale.
"Where we go offensively is where the O-line goes," Higgins said. "We did lose two all-conference guys, but I think the guys who are coming back and who were behind them last year are still going to be a strong point."
Keystone lacks experience at quarterback with its top two from last season having graduated. Junior Donald Leach III appears to have won the starting job in a competition during preseason camp among the returnees and incoming freshmen.
"We know the defenses we're going against, conference and nonconference, are extremely good. If we're one-dimensional, they're going to be able to do what they do to stop us," Higgins said. "So even with an inexperienced quarterback, we have to find a way to throw the ball effectively. We're going to rely on the run game. I think we've got the guys up front to do it. I think we've got the guys in the backfield to do it. But we're going to have to find a way to throw the ball."
Defensively, the Giants lost some to graduation, including all four starting linebackers. Among those who the unit will be rebuilt around include senior defensive tackle Ali Mendoza, who had 17 tackles last season (7 solo, 10 assists); senior cornerback Sean Pettway, a second-team ECFC selection who led the team with 64 tackles (49,15) and had two interceptions and four pass breakups; and senior defensive back Joe Manfredo, an ECFC honorable mention who had 29 tackles (19,10), three pass breakups and a team-high four interceptions.
On special teams, junior kick returner Jayson Nami was a Hansen Rating All-Region 1 third-team selection last season. Nami averaged 26.7 yards per kick return and had the program's first kickoff return for a touchdown: a 97-yarder at Anna Maria College in the program's first NCAA win Oct. 15. Senior Zac Cost, a Lackawanna Trail graduate, averaged 32.0 yards per punt.
Keystone opens its season Saturday at home against Gallaudet University, which won the ECFC title last year. The Giants then face three New York schools in nonconference games — Hartwick and St. John Fisher from the Empire 8 Conference and Hobart of the Liberty League — before playing their first Landmark Conference game at Moravian on Sept. 30.
"We want to challenge ourselves in all aspects," Higgins said of the schedule. "If we want to be a great program, we have to play great teams. That's why we joined the Landmark. Our scrimmages and nonconference games, we want to continue to challenge ourselves. That can only help you get better."
Keystone College 2023 football schedule
KEYSTONE COLLEGE 2023 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Saturday GALLAUDET, Noon
Sept. 9 at Hartwick, 1 p.m.
Sept. 16 ST. JOHN FISHER, 1 p.m.
Sept. 23 at Hobart, 6 p.m.
x-Sept. 30 at Moravian, 1 p.m.
x-Oct. 7 SUSQUEHANNA, 1 p.m.
x-Oct. 14 at Wilkes, Noon
x-Oct. 21 LYCOMING, 1 p.m.
x-Oct. 28 CATHOLIC, Noon
x-Nov. 4 at Juniata, Noon
Home games in CAPS
x-Landmark Conference game
Landmark Conference football coaches preseason poll
LANDMARK CONFERENCE
PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Susquehanna (6) 36
2. Wilkes (1) 31
3. Catholic 25
4. Lycoming 22
5. Moravian 15
6. Keystone 11
7. Juniata 7
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
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