Flavion Leads Four Presidents Named To All-PAC First Team
WASHINGTON, Pa. – Washington & Jefferson College senior offensive lineman Gary Flavion (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) earned his second-straight selection to the All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference Football First Team on Monday. He was joined by sophomore wide receiver Alex Baroffio (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) on the offensive squad and senior linebacker Neil Sorice (Youngstown, Ohio/Canfield) and junior defensive back Nathan Melhorn (Salineville, Ohio/Southern Local) on first-team defense.
Flavion is a three-time All-PAC honoree, having also been named to the Second Team in 2009. He is the first Presidents’ offensive lineman named to the All-PAC First Team in consecutive seasons since Dave Bucar and Matt Houy both earned the honor in 2007 and 2008. Flavion was the anchor of the offensive line, starting nine games this season. The Presidents’ offense averaged a PAC-leading 408.6 yards of total offense, while rushing for 17 touchdowns. Flavion was a three-year letter winner and made 31 career starts.
Baroffio enjoyed a breakout season, leading the PAC in receptions per game (7.0) and receiving yards per game (110.2), the highest average since Todd Fry finished with 135.9 yards per game in 2001. He caught 70 passes for 1,102 yards and 10 touchdowns, becoming the first President to reach the 1,000-yard mark since Craig Besong in 2008. Baroffio capped off his season with 10 receptions for a career-high 207 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday in a 24-21 victory over Waynesburg in the PAC Backyard Brawl.
Sorice made the All-PAC Second Team last season after collecting honorable-mention laurels as a sophomore. He led the PAC with four forced fumbles and finished second with 95 tackles. His tackle total was the most by a President defender since Craig Sedunov made 110 stops in 2008. Sorice led W&J with 14.5 tackles for loss, also the third-best mark in the conference, and added one interception and a blocked extra-point. Sorice started 42 games during his career, finishing with 227 tackles, seven sacks and six forced fumbles.
Melhorn was the Presidents’ second-leading tackler with 68 stops. He tied for first in the conference with two fumble recoveries and added a pair of forced fumbles. Melhorn was the leader of the W&J secondary that allowed just 6.6 yards per reception and just over 200 yards per game through the air. A two-time letterwinner, he has racked up 108 tackles and one interception during 21 career games.
Four Presidents were awarded All-PAC Second Team honors, including three on offense. Senior defensive lineman Frank Gigler (Lower Burrell, Pa./Lower Burrell) and junior running back Tim McNerney (Butler, Pa./Knoch) were both recognized for the second consecutive season and were joined by sophomore quarterback Matt Bliss (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and senior offensive lineman Justin Cole (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville).
Gigler was second on the team with four sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. He made 38 total stops and recovered a fumble. Gigler started 31 games during his career, making exactly 100 stops and 15.5 sacks.
McNerney led the conference with a 106.2 rushing yards per game average. He scored eight touchdowns, upping his career total to 26, just 10 shy of fifth place on the all-time list. McNerney is a two-year starter and has led the Presidents in rushing both seasons, having run for 1,875 yards in 22 career games.
Bliss topped the PAC in passing yards per game (239.2) and total offense (274.0). He started nine games and completed 193-of-303 passes for 2,153 yards and 15 touchdowns during his first season as a starter.
Cole started nine games on the offensive line and made 21 appearances during his career. Cole was a key blocker for the PAC’s leading rusher, McNerney. The Presidents’ offense led the conference in first downs gained (228) and pass offense (257.2 yards per game).
A pair of wide receivers, senior Adam Dominick (North Irwin, Pa./Norwin) and sophomore Hunter Creel (Industry, Pa./Western Beaver), along with senior linebacker Mitch Rose (Uniontown, Ohio/North Canton Hoover) and junior defensive lineman Gavin Donathan (Hurricane, W. Va./Hurricane) were awarded honorable-mention awards.
The Presidents finished the season 6-4 overall and 5-3 in PAC play. It was the 28th-straight winning season for W&J, the third longest active streak in NCAA Division III football.
