Press release by www.d9sports.com
2012 REHAB CENTRE D9SPORTS.COM POSTSEASON FOOTBALL AWARDS ANNOUNCED
SHIPPENVILLE, Pa. – It’s a Gator time of year.
The 2012 The Rehab Centre D9Sports.com District 9 postseason football awards have a distinct Port Allegany flavor with Gator senior quarterback Matt Bodamer taking home two major awards (MVP and Offensive Player of the Year) and the Performance of the Year award while his dad, Gator coach Mike Bodamer, is the Coach of the Year, long-time Port Allegany coach Bob Haskins is the Special Contributor and the Port Allegany-Sharpsville PIAA playoff game is the Game of the Year.
Clarion linebacker T.J. Armstrong hauled in his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year honor, while DuBois’ quarterback Gabe French is the Rookie of the Year.
The Offensive Lineman of the Year award is heading back to Clearfield County with Clearfield’s Hunter Keith becoming the third Bison to earn the award and the seventh player from the county to garner the award, while Brockway’s Phil Esposito is the Special Teams Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
The Rehab Centre offers four state-of-the-art rehabilitation centers (Clarion, Kittanning, Apollo, Lower Burrell) that offer chiropractic, massage therapy, physiotherapy and rehabilitation. One of the four doctors at the Rehab Centre is former District 9 football and wrestling star Isaac Greeley (Port Allegany). The Clarion office is located just off South Fifth Avenue before the Clarion Mall on Dolby Street across from Aldi Foods and next to the Comfort Inn. The Kittanning office is located on Arthur Street in Kittanning. Information on The Rehab Centre can be found at their web site www.therehabcentres.com or by calling the Clarion office at 814-226-8002 or the Kittanning office at 724-545-3215.
Located at www.d9sports.com, D9Sports.com is in its 13th year of covering athletics within the PIAA’s District 9. The site, which is not affiliated with the PIAA in any way, covers all 26 football playing teams playing in District 9. For more information on the site, please visit it or e-mail the staff at sports@d9sports.com. The site can also be followed on Twitter @D9Sports.
THE REHAB CENTRE D9SPORTS.COM MOST VALUABLE PLAYER and
THE REHAB CENTRE D9SPORTS.COM OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Matt Bodamer – Sr. QB/DB/P, Port Allegany
- · First player in the four-year history of the MVP award to win both the MVP award and the Offensive Player of the Year award.
- · Set the Pennsylvania single-season record for passing yards with 3,951 yards while tying the Pennsylvania single-season record for touchdown passes with 52.
- · Set the Pennsylvania career passing yards record with 10,948 yards, the first player in state history to surpass 10,000 career yards while also setting the Pennsylvania record for most career passing touchdowns with 137.
- · Completed 70.3 percent of his passes in 2012 (227 for 323) and threw just 8 interceptions.
- · Ran 124 times for 832 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing 461 times for 2,315 yards and 40 touchdowns in his career.
- · Had 26 tackles, 4 interceptions, 6 pass breakups and a fumble caused on defense while scoring four defensive touchdowns.
- · Avg. 38.3 yards per punt on 6 punts with one inside the 20-yard line
- · Led Port Allegany to second straight District 9 Class A title, a school-record 13 wins (13-1), the school’s first PIAA playoff win and the PIAA Class A semifinals (the first District 9 team to reach the semifinals in any classification since 2007.
- · In four years, helped Port Allegany to a 38-12 record, including 25-3 over the past two seasons, with two District 9 Class A titles and three District 9 Class A title-game appearances.
- · Was named the 2012 Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year (an award that combines academic and athletic excellence).
- · Was the 2011 Rehab Centre D9Sports.com District 9 Offensive Player of the Year.
TOP THREE IN VOTING – MVP
1. Bodamer – Port Allegany
2. Christian Lezzer – Clearfield
3. Nick Conway – Port Allegany
TOP THREE IN VOTING – Offensive Player of the Year
1. Bodamer – Port Allegany
2. Garrett Brown – DuBois
3. Nick Conway – Port Allegany
THE REHAB CENTRE D9SPORTS.COM DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
T.J. Armstrong – Sr., LB, Clarion
- · Second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award joining Ross Nicholson of Kane as the only two-time winners of the award while becoming the first player to earn the award by himself in back-to-back years.
- · 102 tackles in 12 games (8.5 per game), 22 ½ tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles.
- · Helped Clarion allow a District 9-low 12.5 points per game
- · Helped Bobcats win a school-record 12 games (12-1) with the school’s first perfect regular season (10-0) since 2000.
- · Going to Old Dominion on a football scholarship
TOP THREE IN VOTING
1. Armstrong – Clarion
2. Brody Shick – Union
3. Alex Gular – Port Allegany
THE REHAB CENTRE D9SPORTS.COM ROOKIE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Gabe French – So. QB, DuBois
- · Ranked 5th in District 9 with 1,546 passing yards while completing 65.7 percent of his passes (115 of 175) with 17 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
- · Led Beavers to 8-2 record
TOP THREE IN VOTING
1. French – DuBois
2. Ian Corbett – Clarion
3. Anthony Benson – Brockway
THE REHAB CENTRE D9SPORTS.COM COACH OF THE YEAR
Mike Bodamer – Port Allegany
- · Led Gators to school-record 13 wins and second-ever (and second straight) District 9 title (Class A)
- · Led Port Allegany to first PIAA playoff win in school history and the PIAA Class A semifinals (the first District 9 team to reach the PIAA semifinals regardless of classification since 2007.
TOP THREE IN VOTING
1. Bodamer – Port Allegany
2. Ed Conto – Karns City
3. Dave Louder – Union
THE REHAB CENTRE D9SPORTS.COM
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE YEAR
Hunter Keith – Jr, G, Clearfield (6-foot-2, 290 pounds)
- · Anchored Clearfield line that helped team average 37.1 points per game and 383.9 yards per game (260.6 rushing, 123.3 passing)
- · Helped Bison have 2 1,000-yard rushers, a 1,000-yard passer and a 1,000-yard receiver
TOP THREE IN VOTING
1. Keith – Clearfield
2. Nick Budd – Port Allegany
3. Benton Reichert – Clarion
THE REHAB CENTRE D9SPORTS.COM
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Phil Esposito – Sr., K/P, Brockway
- · Joins Bradford’s Kyle McFarlane as the only two-time winner of the award and is the first player to win the award by himself two straight years
- · 4 of 9 in field goals with one miss coming from 50-plus
- · 55 of 57 in extra points (went 96 of 99 over the last two years in PATs)
- · Avg. 37.3 yards per punt on 25 punts with 17 punts over 35 yards and 9 of 40 yards or longer
- · Ran for a 2-point conversion
- · Also a member of Brockway’s soccer team
TOP THREE IN VOTING
1. Esposito – Brockway
2. Sean Rolick – Kane
3. Kaden McGregor – Union
THE REHAB CENTRE D9SPORTS.COM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Matt Bodamer – Port Allegany vs. Brockway Oct. 27, 2012 (AML Title Game)
- · 18-for-22 passing, 5 touchdowns
- · 6 carries, 61 yards, 2 touchdowns
- · Second straight year he has won the Performance of the Year
TOP THREE IN VOTING
1. Bodamer – Port Allegany vs. Brockway
2. Garrett Brown – DuBois vs. Meadville
3. Bodamer – Port Allegany vs. Coudersport
THE REHAB CENTRE D9SPORTS.COM SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR AWARD
Bob Haskins – Port Allegany Volunteer
The Special Contributor Award is an award that is being given for the eighth time in 12 years. It goes to an individual (not a player) who has dedicated himself or herself to high school football over a long period of time.
This year’s Special Contributor Award goes to Bob Haskins of Port Allegany.
Bob was the long-time head coach for the Gators (22 seasons from 1983-2004 winning 105 games (105-93-1)). After stepping down as the head coach following the 2004 season he remained a part of the Gator coaching staff through the 2011 campaign helping Port Allegany to its first District 9 title in 2011. Despite “retiring” from coaching following the 2011 campaign, Haskins continued to help the Port Allegany program in numerous ways in 2012 scouting for the Gators and opening the weight room every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 a.m. so the players could lift.
THE REHAB CENTRE D9SPORTS.COM GAME OF THE YEAR
Port Allegany 28, Sharpsville 21 – Nov. 30, 2012 – PIAA Class A Quarterfinals at
In the PIAA Class A Quarterfinals at Bradford’s Parkway Field, Port Allegany trailed 7-6 at halftime, the first time they trailed at the half all season before scoring two third-quarter touchdown to take a 20-7 lead.
But District 10 champion Sharpsville rallied with a pair of scores to go ahead 21-20 on a touchdown with 5:46 to play.
Hope looked lost for the Gators when they missed a field goal with just over two minutes left, and things looked hopeless when Sharpsville picked up an apparent first down with just over a minute to play and the Gators out of timeouts.
But Tyler Shaffer stripped the Sharpsville ball carrier of the football with Port’s Nick Conway recovering at the Sharpsville 40 with 1:11 left.
The Gators, without timeouts, drove the 40 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown on an 11-yard Matt Bodamer to Tyce Miller touchdown pass with 17 seconds left. Sharpsville had one more chance reaching midfield before time expired. It was the first-ever PIAA playoff win for Port Allegany and avenged a loss to Sharpsville in the 2011 quarterfinals.
TOP THREE IN VOTING
1. Port Allegany vs. Sharpsville
2. Karns City vs. Kane
3. Brookville vs. Kane