The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
DUNGEY A STAR ON TOILING TEAM
Football being, in many ways, the ultimate team game can make it difficult for good players to shine when the players around them are ... not so good.
Stars toiling on losing teams rarely get much recognition. They almost never win the big awards or get selected to the All-America teams. Time to give some love to those overlooked players whose teams did not reach the postseason last year and might have a hard time climbing back into it in 2018.
Eric Dungey, QB, Syracuse
Dungey has been starting for the Orange since his freshman season. The problem is he has not been finishing the seasons healthy. When healthy, Dungey is a two-way threat with athleticism and size (6-4, 228) that could draw NFL attention. He enters 2018 as the only active quarterback in FBS with at least 6,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing. The Orange have not been bowleligible since 2013. A full season for Dungey is a must for Syracuse to have any chance to get back, but just in case, best catch him in the regular season.
Marquise Copeland, DT, Cincinnati
The Bearcats are in the second year of a rebuild under coach Luke Fickell, who brought in the top-ranked recruiting class in the American Athletic Conference this year. Copeland was
one of the few real keepers Fickell inherited and probably the team’s best player last year. The senior had 63 tackles and 3.5 sacks in 2017. Undersized at 6-foot-2 and 282 pounds, Copeland could develop into an NFL draft pick.
Joe Dineen, LB, Kansas
The fifth-year senior has played on teams that have won six games in four seasons. He also lost most of his 2016 season, when he was poised for a breakout as team captain, to hamstring injury. That big breakout came last season when Dineen led the nation in solo tackles per game(7.6) and set a school record with 25 tackles for loss. Yes, the Jayhawks’ defense spends a lot of time on the field and that inflates some stats. But Dineen had almost twice asmany tackles as any otherKansasdefender. Also, deserving of a shoutout onKansas is defensive tackle Daniel Wise (16 tackles for loss and seven sacks), who is probably an even better pro prospect than Dineen.
DenzelMims, WR, Baylor
The Bears managed just one victory in 2017, butMims was a problemfor opponents. He caught 61 passes for 1,087 yards andeight touchdowns. His three-touchdown performance against Oklahoma gave the Sooners a legitimate scare. Mims was by far Baylor’s best receiver last season, but this year the Bears hope the return of senior Chris Platt from injury and the addition of Tennessee transfer Jalen Hurd, the running back-turned-receiver, gives them one of the best sets of pass-catchers in the Big 12.
Stanley Morgan Jr., WR, Nebraska
Cornhuskers fans are looking toward a hopeful future with new coach Scott Frost after going 4-8 last season under Mike Riley. There is much rebuilding to do, and Nebraska has a difficult schedule in 2018 with road games at Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin. A major turnaround would take a minormiracle by Frost. Morgan, though, should be one of the best receivers in the Big Ten as a senior. He caught 61 passes for 986 yards and 10 touchdowns last year. Speedway, Dundee, and the Lebanon Valley Speedway, West Lebanon.
Slammin’ Sammy Swindell, as he has affectionately been called, has raced in Sprint Cars, all three of NASCAR’s top series, and dabbled with Indy Cars. He has raced a dirt Modified at the New York State Fairgrounds, once setting the record for fast time at the prestigious Super Dirt Week Modified event. Swindell also has been victorious in the Super Nationals Sprint Car portion at the Moody Mile.
Swindell is known as a self- taught engineer, noted for his craftsmanship and ability to think outside the box with his racing machines.
During his career, Swindell won 294 World of Outlaw main events, in addition to 26 All Star Circuit of Champion races. He has three World of Outlaw point titles and five Golden Driller trophies for winning the prestigious Chili Bowl Midget Race Car event.
Always a threat when he enters the pit area, with the regular traveling Artic Cat All Stars, Swindell will add to the excitement on Friday at the Vernon Ova,.
Joining Swindell for this action packed event will be former NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart, Dave Blaney, Carson Macedo, Aaron Reutzel, Chad Kemanah, Jac Haudenschild, Gerard McIntyre, Paul McMahan, and more including some local drivers such as Mike Mahaney, Coleman Gulick, and Paulie Colagiovanni.
The 358-Modifieds will fill out the “Friday Night Dirt Double” with a special $2,000 to win event of their own. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with racing set to begin at 7 p.m. when Utica-Rome Speedway roars to life for a rare Friday night race night when Tony Stewart’s Arctic Cat All-Star Circuit of Champions Series for 410 Sprints comes to town, which will feature some of the best Sprint Car drivers in the country. Filling out the card on Wilber Duck Chevrolet night with the “Friday Night Dirt Double” will the 358-Modifieds for a special $2,000 to win event.
The 2018 season for the All-Stars has been a very competitive one so far, with one of the best traveling lineups in the series long and storied history. Currently, Aaron Reutzel leads the standings by just four points over Macedo. Chad Kemenah sits in third in the rankings fol- lowed by Jac Haudenschild, former NASCAR Cup driver Dave Blaney, Paul McMahan, Parker Price-Miller, Cale Conley, Brandon Spithaler, and Carl Bowser.
This past weekend at the 58th annual Knoxville Nationals, three AllStar regulars finished in the top 10 with Reutzel finishing in fourth, Macedo in sixth, and Kemenah in seventh. It was an emotion filled week for Macedo as he filled in for the late Jason Johnson in the family owned # 41 for both the 360 and 410 portions of the Nationals. Macedo won a preliminary A-Main before finishing second in the 360 Nationals, followed by his sixth place run in the Nationals a week later.
A full field of 410 Sprints is expected with full-time members Reutzel, Macedo, Kemenah, Haudenschild, Blaney, McMahan, Conley, Spithaler, Bowser, Brock Zearfoss, Tyler Esh, and Smith have committed so far, along with former NASCAR champion Tony Stewart and the legendary Sammy Swindell. Other drivers that have made a commitment for this Friday include Mike Mahaney, Coleman Gulick, Paulie Colagiovanni, Gerard McIntyre, Darren Schott, John Garvin, Justin Barger, Brent Matus, Brandon Matus, and Anthony Fiore.
A full program for the 358- Modifieds is also planned for a 30- lap $2,000 to win, $150 to start event. The 358-Modifieds will run under King of Dirt/Albany- Saratoga rules with Hoosier tires while the Open Sportsman have been invited to compete with the 358-Modifieds as well. The Open Sportsman under the rules common in the Southern Tier track, complete with two barrel carburetors and American Racer tires.