Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 18, 1993 TAG: 9311180164
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The award will be given annually to the Division III player of the year. It is named in honor of 304-win coach John Gagliardi of St. John's (Minn.) University, and will be presented by the school's J-Club at the Salem Civic Center on Dec. 10, the eve of the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl at Salem Stadium.
A 30-person national panel will vote on the 10 finalists to choose the Gagliardi recipient. The finalists, alphabetically, with schools and highlights:
Frank Baker, Chicago, senior fullback; rushed for 1,606 yards and a 5.7-yard average for a 5-5 team.
Jim Ballard, Mount Union (Ohio), senior quarterback; completed 73 percent of his passes (229-314) for 3,304 yards, 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in a 10-0 season.
Carey Bender, Coe (Iowa), junior running back; rushed for 1,718 yards, had 35 pass receptions and scored 21 touchdowns for a 10-0 team.
Chris Conkling, Anderson (Ind.), senior quarterback; completed 68.6 percent of his passes (121 of 185) for 1,788 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions for a 10-0 team.
Michael Flesch, Thomas More (Ky.) senior guard; was all-conference for the third consecutive year for an 8-2 team.
John Janke, Wisconsin-LaCrosse senior fullback; rushed for 820 yards and 11 touchdowns, plus 35 receptions for 289 yards for a 10-0 team .
Taver Johnson, Wittenberg (Ohio) senior linebacker; had 94 tackles, including 58 solo hits, with five sacks for a 9-1 team.
Marco Lainez, Union (N.Y.) senior linebacker; had 81 total tackles and 40 solo hits with three sacks for a 10-0 team.
Vic Moncato, Fairleigh Dickinson-Madison (N.J.) junior receiver-punter-return man; had 64 receptions for 1,217 yards, averaged 42.3 yards per punt, 5.3 yards per punt return and 20.2 yards per kickoff return for an 8-2 team.
Willie Seiler, St. John's (Minn.) senior quarterback; completed 68.8 percent of his passes (141 of 205) for 2,648 yards, 33 touchdowns and six interceptions, with an NCAA record 224.6 quarterback rating for a 10-0 team.
FCA breakfast on tap
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes will hold a breakfast Friday, Dec. 10 in conjunction with the Stagg Bowl.
The breakfast, at the Salem Civic Center at 7:30 a.m., is open to the public. The featured speaker will be National Football Foundation Hall of Famer Carroll Dale, the former Virginia Tech All-American who is now the athletic director at Clinch Valley College in Wise.
Cost for the breakfast is $15 per person. Reservations may be made with a check, payable to the FCA, P.O. Box 510, Roanoke, 24003, or by calling Sam McNeil at 345-1070.
`Super tickets' on sale
A special "super ticket" package for the Stagg Bowl is now on sale at the Salem Civic Center. A reserved-seat ticket for the game and three social functions prior to the game costs $35.
Included in the package are a ticket for the Thursday night, Dec. 9 "Uptown Country Gala" at the civic center, Friday's noon Division III championship luncheon and the game-day brunch prior to kickoff. Purchased separately, the tickets for those three events sell for $12.50, $15 and $12.50, respectively.
A Stagg Bowl game ticket costs $8 in advance and $10 on game day, with high school students and younger admitted for $5.
All tickets are available at the Salem Civic Center box office, Monday through Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., or by phoning 1-800-288-2122. Game tickets may also be purchased at all Ticketmaster locations in Virginia.
Bleier guest speaker
The Stagg Bowl Host Committee announced Thursday that former Pittsburgh Steeler great, Rocky Bleier, will be the guest speaker at the Championship Awards Lunch to be held at noon on Friday, Dec. 10, at the Salem Civic Center.
Tickets are $15 each and are available at the Salem Civic Center box office during normal box-office hours. Tickets also may be charged to Visa, Mastercard, or Discover by contacting the box office at 1-800-288-2122.
by CNB