Sutton a Finalist for Div. III Player-of-the-Year Award

Tony Sutton (Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban), junior running back at The College of Wooster, is one of five finalists for the 2003 Melberger Award, presented to the top football player in NCAA Division III, announced the organizers of the annual award, the Downtown Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) Touchdown Club.

The other finalists are senior wide receiver Blake Elliott of St. John’s (Minn.) University, Tyler Matthews, a senior quarterback at Linfield College, Anderson University senior quarterback Joel Steele, and junior running back Brett Trichilo of Wilkes University.

They were determined by the Touchdown Club, an organization founded to promote and recognize the student-athletes of Div. III football. Representatives of the board of directors made their choices from lists of players identified as "Most Valuable Player" from the 28 Div. III football conferences.

Sutton, who has been named this season’s Football Gazette North Region Offensive Player of the Year and North Coast Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, continues to lead the NCAA (all divisions) in rushing (217.2 ypg), scoring (20.7 ppg), and all-purpose yardage (244.8 ypg). Overall, he finished with 1,955 rushing yards, 30 rushing touchdowns, 2,203 all-purpose yards, 31 total touchdowns, and 186 points, which were all conference records, while his 3.44 total touchdowns per game set a Div. III national record and his rushing average was the fourth-best ever by a Div. III back.

The 5-11, 190-pound elusive tailback had three games in 2003, in which he ran for more than 250 yards, including a 338-yard, six-touchdown effort at Case Western Reserve University on Sept. 27, which broke conference records for a single-game in each category. Sutton, who also scored five or more touchdowns four times, accounted for nearly 50 percent of the Scots’ total offense (.464) and scoring (.459) this fall and about 40 percent of the team’s all-purpose yardage (.382), despite missing 1.5 games due to injury.

Elliott has helped lead undefeated St. John’s (12-0) to the Div. III national semifinals, accumulating 106 receptions for 1,215 yards (101.2 per game) and 13 touchdowns. The versatile wideout has also rushed the ball 44 times for 442 yards and four scores, and serves as the Johnnies’ return specialist.

Matthews completed nearly 60 percent of his passes (207-of-355) for 3,084 yards in 11 games — an average of 280.4 yards — and had 36 touchdowns, compared to 12 interceptions. He directed Linfield to the Div. III national quarterfinals, where they lost to St. John’s 31-25 to wrap up an 11-1 season.

Steele averaged more than 350 passing yards (366.3 ypg) this year en route to picking up his third "Offensive Most Valuable Player" award from the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Steele, who set a Div. III career record with 34 games of more than 200 yards passing, connected on 63.6 percent of his attempts (302-of-475), 31 of which resulted in touchdowns, in 2003.

Trichilo was the South Region Offensive Player of the Year (Football Gazette) after setting Wilkes and Middle Atlantic Conference single-season records for rushing yards (2,175) and rushing touchdowns (27). His rushing total, accomplished over 11 games, ranked as the sixth-most in Div. III history, and he ranks second in the division in rushing (197.7 ypg), scoring (14.7 ppg), and all-purpose yardage (211.3 ypg).

The finalist receiving the most votes from the Touchdown Club’s board of directors will be presented with the Melberger Award at a ceremony, scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 18.