DURHAM – Optimism reigns because no one’s played a game yet. But it’s that 11th game that’s on 12 different teams’ minds.

The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) kicked off its annual Football Media Day at the Durham Marriott. Each coach and one or two of their players fielded questions from media members on the upcoming campaign.

This year, five new head coaches will be welcomed to the conference: Earnest Wilson III of Elizabeth City State, Reggie Barlow of Virginia State, Tim Chavous of St. Augustine’s, Richard Hayes, Jr. of Fayetteville State, and Adrian Jones of Shaw. Game-one of the 2016 CIAA football season will open on Saturday, September 3 with the eleventh game being the CIAA Football Championship scheduled for November 12 at Durham County Memorial Stadium and feature the CIAA Northern and Southern Division champions.

When the pre-season poll was released (see separate story), Chowan University was picked fourth in the tough six-team Northern Division behind Bowie (MD) State, Virginia Union, and Virginia State. Overall, the Hawks were tabbed in the top-six for the first time in their history in the league: picked sixth behind the aforementioned Division members along with Winston-Salem State (picked first to win the regular-season) and Fayetteville State, picked fifth ahead of the Hawks. Ironically, FSU will be Chowan’s season opener in Fayetteville on Sept. 3.

“It’s not about who we play or where we play, but how we play,” said Chowan coach Tim Place when he and players running back Tyree Lee and linebacker Demetrius Newberry took the podium. “We’re focused on getting better on a daily basis and understand what it takes to be successful. We have to do what we have to do on a daily basis.”

Lee, a rising senior from Hampton, VA, returns after a strong junior campaign where he tallied 12 rushing touchdowns while averaging 104.9 yards per game and 4.8 per carry. In his first season with the Hawks, Lee etched his name in the record books in five offensive categories after setting the single game rushing yardage record (223 vs.

St. Augustine’s University), single season rush attempts (219), single season rushing yards (1,049), single season rushing touchdowns (12), and single season points (96). He echoed the words of his coach in what the team has to do to get better.

“We have to finish strong: sometimes we’d start strong and slow down.” Lee said, after averaging nearly five yards per carry in his first season. “We can’t do that anymore. We know for strong finishes that we have to push ourselves more.”

Fellow senior Newberry, a native of Brunswick, GA, accounted for 61 total tackles – including nine against Virginia State (44 solo, 17 assisted) while notching 4.5 tackles for loss (16 yards) in 2015. He says he wants to improve on that this season.

“I just want to progress and prepare the best I can, and prepare my teammates the best I can,” said Newberry, who had 11 tackles against Virginia Union. “We need to focus on winning.”

The Hawks will have six home games this season (Sept. 10: Campbell; Sept. 17: West Florida; Oct. 1: Johnson C. Smith; Oct. 8: Bowie State; Oct. 15: Va. Union; and, Nov. 5: Lincoln, PA).

“It’s still a demanding schedule,” said Place. “Regardless, it still comes back to how we play because last year we had just three home games and our young men did a great job of adjusting.”

Elizabeth City State under new coach Wilson open with a pair of road games in MEAC foe, Norfolk State and Fordham in the Patriot League before they meet Morehouse in the ‘Down-East Viking Classic’ in Rocky Mount on Sept. 17. They then have Shaw (Oct. 1), Chowan (Oct. 22), and Va. Union (Oct 29) as home dates at ECSU’s Roebuck Stadium.

“We have some very explosive football players; our young men are working hard,” Wilson said. “We want to represent the 252 and the immediate area and become the team of the Outer Banks. We have a great group of people to work with. Our area is unique and we are looking forward to making people proud of our program.”

Cherry, a senior and four-year starter who had a team-high three interceptions and 33 tackles said he has to be more of a leader this season.

“The goal for this team is to win,” Cherry acknowledged.