D3Football.com Names Sirianni Coach of the Year; Three Players Earn All-Region Honor
WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Washington & Jefferson College Head Football Coach Mike Sirianni was selected as the 2012 D3Football.com South Region Coach of the Year, while senior running back Tim McNerney (Butler, Pa./Knoch) and juniors Alex Baroffio (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and Eric Eberle (Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata) all garnered Third Team All-South Region laurels.
Sirianni, the 2004 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year, ranks fifth among active head coaches from all NCAA divisions with a .816 winning percentage (93-21). He was named Presidents’ Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for the fourth time last month after leading the Presidents to their fourth PAC Championship and seventh NCAA playoff appearance during his 10-year tenure.
McNerney was a posthumous honoree following his tragic death on October 4. He carried the ball 89 times for 461 yards and eight touchdowns in four games and was a consensus First Team All-PAC selection. During his career, McNerney ranks among the all-time leaders at W&J with 2,336 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns, while he added 35 receptions for 216 yards.
Baroffio is a D3football.com All-Region selection for the second-straight year after earning second team honors in 2011. He finished the season as the PAC leader and 14th in NCAA Division III in receptions per game (8.7). Baroffio, who played quarterback for one game and missed another due to an injury, reeled in 78 passes, the fifth-highest, single-season total in school history, for 679 yards and five touchdowns. He will enter his senior year ranked fifth all-time at W&J with 178 career receptions.
Eberle, a First Team All-PAC performer, drilled 11-of-14 field-goal attempts, including a 3-of-3 mark from beyond 40 yards, and 31-of-32 extra points. He became the first W&J kicker since current City of Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl ‘03 to connect on at least 10 field goals in a season. Eberle kicked a 44-yard field goal against Thiel, the longest by a Presidents’ kicker since Mike Evan ‘97 in 1995. He ranked third in the PAC in yards per punt (37.0) and five of his kickoffs went for touchbacks.
W&J completed the season with an 8-3 (7-1 PAC) record, its 29th consecutive winning season.
