http://www.allegheny.edu
Pair of Gators Earn Preseason All-American Status
July 24, 2006
Don Hansen Football Gazette Pre-season All-America Team (PDF)
MEADVILLE, Pa. – Two Allegheny College football players, senior running back Mario Tarquinio (Charleroi, Pa./Charleroi) and junior punter Jason Black (Warren, Ohio/Champion) have been named to the Don Hansen Football Gazette NCAA Division III Pre-season All-America Team.
Tarquinio, who rushed for 1,145 yards as a sophomore before grounding out 843 yards despite missing two games with injury, was named to the Honorable Mention squad. He ended the 2005 season with nine rushing touchdowns, while hauling in two more touchdowns through the air. The senior has 1,985 rushing yards over his three years with the Gators, and needs 722 to move into fifth place on Allegheny’s career list. He also needs just 164 carries to move into third all time and is six touchdowns away from passing current head coach Mark Matlak for eighth place in the record books. Tarquinio has been named to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference Second Team each of the last two years.
Black, who narrowly missed the single season school punting record after averaging 40.2 yards per punt last year, was also named to the Honorable Mention team. Last season he finished just one tenth of a yard off of the school record of 40.3, needing just six more total punt yards to tie the record. He comes into his junior campaign with the third highest career punting average (37.7) in school history. Last season he was named second team All-NCAC.
The Gators open their 2006 season with back-to-back road trips to Westminster and Washington & Jefferson on September 2 and 9, respectively. September 16 provides the unveiling of the renovated Frank B. Fuhrer Field, a renovation that includes a new FieldTurf playing surface, an eight-lane Olympic-style track, lights and a state-of-the-art scoreboard with a message center.