COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. --- Guilford College
junior Matt
Pawlowski has been selected as one of 10 semifinalists for
the 2014 Gagliardi Trophy, awarded to NCAA Division III's most
outstanding football player. The J-Club of Saint John's University
of Minnesota, which presents the annual prize along with Jostens,
announced the finalists Monday.
Pawlowski and the remaining
semifinalists were chosen by the J-Club's Board of Directors and
advance to a national ballot. A selection committee comprised of
media, coaches and former Division III football standouts will
select the winner, which will be announced Dec. 17 in Salem,
Virginia, prior to the 2014 Stagg Bowl, NCAA Division III's
Championship game. Division III football fans can also participate
in on-line voting atwww.d3football.com. On Dec. 9, the J-Club will identify four
finalists invited to the announcement ceremony.
Pawlowski recently completed
one of the finest football seasons in Guilford history. The 6-2,
190-pound junior quarterback led the nation after the regular
season with a school-record 38 touchdown passes. He completed a
school-record 67.8% of his throws, Division III's 11th-best figure.
Pawlowski connected on 250-of-369 passes for 3,476 yards with just
three interceptions. Through games of Nov. 15, Pawlowski ranked
second in Division III in passing yards, passing yards per game
(347.6), and points responsible for (236). He was third with 372.1
total offensive yards per game, also a school standard, and seventh
with 25 completions per game. Pawlowski's school-record pass
efficiency rating (179.24) ranked sixth nationally.
Pawlowski received the Old Dominion Athletic
Conference's (ODAC)
Offensive Player of the Week Award three times this season, which
gives him eight career weekly honors. He picked it up after
throwing for 418 yards and a career-high six scores in the Quakers'
52-28 win over Methodist University. His 394-yard, four-touchdown
passing effort the following week against Southern Virginia
University netted his second league prize. Pawlowski completed
38-of-48 passes for 389 yards and five scores in Guilford's season
finale, a 52-28 victory at Emory & Henry College. The win
clinched a share of first place in the ODAC standings and helped
Guilford match the school-record for wins (8) in a season.
Pawlowski passed for a career-high 460 yards, fourth-best in school
history, in an Oct. 11 loss at Shenandoah University. It was one of
his eight games with 300 or more passing yards and three or more
passing touchdowns. Twice Pawlowski earned honorable mention
Offensive Player of the Week recognition from USA College
Football.
Through three seasons,
Pawlowski stands second to former NCAA Division III passing yardage
leader Josh Vogelbach '09 in most of Guilford's career passing
categories. The three-year starter has completed 645-of-1,019
passes for 8,292 yards and 77 scores with 14 interceptions. Over
the past two years, Pawlowski has passed for 5,849 yards with 62
touchdowns and only six interceptions.
In addition to his athletic
prowess, Pawlowski is an honor roll student at Guilford and majors
in sport management. He has also participated in a number of
Guilford's community service initiatives, including the team's New
Student Move-In Day. Pawlowski has also mentored students at
Guilford Middle School for each of the past two seasons. He and
teammate Mitch
Ferrick own and operate the
Air Raid Training Academy, a program established to train youth and
high school quarterbacks.
Coach Chris Rusiewicz's
Quakers posted the school's sixth 8-2 record in school history and
its first share of the ODAC's top spot since 1997. Guilford set or
tied nine team and individual school records, including points in a
season (407).
Sponsored by Jostens and the
J-Club, the Gagliardi Trophy recognizes excellence in athletics,
academics and community service. Launched in 1993, the award is
named after John Gagliardi, Saint John's legendary Hall of
Fame head football coach who retired in November 2012 with 489
career victories, the most in college football history. The trophy
design features a sculpture of Gagliardi and a player representing
the teacher-coach and the student-athlete in a classic one-on-one
sideline consultation. Hand-cast in bronze on a polished wood base,
the trophy stands nearly two feet tall and weighs 64 pounds. The
words "Division III Player of the Year" and "Honoring Excellence in
Football, Academics and Community Service" are etched in glass on
two panels flanking the figures. Quarterback Kevin Burke from the
University of Mount Union was the 2013 Gagliardi Trophy
winner.
--- This release is courtesy of the
Guilford College sports information department. ---
www.guilfordquakers.com