Baker, Grand View Selected to Capture Heart South and North Crowns in 2022 Football Coaches’ Preseason Polls
The Heart of America Athletic Conference football coaches selected their 2022 Heart North and South preseason polls this week, as Grand View and Baker were picked to top the Heart North and South Divisions respectively.
Grand View advanced all the way to the NAIA-FCS National Championship Game last season, falling to Morningside, 38-28, in Durham, North Carolina.
The Vikings went 14-1 overall and a perfect 5-0 in Heart North play, capturing their fourth-straight Heart title and sixth in the last seven seasons.
2022 Heart North Preseason Coaches' Poll
Place School (1st Place Votes) Points
1st Grand View (5) – 25 pts
2nd Culver-Stockton (1) – 21 pts
3rd Peru State – 15 pts
4th William Penn – 14 pts
5th Clarke – 8 pts
6th Graceland – 6 pts
The Baker Wildcats are back on top in the Heart South Coaches' Preseason Poll, the Wildcats went 9-2 last season and 4-1 in Heart South play.
Baker has won six of the last seven Heart South Championships. Central Methodist defeated the Wildcats, 21-19, in Fayette, Mo., to earn their first Heart Football conference championship since 1975. CMU went 9-3 and 5-0 in Heart South play in 2021, advancing to the NAIA-FCS Playoffs.
Heart football action begins on Thursday, August 25, as Clarke travels to Springfield, Mo., to take on Evangel in a primetime match up at 6:30 pm.
The 2022 Heart Football Media Day will take place on Monday, August 8, as all 12 head coaches and select student-athletes will be featured on Zoom interviews.
Each head coach and student-athletes will preview their team with their University Sports Information Directors and local media members throughout the day.
You can watch the interviews on the Heart YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAVqq0dOoBjBxqZcmyhdAA.
Or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeartSportsNews
And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heartsportsnews
2022 Heart South Preseason Coaches' Poll
Place School (1st Place Votes) Points
1st Baker (4) – 24 pts
2nd Benedictine (2) – 22 pts
3rd Central Methodist – 14 pts
4th Evangel – 13 pts
5th MidAmerica Nazarene – 12 pts
6th Missouri Valley – 5 pts