FLORENCE, Ala. – West Liberty University senior quarterback Zach Amedro was nosed out for the Harlon Hill Trophy as the 2010 NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year by the narrowest margin in the history of the award here Friday night.
The leading passer in NCAA Division II history, Amedro finished second in the national Player of the Year balloting to Eric Czerniewski of Central Missouri. Czerniewski, also a senior quarterback, received 35 first-place votes and 164 points in the nationwide balloting of NCAA Division II sports information directors.
Amedro received 34 first-place votes and came up just six points shy of the honor with 158 points. Blake Bolles, a senior quarterback from Northwest Missouri State, was a distant third with 6 first-place votes and 64 points.
Amedro, Czerniewski and Bolles were seated at the dais as guests of honor at Friday night’s 25th annual Harlon Hill Trophy/NCAA Division II Hall of Fame Banquet hosted by the Marriott Shoals Conference Center.
It was the second consecutive year that Amedro has finished second in the Harlon Hill Trophy balloting. He was runner-up to Wayne State (Mich.) running back Joique Bell at the end of the 2009 season. The West Liberty quarterback is the first NCAA Division II player ever to finish second in the national Player of the Year voting in back-to-back years.
Amedro is only the second two-time Harlon Hill finalist ever produced by the West Virginia Conference and the first to earn back-to-back invitations to the Awards Banquet as one of the three top vote-getters. His two runner-up finishes are the highest ever for a WVIAC player. Shepherd All-America running back Damian Beane finished fourth in the 1998 balloting and was third in 1999.
Following are capsule summaries on this year’s three national finalists:
Czerniewski, a native of Montgomery City, Mo., set an NCAA Division II single-season record with 5,207 passing yards in 14 games (371.9 ypg.) with Central Missouri, which advanced to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs before bowing out in a 37-20 loss to Northwest Missouri State. Czerniewski completed 447-of-670 passes with 46 TDs and 15 INTs in his record-setting year but went 27-of-49 for a season-low 212 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs in the playoff loss to NWMSU. Nevertheless, he passed for 300 or more yards in 10 of his 14 games and is the MIAA career leader in passing yards (12,847) and total offense. The 4-year starter finished his career with 107 TD passes and 1,043 pass completions.
Amedro, a 6-0, 200-pound senior from Moundsville, W.Va., threw for more yards (14,733) and completed more passes (1,079) than any quarterback in NCAA Division II history while leading the Hilltoppers to back-to-back national scoring and total offense championships the past two years. A two-time WVIAC and Super Region One Player of the Year, Amedro completed 329-of-485 passes for 4,085 yards (405.8 ypg.) and 38 TDs this fall. He ranked among the top three nationally in passing yards per game, total offense per game and completions per game. The 4-year starter set NCAA Division II career records for passing yards per game (334.8), 300-yard passing games (30), 300-yard total offense games (29), consecutive 300-yard passing games (14) and consecutive 300-yard total offense games (14) while ranking No. 2 all-time in total offense (14,598), touchdown passes (126) and total offense per game (331.8).
Bolles, a native of Lincoln, Neb., helped lead Northwest Missouri State to the semifinals of this year’s NCAA Division II playoffs only to see NWMSU drop a 17-13 decision to Minnesota-Duluth. Bolles had his best season as a senior, completing 289-of-459 passes for 3,846 yards (274.7 ypg.) and 30 TDs with 11 INTs in 14 games. Playing in brutally frigid conditions a week ago, he was 19-of-29 for 141 yards and 1 touchdown with 3 interceptions in the semifinal loss to Minnesota-Duluth but still finished his career as Northwest Missouri’s career leader in passing yards (8,668) and passing TDs (79) and helped lead NWMSU to an MIAA-record 46 straight conference victories.
The Harlon Hill Trophy honors former University of North Alabama player Harlon Hill, a standout with the UNA Lions from 1950-53 before going on to a solid National Football League career with the Chicago Bears.
The Harlon Hill Trophy/NCAA Division II Hall of Fame Banquet is part of the festivities leading up to tomorrow’s 2010 NCAA Division II national championship game between Minnesota-Duluth and Delta State (Miss.). Kickoff for the nationally-televised game (ESPN2) is set for 11 a.m. (EST) at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence.
In addition to the announcement of the 25th Harlon Hill Trophy winner, the Banquet featured the induction of coaches Ken Sparks of Carson-Newman (Tenn.), Mel Tjeerdsma of Northwest Missouri State and Bobby Wallace of the University of West Alabama into the NCAA Division II Football Hall of Fame.
