Contact: Steve Mullen (518) 629-8063
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Thursday, November 13, 2003
Emmanuel Marc named Offensive Player of the Year, Bob Jojo earns Coach of the Year Honors
After finishing the regular season 8-1 and earning a trip to its first bowl game in 23 years, the Hudson Valley Community College football team is well represented on the Northeast Football Conference's All-Conference Team that was selected by the league's coaches.
Earning top honors were sophomore running back Emmanuel Marc (Spring Valley/Spring Valley High School) and head coach Bob Jojo. Marc was named the league's Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,769 yards and 17 touchdowns. He currently leads the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) with 196.6 rushing yards per game. In his sixth season, Jojo guided the Vikings to their best record since 1996. He has an overall coaching record of 34-17.
Nine Hudson Valley players earned defensive All-Conference accolades. Garnering First Team honors on defense were sophomore nose guard Ernest Jones (Bronx/Lehman High School), freshman defensive end Jonal Saint-Dic (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth High School), sophomore linebacker John Howell IV (Columbia, SC/Lower Richland High School) and freshman safety Damion Malott (Akron, OH/Akron North High School).
Jones is a plug in the middle of the defense, which has only allowed 83.8 rushing yards per game. He has 35 tackles on the season. Saint-Dic leads the conference with 12 sacks and four forced fumbles. Howell leads Hudson Valley with 57 tackles. He also has two sacks. Malott, who also earned First Team honors as a return specialist, has four interceptions on the season. He is averaging 15.2 yards per punt return.
Earning Second Team All-Conference honors on defense for the second straight year are sophomore defensive ends Frantzy Dorlean (Spring Valley/Ramapo High School) and Jermaine Price (Trenton, NJ/Pemberton High School). They are joined on the Second Team by sophomore linebacker Dan Pizzarelli (Poughkeepsie/Roosevelt High School), sophomore cornerback Jermaine Toney (Bishopville, SC/Lee Central School) and freshman cornerback Dominic Howard (Baltimore, MD/Randallstown High School).
The Hudson Valley offense is averaging 395.4 yards per game, including 254.8 yards per game on the ground. As with any football team, the offense couldn't move without the linemen up front. Sophomore tackle Morgan Vittengl (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs High School) and sophomore guard Derrick Maul (Brooklyn/Samuel J. Tilden High School) each earned First Team All-Conference honors on offense while freshman tackle Darnell Stapleton (Union, NJ/Union High School) garnered Second Team accolades.
Also on the First Team offense for the Vikings are sophomore quarterback Ryan Gribulis (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley High School), sophomore tight end J.J. Nesheiwat (Poughkeepsie/Arlington High School), sophomore wide receiver Brandon Guy (Lynn, MA/Lynn English High School), along with Marc.
Gribulis has completed 85 of 159 passes for 1,161 yards and nine touchdowns. Nesheiwat has caught a team-high 22 passes for 307 yards and five touchdowns. Guy has 14 receptions for 235 yards.
Hudson Valley will meet Ellsworth Community College at noon on Sunday, November 16 in The Graphic Edge Bowl at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
