Gridiron Vikings Earn All-American Status

CONTACT: Steve Mullen (518) 629-8063
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Wednesday. December 3, 2003

The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has recognized three members of the Hudson Valley Community College football team for their play during the 2003 season.

Sophomore running back Emmanuel Marc (Spring Valley/Spring Valley High School) is only the fifth player and first running back in the 35-year history of the Hudson Valley football program to earn First-Team All-American status. Garnering Second-Team All-American honors for the Vikings are sophomore tackle Morgan Vittengl (Saratoga Springs/Saratoga Springs High School) and sophomore nose tackle Ernest Jones (Bronx/Lehman High School).

Hudson Valley is one of only six schools to have at least three players earn First or Second Team NJCAA All-American honors. The list is led by Coffeyville (KS) Community College, which had five players recognized by the NJCAA.

"This is the first time that we've had three All-Americans in my six years at Hudson Valley," Head Coach Bob Jojo said. "Three All-Americans, a bowl appearance, and a top-15 ranking in the final poll are good indications that we have elevated ourselves on to the national stage."

Marc, who recently was named the Northeast Football Conference's Offensive Player of the Year, rewrote the Hudson Valley record book over the last two seasons. He led the NJCAA with 2,038 rushing yards in 10 games this season. For his career, Marc rushed for 3,273 yards and 30 touchdowns. His rushing yardage total eclipsed the previous record, 1,724 yards set by Dennis Greene in 1972, by 1,549 yards.

Marc joins former Hudson Valley standouts Shawn Miller (2001), Derrick Black (2000), John Cosentino (1981) and Kelly Raber (1980) as the only Vikings to be named to the First Team.

A two-year starter on the offensive line for the Vikings, Vittengl paved the way for a Hudson Valley offense that gained 400.9 yards per game in 2003, including 260.7 yards per game on the ground.

At 6-3, 307 pounds, Jones was a force in the middle of the Hudson Valley defense that only allowed 85.6 rushing yards per game. He finished the year with 45 tackles and two forced fumbles.

Hudson Valley finished the year ranked 15th in the final NJCAA poll with an 8-2 record. In only their second bowl game in school history, the Vikings fell to Ellsworth Community College, 29-23 in triple overtime, at The Graphic Edge Bowl in Cedar Falls, Iowa.