Banna, Blose, Johnson earn top MVFC honor

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Former YSU football players Kyle Banna, Stephen Blose and Erik Johnson all received the Missouri Valley Football Conference President’s Council Academic Excellence Award — the league’s highest academic honor.

Overall, 23 players from the conference’s nine schools received the award, which requires a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average (through the 2010 fall semester) and participation in athletics a minimum of two years. The player must be within 18 hours of graduation.

Nine Penguins received the Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award, which requires a minimum GPA of 3.2 for the previous two semesters. Honorees were: Blose, Bobby Coates, Tyler Figueroa, Chris Gammon, Johnson, Marc Kanetsky, D.J. Moss, Dom Rich and Nate Schkurko.

Fifty current and former players made the MVFC’s Honor Roll, which requires a 3.0 grade point average, athletic participation and 12 hours of enrollment.

Those players are Nate Adams, Dan Banna, Kyle Banna, Blose, Coates, Jamaine Cook, Donald D’Alesio, Jacob Dragovich, Ely Ducatel, Draye Ersery, Dan Fernback, Rob Fernback, Figueroa, Jaimie Frasure, Gammon, Vance Gibbs, Bob Gratz, Julian Harrell, Fred Herdman, Kurt Hess, Taylor Hill, Gannon Hulea, Andrew Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Erik Johnson, Kanetsky, Zach Larson, Nick Liste, D.J.Main, Jermaine Martin, Lucas Matelan, Brian Mellott, Moss, Torrance Nicholson, Ben Nowicki, Torrian Pace, Stephen Page, Aaron Pitts, Rich, Eric Rodemoyer, Matt Romeo, Greg Sazdanoff, Schkurko, Jabari Scott, Andrew Sinko, Ethan Slark, Jake Smith, Kevin Smith, Marc Stevens, Rob Stupar, Deonta Tate and A.J. Zitello.