Friday, August 17, 2018

PORTLAND, Ore. – With two weeks until the start of the 2018 season, three GNAC players and defending champion Central Washington have earned the preseason attention of D2Football.com.

The Wildcats open the season ranked No. 6 in the website’s Preseason Top-25 Poll, which was released on Thursday (Aug. 16). In addition, Central Washington offensive lineman James Moore and Azusa Pacific wide receiver Weston Carr have been named to the D2Football.com Preseason All-America First Team. Moore’s teammate, defensive back Tyler Hasty, was named to the Preseason All-America Second Team.

Central Washington was picked by conference coaches to repeat as GNAC champion. The Wildcats completed only the second undefeated regular season in conference season en route to earning the No. 1 seed for Super Region 4 in the NCAA Division II Football Championship. Central Washington lost in the second round to eventual national champion Texas A&M-Commerce in double overtime, 34-31.

Moore is the key returning piece for a solid CWU offensive line that allowed quarterback Reilly Hennessey to throw for 261.3 yards per game. Hasty, meanwhile, led the GNAC with eight interceptions and was ranked fourth in Division II with 0.7 interceptions per game. He was also 10th nationally in passes defended with 1.6 per game. Hasty earned first-team All-American honors from both the D2CCA and the Associated Press while Moore was a Second Team D2CCA All-American.

Carr was named a consensus first-team All-American after he led the GNAC and finished second in Division II with 132.5 receiving yards per game. Carr also finished third in Division II with 15 receiving touchdowns as he led an Azusa Pacific offense that averaged 457.8 yards of total offense per game.

The 2018 GNAC football season begins on Sat., Sept. 1. Central Washington will play at Division I-FCS power Eastern Washington while Azusa Pacific will host West Texas A&M.