Kicker Zack Czap, "
He knocked down three field goals, including a game-winning 33-yarder against Widener"
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Senior Ryan Boccagno (Maytown, Pa./Donegal) and juniorsCraig Needhammer (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) and Ryan Sullivan (Coatesville, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) took home the Lycoming College football team’s highest honors during the 38th annual football awards banquet held at the Genetti Hotel on Saturday, Jan. 15.
The team’s highest honor, the Leland “Lee” Calistri ’59 Award, was given to linebacker Boccagno. This award is presented annually to a senior, who, during his four-year career at Lycoming, placed the team’s success above his own.
The David G. Busey Award for academic and athletic achievement was presented to running back Needhammer and linebacker Sullivan, as both also picked up other honors during the evening.
Needhammer, who was also named the Offensive Player of the Year, was a Third Team D3football.com All-East Region and Capital One Academic All-District selection. The First Team All-MAC running back finished third in the MAC, averaging 118.4 yards per game, and he tied the school record with 14 touchdowns scored. He also averaged 153.9 all-purpose yards per game and ran for 100 yards seven times, one less than the school record of eight, set by Brian Thompson over a 13-game campaign en route to the national championship game in 1997. The physics major has earned two MAC Academic Honor Roll selections and made an appearance on the Academic All-MAC team in 2013.
Sullivan developed into one of the best linebackers in the MAC in 2013, helping him earn both the Busey Award and Co-Most Improved Defensive Player honors. The Honorable Mention All-MAC selection finished the year with 59 tackles, five for a loss and both forced and recovered a fumble. He also broke up one pass and notched five or more tackles in seven games. The marketing major recorded 12 tackles in a win over nationally-ranked Delaware Valley. A two-time member of the MAC Academic Honor Roll, Sullivan also earned a spot on the Academic All-MAC team.
Junior Tyler Jenny (Coalport, Pa./Glendale), the team’s Offensive Most Valuable Player, became the first Warrior quarterback to earn a spot on the first or second all-conference team since Colin Dwyer in 2008 when he picked up second-team honors. He led the league with a 150.0 passing efficiency, as he completed 161-of-246 passing for 2,038 yards and 16 touchdowns. He completed 65.4 percent of his passes, the second-best mark in the league while being intercepted just eight times. The 14th Warrior in school history to pass for 2,000 yards in a season, he tossed for more than 200 yards five times this year. He also ran for three scores. Jenny was an honorable mention all-conference selection as a sophomore.
Junior Tanner Troutman (Hegins, Pa./Tri-Valley), the Defensive Most Valuable Player, finished the season tied for the national lead with eight interceptions, helping him earn First Team D3football.com All-American honors. The First Team All-Middle Atlantic Conference pick and Third Team Beyond Sports Network All-American also finished with 58 tackles, including 0.5 for a loss. The ninth defensive back in program history to earn All-American honors, Troutman earned two D3Football.com Team of the Week and Beyond Sport Network Team of the Week accolades, posting two interceptions in a win over nationally-ranked Delaware Valley and a school-record three against Stevenson. He also broke up six passes on the season, helping him tie for the league lead with 14 passes defended (interceptions plus breakups) en route to earning D3football.com's East Region Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Senior Tyler Denike (South Boardman, Mich./Forest Area) picked up the team’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year award. He was all over the field this season for the Warriors, as he became the 11th First Team All-MAC linebacker during linebackers coach Mike Weber's 25 years with the program. The former Division I basketball player led the team with 70 tackles, including 5.5 for loss, two interceptions and two pass breakups. He is also a repeater on the squad, earning second-team all-conference honors as a junior.
Senior Dwight Hentz (Halifax, Pa./Halifax Area) teamed with Denike to earn the Defensive Player of the Year award, and he also picked up the Defensive Lineman of the Year award. Hentz enjoyed an All-American campaign, finishing with 55 tackles, 12.5 for loss and 6.5 sacks. He also forced and recovered a fumble to earn Third Team All-American honors from D3football.com honors. The First Team All-MAC and First Team D3football.com All-East Region selection earned D3football.com Team of the Week honors twice, posting 3.5 sacks against Widener and 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss against FDU-Florham. He was second-team all-conference and second-team all-region as a junior. Hentz is the first two-time D3football.com All-East Region defensive tackle in program history.
Senior C.J. Arhontakis (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove), a Co-Special Teams Player of the Year selection, was a key contributor for the top-ranked defense in the MAC, as the biology: anatomy and physiology major made 33 tackles as a safety. The Academic All-MAC selection’s biggest impact came on special teams, where he blocked three kicks during the season, two of which were returned for defensive extra points and the other an overtime field goal attempt by Albright in a 20-17 Lycoming win. Also a swimmer, Arhontakis earned three MAC Academic Honor Roll selections as a football player and two as a swimmer.
Senior Zack Czap (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) also earned Co-Special Teams Player of the Year honors. A two-time first-team all-conference punter and one-time first-team all-conference kicker, Czap hit 6-of-10 field goals and 30-of-34 extra points. He knocked down three field goals, including a game-winning 33-yarder against Widener, and also knocked down a game-tying 35-yarder against Albright with 18 seconds left, then sealed the win with an overtime field goal. He earned two Beyond Sports Network Athlete of the Week nods and one D3football.com Team of the Week selection. As a punter, he earned the fourth all-conference nod of his career, landing 12 of 45 punts inside the 20 and helping the Warriors net a conference-best 35.5 yards per kick. He finished third in the league with a 38.1 yards per punt average and earned two MAC Special Teams Player of the Week awards, giving him a school-record eight in his career.
Senior Zack Czap (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) also earned Co-Special Teams Player of the Year honors. A two-time first-team all-conference punter and one-time first-team all-conference kicker, Czap hit 6-of-10 field goals and 30-of-34 extra points. He knocked down three field goals, including a game-winning 33-yarder against Widener, and also knocked down a game-tying 35-yarder against Albright with 18 seconds left, then sealed the win with an overtime field goal. He earned two Beyond Sports Network Athlete of the Week nods and one D3football.com Team of the Week selection. As a punter, he earned the fourth all-conference nod of his career, landing 12 of 45 punts inside the 20 and helping the Warriors net a conference-best 35.5 yards per kick. He finished third in the league with a 38.1 yards per punt average and earned two MAC Special Teams Player of the Week awards, giving him a school-record eight in his career.
Sophomore Ryan Umpleby (Forest Hill, Md./Fallston), despite playing just eight games due to injury, enjoyed a breakthrough sophomore year, helping him earn the team’s Most Improved Offensive Player award. The wide receiver caught 31 passes for 482 yards, but he was dangerous as a kick and punt returner as well. The Academic All-MAC selection finished sixth in the MAC with 1,052 all-purpose yards. He was also the only player in the conference ranked in the top five in both punt return (8.6) and kick return (21.8) yardage, plus he posted two 100-yard receiving games.
Freshman Austin Mital (Ginter, Pa./Moshannon Valley) also earned the team’s Most Improved Offensive Player award. The versatile lineman appeared in the lineup in the third week of the season and never left. By the seventh week, he was the team’s starting left guard, a position he held for the rest of the season, helping the team post a 3-1 record and clinch a share of the school’s 15th MAC title.
Junior Zach McMenamin (Prospect Park, Pa./Interboro) had a breakthrough season on the defensive line to earn the team’s Most Improved Defensive Player Award. The 5-9, 244-pound defensive tackle posted 29 tackles, making at least five stops in three games. He also added 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks during the season.
Junior Garrett Hartman (Jacobus, Pa./Dallastown Area) was named the team’s Offensive Lineman of Year after he picked up Second Team All-MAC honors for the second straight year. The left tackle once again started all 10 games for the team. He helped the offense average more than 350 yards per game and helped lead the team to wins over two nationally-ranked opponents.
The Warriors finished 7-3 overall and 7-2 in the MAC under sixth-year head coach Mike Clark. The team claimed a share of the 15th MAC title in school history, tying for first with Lebanon Valley. The team was once again led by its defense, which finished tops in the MAC, allowing a league-best 304.0 yards, 91.4 rushing yards and 18.3 points per game.
2013 Lycoming College Football Awards
Leland “Lee” Calistri Award – Ryan Boccagno
David G. Busey Award – Craig Needhammer, Kyle Sullivan
Offensive Most Valuable Player – Tyler Jenny
Defensive Most Valuable Player – Tanner Troutman
Offensive Player of the Year – Craig Needhammer
Defensive Player of the Year – Tyler Denike, Dwight Hentz
Special Teams Player of the Year – C.J. Arhontakis, Zack Czap
Most Improved Offensive Player – Ryan Umpleby, Austin Mital
Most Improved Defensive Player – Kyle Sullivan, Zach McMenamin
Offensive Lineman of the Year – Garrett Hartman
Defensive Lineman of the Year – Dwight Hentz 