It's been quite some time since Sacred Heart football has missed a beat. The Pioneers dominated the Northeast Conference in the 2021 calendar year, capturing the league's first-ever championship title in an unconventional spring campaign before defending their title in the fall. With the start of the new football season right around the corner, the beat of the NEC circuit hasn't changed, as Sacred Heart has been tabbed the favorite to again raise the NEC trophy for a seventh time at season's end. The Pioneers received five-of-eight possible first-place votes to claim the top spot in this season's NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Behind the strength of junior All-American running back Malik Grant, the Pioneers, who went 6-1 in NEC play and came just shy of a FCS Playoff win last season, will look to run in back for the third straight season in 2022. Coming off a runner-up finish in the league standings in 2021, Duquesne received the three remaining first-place tallies to take the second spot in the coaches' preseason predicted order-of-finish. The five-time NEC champion Dukes closed the 2021 season on a three-game winning streak to finish 5-2 in the NEC and 7-3 overall. - Northeast Conference Football