CONTACT: Jeff Foley (518) 629-8085 or (518) 373-1262
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Friday, October 13, 2000
http://www.hvcc.edu
The Hudson Valley Community College football team will play at Alfred State at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 14. This Northeast Football Conference (NFC) matchup will be played at Wellsville High School. Hudson Valley is 4-2 (2-2 NFC). Alfred is 4-1 (2-0 NFC).
Hudson Valley is ranked first in passing offense (174.3 yards per game) and passing defense (87.0 yards allowed per game) in the Northeast Football Conference. The Vikings are second in total team offense (337.5 yards). Hudson Valley is third in total team defense (197.3 yards), rushing offense (163.2 yards) and rushing defense (110.3 yards).
Individually, tailback Gary Jones (Ravena) is ranked second in the NFC with 10 touchdowns and third with 560 yards rushing. He needs to five more rushing touchdowns to break Hudson Valley's single-season record (14, Dennis Greene, 1971). Defensive back Derrick Black (Tarboro, NC) is first with five interceptions and needs four interceptions to break Hudson Valley's single-season record (eight, Robert Harris, 1981). Dan Canfield (Troy) is second with four interceptions. Quarterback Justin Kastner's (Hudson) 806 yards rank first in the NFC, as do wide receiver Shawn Miller's (Troy) 21 catches. Kicker James Muscatello (Cohoes) is second with 21 points on two field goals and 15 extra points. He ‘s also ranked third with an average of 34.2 yards per punt. Linebacker Keith Hill (Pittsburgh, PA) has 52 tackles, tops in Region III. Wide receiver Derrick Dyer (John Marshall) is fifth with 15 receptions.
Hudson Valley defeated Alfred State last year, 39-0, behind Dan Vergine's (Ballston Spa) 186 yards rushing. Alfred State finished the season with a 3-6 record; Hudson Valley was 4-4.
Hudson Valley's football program was established in 1969. At the time, Hudson Valley was one of only two junior colleges in New York to field a varsity football team. Since then, nearly 300 Hudson Valley football players have earned scholarships to four-year schools and 15 have gone on to play professionally. The Vikings competed in the Coca Cola Bowl in Iowa in 1980. In 1996, Hudson Valley posted an 8-0 record, part of dominant stretch that included 15 straight victories.