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December 10, 2004

COLORADO- MINES QUARTERBACK CHAD FRIEHAUF TAKES 2004 HARLON HILL TROPHY AS DIVISION II FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR

FLORENCE, Ala. -- Colorado School of Mines quarterback Chad Friehauf claimed the Harlon Hill Trophy Friday as the Division II College Football Player of the Year.

Friehauf received 194 total points in the voting and 45 first-place votes, with a 106-point margin over the second place finisher. He received votes on 83 percent of the national ballots that were cast.  The award winner is determined in voting by the Division II sports information directors and was presented in front of a crowd of almost 500 at the nineteenth annual Harlon Hill Trophy award banquet at the Florence Conference Center. The Harlon Hill Trophy is sponsored by Coca-Cola, the City of Florence, and Trustmark Construction.

Friehauf, a senior from Brush, Colorado, led the Colorado School of Mines to an 11-0 regular-season record and to the second round of the Division II playoffs, recording the first playoff win in school history.  He leads Division II in total offense, with 412.5 yards per game, and is second in passing efficiency with a 170.7 rating. He had a streak of 180 consecutive passes this season without an interception and completed 384 of 516 passes for 4,646 yards and 39 touchdowns in 2004.  During his career, Friehauf threw for 9,873 yards and 84 touchdowns.

His 412.5 yards per game of total offense is the best in Division II history and his 5,363 total yards also set a Division II record. His 4,646 passing yards broke the Division II single-season passing record He was first-team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and was the RMAC Offensive Player of the Year.

Fort Valley State senior halfback Derrick Wimbush was second with 88 points and 11 first-place votes, and SE Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Beard was third with 68 points and 13 first-place votes.  Following that trio in the voting were Winona State senior wide receiver Chris Samp at 62, East Stroudsburg sophomore quarterback Jimmy Terwilliger at 51, Arkansas-Monticello senior quarterback Cory Allred at 34, Michigan Tech sophomore tailback Lee Marana at 32, and Bentley senior quarterback Marc Eddy at 29.  A total of 40 players were initially nominated for the 2004 Harlon Hill Trophy in their respective NCAA regions, with the top two players from each of the Northeast, Southeast, Northwest and Southwest regions advancing to national voting.

Wimbush, a senior from Mauk, Ga., is third in the nation in rushing with a 167.3-yard average and is fifth in scoring with 12.2 points per game. He rushed for 1,840 yards on 247 carries and averaged 7.4 yards per carry. He led the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in rushing, scoring and all-purpose yards and was a five-time SIAC Offensive Player of the Week this season. He rushed for more than 100 yards in 13 consecutive games during his career at Fort Valley State and had four 200-yard rushing games this season. He has been selected to play in the 59th Hula Bowl All-Star Game in Maui, Hawaii in January.

Beard, a senior from Rush Springs, Okla., who was also a finalist in 2003, had 3,613 yards of total offense this season, passing for 2,945 and rushing for 668. He became the Lone Star Conference's all-time leader in career total offense with more than 9,400 yards and is ranked among the Division II national leaders in total offense (sixth) and passing efficiency (20th). He led SOSU to an 8-3 record and into the Division II playoffs.  

The Hill Trophy is named for a former UNA player - Harlon Hill - who was a standout with the Lions from
1950-53 before going on to fame in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears.  North Dakota State quarterback Jeff Bentrim won the initial Hill Trophy in 1986, before Texas A&M-Kingsville running back Johnny Bailey won three straight Hill trophies from 1987-89.  Another North Dakota State quarterback, Chris Simdorn, claimed the 1990 award, followed by Pittsburg State's Ronnie West in 1991 and Ronald Moore in 1992, New Haven running back Roger Graham in 1993, Valdosta State quarterback Chris Hatcher in 1994, North Alabama linebacker Ronald McKinnon in 1995 , Truman State running back Jarrett Anderson in 1996, Bloomsburg running back Irvin Sigler in 1997, Emporia State running back Brian Shay in 1998 , Northern Colorado quarterback Corte McGuffey in 1999, Valdosta State quarterback Dusty Bonner in 2000 and 2001, and Grand Valley State quarterback Curt Anes in 2002. University of North Alabama senior quarterback Will Hall claimed the trophy in 2003 and Friehauf in 2004.


2004 HILL VOTE TOTALS
TOTAL 1st 2nd 3rd
Points Player Place Place Place
194 Chad Friehauf SR QB Colorado - Mines 45 27 5
88 Derrick Wimbush SR HB Fort Valley State 11 17 21
68 Drew Beard SR QB SE Oklahoma State 13 10 9
62 Chris Samp SR WR Winona State 6 11 22
51 Jimmy Terwilliger SO QB East Stroudsburg 5 10 16
34 Cory Allred SR QB Arkansas - Monticello 4 8 6
32 Lee Marana SO TB Michigan Tech 4 6 8
29 Marc Eddy SR QB Bentley 5 4 6


HARLON HILL WINNERS
Year Player Pos. School Point Total
1986 Jeff Bentrim QB North Dakota State University 133
1987 Johnny Bailey RB Texas A&M University-Kingsville 106
1988 Johnny Bailey RB Texas A&M University-Kingsville 158
1989 Johnny Bailey RB Texas A&M University-Kingsville 184
1990 Chris Simdorn QB North Dakota State University 123
1991 Ronnie West WR Pittsburg State University 109
1992 Ronald Moore RB Pittsburg State University 148
1993 Roger Graham RB University of New Haven 160
1994 Chris Hatcher QB Valdosta State University 209
1995 Ronald McKinnon LB University of North Alabama 188
1996 Jarrett Anderson TB Truman State University 207
1997 Irvin Sigler TB Bloomsburg University 208
1998 Brian Shay RB Emporia State University 303
1999 Corte McGuffey QB Northern Colorado 205
2000 Dusty Bonner QB Valdosta State University 156
2001 Dusty Bonner QB Valdosta State University 209
2002 Curt Anes QB Grand Valley State University 271
2003 Will Hall QB University of North Alabama 150
2004 Chad Friehauf QB Colorado School of Mines 194

QUARTERBACKS, RUNNING BACKS AND RECEIVERS
Top three finishers by positions from 1986-2004
1st 2nd 3rd
Quarterbacks 28 9 10 9
Running Backs 23 8 7 8
Receivers 5 1 2 2
Linebackers 1 1 0 0