December 3, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Hodges (256) 765-4595
TOP THREE NAMED FOR
HARLON HILL TROPHY AS NCAA DIVISION II FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE
YEAR
FLORENCE, Ala. -- The
voting has concluded for the NCAA Division II College Football
Player of the Year Award, and while the results of that voting
won't be announced until December 13, three players have
received invitations to attend the Seventeenth Annual
Harlon Hill Trophy Presentation Banquet for the naming of
the top player in Division II.
Senior quarterback Curt Anes of
Grand Valley State University, junior quarterback Keith
Heckendorf of St. Cloud State and senior running back Ian
Smart of C.W. Post emerged as the top three vote-getters from a
field of nine national finalists in voting by the sports
information directors at the 156 schools that compete in
Division II football and the Division II conference sports
information directors. The announcement was made by Harlon
Hill Trophy Voting Coordinator Dee Corum.
The seventeenth annual award,
created in 1986, will be presented at the Harlon Hill Trophy and
Division II Football Hall of Fame Banquet at the Florence
Conference Center at 6:30 p.m. (central) on Friday, Dec. 13, one
day prior to the Division II National Championship Game in
Florence's Braly Municipal Stadium.
The award is sponsored
nationally by Coca-Cola, the North Alabama Bone and Joint
Clinic, First Metro Bank, and The Johnson Companies - Industrial
and Commercial Contracting.
A total of 38 players were
nominated for the 2002 Harlon Hill Trophy by the sports
information directors at their respective schools and those
nominations were then reviewed by the Hill Regional Advisory
Committees, which trimmed the list of candidates to no more than
six per region. The top two players from each
of the Northeast, South, and Midwest regions advanced
through regional voting, while three players advanced from
the West due to ties in the voting that concluded on December 2.
Other finalists for the 2002
award were junior quarterback Phillip Boggs of Midwestern
State, junior quarterback Zak Clark of Central Arkansas, junior
running back Kevin Curtin of Winona State, senior
quarterback Abel Gonzalez of Texas A&M-Kingsville,
senior quarterback Leonard Guyton of Carson-Newman and senior
wide receiver Michael Oliva of UC Davis.
Anes, a senior from
Kentwood, Michigan, was the runner-up for the 2002 Hill Trophy,
finishing just eight points behind 2001 winner Dusty
Bonner. This year he has quarterbacked Grand Valley State
to an undefeated regular-season and No. 1 ranking all season,
while ranking third nationally in passing efficiency and third
in total offense. He ranks fourth in Division II history for
career touchdown passes (100) and total offense (10,692) and is
fifth all-time in career pass efficiency. He threw for 2,560
yards and 33 TDs in the 2002 regular-season alone and has led
the Lakers to the Division II playoff semifinals this weekend.
Heckendorf, a junior from
Mosinee, Wisc., threw for 2,817 yards and 37 touchdowns in 2002
to rank eighth nationally in pass efficiency and 10th in total
offense. In leading St. Cloud to the best season at the school
since 1989, Heckendorf set nine school records, completing
58.2 percent of his passes and throwing just 12 interceptions in
349 pass attempts.
Smart, a senior from North
Babylon, New York, became college football's all-time leader in
touchdowns this season with 92, and points scored with 564. He
led Division II in rushing in 2002 with 171.3 yards per game and
was also tops in scoring with 15.8 points per game. His 184.5
yards of total offense per game also ranked him fourth
nationally. Also a finalist for the Hill Trophy in 2001, Smart
rushed for more than 100 yards in nine of his team's 11 games
this season in helping lead C.W. Post to a perfect 11-0 record
and into the Division II playoffs.
The initial Harlon Hill Trophy
was won by North Dakota State quarterback Jeff Bentrim in 1986,
followed by Texas A&M-Kingsville runningback
Johnny Bailey - in 1987, 1988 and 1989. Another North
Dakota State quarterback, Chris Simdorn, claimed the 1990 award,
followed by Pittsburg State receiver Ronnie West in 1991,
Pittsburg State running back Ronald Moore in 1992, New Haven
running back Roger Graham in 1993 and Valdosta State University
quarterback Chris Hatcher in 1994. North Alabama linebacker
Ronald McKinnon became the first defensive player to win the
award when he claimed the Hill Trophy in 1995. Truman
State University running back Jarrett Anderson won the 1996
award and Bloomsburg University running back Irvin Sigler
claimed the Hill Trophy in 1997 award. Running back Brian Shay
of Emporia State won in 1998, followed by Northern Colorado
quarterback Corte McGuffey in 1999 and Valdosta State
quarterback Dusty Bonner in 2000 and 2001. Tickets for
this year's banquet are $35 each and may be purchased at the
Shoals Chamber of Commerce, or by calling (256) 764-4661.
2002 Harlon Hill Trophy
Finalists
Click on Players Name for Bios, Stats, and
Photographs
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