CONTACT: Jeff Foley (518) 629-8085 or (518) 373-1262
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Thursday, October 4, 2001
http://www.hvcc.edu
Hudson Valley's Undefeated Football Team Will Play Upstart Kats
Hudson Valley Community College's undefeated football team will travel to Buffalo on Saturday, October 6 for a 1 p.m. matchup with Erie Community College. This is Erie's first year with a football program, and the 3-1 Kats are a probationary member of the Northeast Football Conference (NFC), which Hudson Valley currently stands atop of. As a probationary member, Erie is competing against NFC teams, but the school's results do not count in the league standings.
While Hudson Valley's record is unblemished (the Vikings are 4-0 overall and 3-0 in NFC play), Erie's only loss was a 23-16 setback against undefeated Lackawanna College (4-0) on September 29. The Kats have defeated their other three opponents by a combined 148-47 score.
Hudson Valley used a strong effort by its defensive line to post a 23-7 victory against Williams College's JV squad on September 30. The Vikings picked up seven quarterback sacks, stopped Williams behind the line of scrimmage 11 times for a total loss of 62 yards, and held the Ephs to 34 rushing yards on 34 carries. Linebacker Shadee Davis (New Brunswick H.S.) picked up three quarterback sacks and Derrick Dyer (John Marshall H.S.) had five receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Hudson Valley, allowing just 135.0 yards of total offense per game, has the top-ranked defense in the NFC. Erie, meanwhile, is averaging 367.5 yards of offense per contest, including an average of 262.5 yards on the ground per game. The Vikings also are producing offensively; Hudson Valley is averaging 133.5 rushing yards and 190.8 passing yards per game.
Individually, Hudson Valley's Shawn Miller (Troy H.S.) leads the pack. The sophomore All-American is the top-ranked wide receiver in the NFC with 20 catches for 280 yards and four touchdowns. Dyer checks in at No. 3 with 13 catches for 273 yards and five touchdowns. He also has returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score. The duo will have to overcome a pair of tough defenders, though - Erie's Anthony Brown and Bobby Fulmone each have three interceptions this season.
Head coach Dennis Greene, a member of Hudson Valley's Athletic Hall of Fame, leads Erie. In 1972, Greene became the first Viking to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. Greene, who went on to play for Indiana University before graduating to the WFL and CFL, currently holds Hudson Valley's record for rushing touchdown in a career (24).
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 a dominant stretch that included 15 straight victories.