LORETTO, Pa. (Aug. 19, 2008) – Saint Francis football head coach Dave Opfar announced today that the team has selected its captains for the 2008-2009 season.  The offensive captains will be wide receiver Antoine Rivera (Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro) and offensive lineman Alexander-Szoke Benton (Kunkletown, Pa./Pius X).  Defensive captains will be defensive lineman Russel Fisher (Kailua, Hawaii/Mid Pac Institute and linebacker Scott Lewis (South Fork, Pa./Bishop McCort).

“Antoine, Alexander, Russel and Scott have distinguished themselves as leaders from the beginning of offseason workouts following last season,” said Opfar, who enters seventh season in Loretto.  “They were a big reason that this team finished with three wins in its final four games last year, and they are setting the standards on and off the field for this season.  They have earned the respect of their teammates by being voted to this honor.”

Rivera, a senior, led the North East Conference with 88.5 receiving yards per game in 2007, good for 16th in the NCAA FCS.  The New Jersey Native was also fourth in the conference with 4.8 receptions per game and sixth with 100.7 all-purpose yards per game.

Szoke-Benton leads an offensive line that produced 3,203 yards in 2007.  The senior offensive lineman started nine games at right guard last season, and will continue to anchor a strong offensive unit that limited sacks on quarterback George Little (Duquesne, Pa./Duquesne) to 20 last season.

Hawaii native Fisher started 10 games at defensive end as a sophomore and had 18 tackles, 7.5 TFL, and three sacks.  He was also credited with three quarterback hurries and a pass deflection.  Last season at Wagner, Fisher also had his first career interception return for 45 yards.

Sophomore Scott Lewis was named to the Preseason All-Northeast Conference team after being named the ECAC Rookie-of-the-Year and NEC Defensive Rookie-of-the-Year last season.  Lewis led the NEC with 12.6 tackles per game, racking up 126 total tackles throughout the season.

In addition to the four captains, quarterback George Little will be available at Wednesday’s media day.