For Release at Will November 14, 2000

Contact: Mark Duzenski, SID

(610) 328-8206

November 16, 2000

The Swarthmore College football team placed eight players on the 2000 All-Centennial Conference (CC) Football team, which was selected Monday in a vote of the league's eight head coaches. The Garnet Tide representatives were led by sophomore running back Ken Clark (Farmington, CT &endash; Taft School) and sophomore left tackle Mat Rapoza (Kill Devil Hills, NC &endash; Manteo), who were named to the first team. Senior SS Tony Hillery (College Park, MD &endash; DeMatha), senior K Rob Castellucci (Iselin, NJ &endash; JFK Memorial), junior LB Joe Corso (Paramus, NJ &endash; Paramus), junior WR Blake Atkins (Cockeysville, MD &endash; Gilman), and sophomore DE Nick Loiacono (Tappan, NY &endash; Tappan Zee) earned second team honors, while junior LG Justin Pagliei (Swarthmore, PA &endash; Ridley) received honorable mention recognition.

Clark became the school's first player to eclipse the 1,000-yard rushing plateau as he ran for a school-record 1,053 yards and led the Centennial with a 117.0 yards per game average. Clark scored a team-high 10 TDs rushing for nine and catching one, and led the squad with 1,368 all-purpose yards. Clark had nine receptions for 63 yards, returned 12 kicks for 233 yards and ran back four punts for 19 yards. Clark was a second-team all-CC selection in 1999.

Rapoza and Pagliei anchored the left side of the offensive line. The duo paved the way for an offense that averaged 131.5 rushing yards per game and 163.8 through the air.

Atkins caught a career-high 35 passes for 376 yards to lead the team. The junior placed fifth in the CC averaging 3.9 receptions per game. Atkins has caught a pass in 20 consecutive games.

Castellucci led the CC in field goal accuracy connecting on five of eight attempts and converted 14 out of 20 extra point attempts for 29 points. Castellucci also played DB recording 26 tackles and a team-best four interceptions.

The trio of Corso, Hillery and Loiacono led the CC's top-rated pass defense. The squad held opponents to a conference-best 128.8 passing yards per game and forced 29 turnovers. Corso led the team with 76 tackles (46 solo), recorded eight tackles for loss, forced two fumbles, and posted an interception and a quarterback sack. Hillery was third on the team in tackles, posting 58 hits he also recovered three fumbles and intercepted three passes. Hillery finished third in the CC in punt returns averaging 10.5 yards per attempt. Loiacono posted 32 tackles including five for loss and three quarterback sacks. The sophomore led the team wit h 11 quarterback pressures, he also recovered a fumble.

Swarthmore finished the season with a mark of 4-5, its best finish since a 5-5 record in the1995 season.