Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Czap earns slot on Mitchell Award Watch List for second straight year

Senior Zack Czap kicks against Widener
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Senior Zack Czap (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) is one of 34 placekickers included on the 2013 Fred Mitchell Award Watch List for the nation’s best collegiate placekicker, the award committee announced on Tuesday, July 31.

Czap is one of 11 NCAA Division III kickers on the list and one of three kickers who play in Pennsylvania, along with Dan Fisher (Bloomsburg) and Taylor Groff (East Stroudsburg). He is the lone representative from the Middle Atlantic Conference.

Czap has developed into one of the finest special teams players in the Middle Atlantic region, as he has earned four all-conference honors (three as a punter, one as a kicker) and All-American honors as a kicker during his first three years with the Warriors.



As a kicker, Czap began his career by hitting 12-of-14 field goals during his sophomore year, helping him earn an Honorable Mention All-American nod from Beyond Sports Network. A Preseason All-American as a junior from the same organization, Czap hit 7-of-12 field goals in 2012 and added 31 extra points in 36 attempts. He hit a season-long 39-yard field goal and was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Week once during the season, giving him seven weekly plaudits during his career.

Off the field, Czap’s community service includes helping with flood cleanup along Loyalsock Creek and working with Favors Forward’s Spring Cleanup with the football team, helping a local church with basketball open gyms and participating in the Student Senate of Lycoming College’s haunted house.

In the classroom, Czap has earned two mentions on the MAC Academic Honor Roll as a football player and one as a member of the golf team.

The Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award is awarded to the nation’s top collegiate place-kicker among more than 600 FCS, Division II, III and NAIA football teams. The award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be chosen based on excellence on the football field and in the community.

The Award releases a Watch List, top performers are recognized monthly during the college football season, and the winner (who is not required to be on the Watch List) is announced in mid-December. The school of the award-winner receives scholarship funds. The Fred Mitchell Award trophy will be presented in February at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall.

Coming off a second straight 8-2 season, the Warriors are receiving votes in the D3football.com national poll and feature three members of the team who have been declared Preseason All-Americans. The team also returns seven players who earned all-conference honors in 2012.

The Warriors begin their 2013 campaign at Brockport on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 1 p.m.