During the first half of the 2004 season, the Grove City College football team was opportunistic.

The Wolverines forced 13 turnovers in the first two games of the season and collected 25 through the season's first five contests.

After that, the well dried up. Suddenly, it was Grove City that was being charitable and the other team stingy with the football. A plus-17 turnover ratio turned into a minus-12 and a 3-7 record.

"We could have been an easy 5-5 had we not turned the ball over so much (in the final two games)," said Grove City coach Chris Smith. "Those were self-inflicted wounds."

This year, Grove City faces a slew of new challenges.

Thomas More College, a school in the suburbs of Cincinnati, joins the conference. Washington & Jefferson, undefeated in the regular season last year, is the preseason favorite to win the conference again. Thiel and Waynesburg also figure to contend for the conference title.

But Smith thinks anyone can compete for the conference title this season in the ultra-competitive Presidents' Athletic Conference.

Including the Wolverines, who have 16 starters back.

"The big thing is we need to control the ball," Smith said.

That means taking care of it, too. And restarting the turnover-causing machine the Wolverines had become at the start of 2004.

With the losses of Mike Choby and Mike Prioletti, the defense must overhaul its linebacker corps.

But Ben Szelong is back and poised for a big season.

The 5-foot-10, 240-pound senior from Gibsonia finished with 67 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble and an interception for the Wolverines last season.

"Ben has good size and has started 19 games for us," Smith said. "He's our poster child and he's the leader on our defense. He anchors our linebacker corps. I wish Ben could play both ways for us."

That won't be necessary because Grove City has depth at almost every position.

Senior pre-season All-American Ross Trimmer leads the secondary after recording 58 tackles and picking off four passes last season from his free safety position.

Trimmer returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown last season against Bethany College. The senior from Hermitage also is a dangerous return man.

In the season opener, strong safety Aaron Margo, Trimmer's roommate, returned an interception 94 yards for a score. That was the school record until Trimmer trumped it.

On offense, Smith will have a plethora of people to chose from, particularly when Grove City is running the football.

The Wolverines are seven deep when it comes to churning out yardage on the ground, led by wingbacks Adam Wargo and Seth Fox. Wargo rushed for 265 yards last season and Fox is the school's record holder in the 100-yard dash.

Four of the five starters on the offensive line return, as does senior quarterback Bradford Clark, who passed for 716 yards and six touchdowns.

The X-factor, though, is junior Scott Fichter, who was the backup quarterback last season but will be the Wolverines biggest weapon at various positions this season.

"We're going to get Scott Fichter the ball," Smith said. "We have a guy who can make people miss, and we have to use that."

Grove City is picked to finish sixth in the seven-team conference.

"We're very excited about what we have," Smith said. "We have 16 returning starters, and that's a big number. This is a great conference. I can't wait for the season to start."