Cooper named a co-captain at Marist College
Dan Cooper takes his captaincy on the Marist College football team seriously.

"It's important to me," said the Freehold Township High School grad. "We have great senior leadership. To be one of those guys is an honor. We have a great bunch of guys."

Cooper, who plays left tackle on the offensive line, certainly earned the captaincy on the merits of his play last fall. The 6-2, 250-pound lineman was a Mid-Major All-American as well as First Team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and All- Region pick. He spearheaded a Red Fox offensive line that allowed Marist to lead the conference in rushing (107.7 yards per game).

With three starters returning on the offensive line (Cooper, guard Jason Tillery and tackle Jake Dembow), Cooper believes that the Red Foxes will be even more efficient offensively in '07.

"I feel confident," he said. "All three of us have started 22 straight games."

Cooper, who stepped into the starting lineup as a sophomore, expressed confidence in the team's newcomers and pointed out that line coach Bill Roos has "prepared us to where we need be."

Camp, he added, is a bonding experience that brought the linemen together and helped mold them as a single unit.

After the team's first scrimmage of the summer, Cooper thought the team looked good and that the offense could have been better.

"It'll push us," he noted, "to work that much harder."

If you could ever call 4-7 a successful season, the Red Foxes certainly had it in '06. They went 3-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play capturing the co-championship. It was only the second MAAC title in school history.

Cooper believes his team can repeat.

"Without a doubt," he said of his team's chances to defend their title. "This year we're looking for big things. We should benefit from playing up in our MAAC games."

As if starting the season with five straight road games isn't bad enough, the Red Foxes are doing it against an upgraded schedule, facing the likes of San Diego (Saturday), Wagner (Sept. 15) and Bucknell (Sept. 29).

Among the team's goals this year, Cooper noted, is to get the school's first wins over Patriot League and Ivy League teams. They opened Saturday with Lafayette of the Patriot League and will play Columbia (Ivy League) in New York City on Sept. 22.

Marist was picked to finish second in the MAAC in the preseason poll behind fellow co-champion Duquesne. The Red Foxes' home opener in Poughkeeepsie just happens to be against Duquesne on Oct. 6 (1 p.m. kickoff). The winner of this game will have a very big leg up in the championship race.