USD Football 1996

NCAA Division Ill: A healthy Kacmarynski will be tough to beat If the sun continues to rise in the east and set in the west, the voting for the Gagliardi Trophy, which signifies the best football player in Division Ill, should be a slam dunk. Central College of Iowa's Mark Kac– marynski is back for a curtain call. He had the award nearly sewn up following the second game last season, at which

non-Division I-A players who will vie for top honors.

point he had rushed for 358 yards on 44 carries (8.1 yards per carry), which came on top of his bloated 1994 statistics of 7.4 yards per carry and 179.2 yards per game. "You want to talk to me about the Gagliardi Trophy? Forget it," joked Kacmarynski, whose injury-free playing career ended last fall amid talk of the three-year-old award named for John Gagliardi, the longtime coach at St. John's University of Min– nesota. On the first play from scrimmage in the third game, Kac– marynski gained 22 yards before three defenders jumped on for a ride. The 6-1, 230-pound running back held his own until a teammate tried to help out with a block. The pile of bodies crumbled. Everyone got up except Kacmarynski, who suffered a compound fracture in his left leg. "He is the best I've ever had," said head coach Ron Schip– per, who has never endured a losing season in his 35 years at Central College. "He is a dedicated, tough football player. It was a serious injury, but if anyone can come back, Mark can." If not, two quarterbacks should battle for the Gagliardi Trophy. Jason Baer thought his playing days were over last fall when Washington and Jefferson (Pa.) lost in the semifinals of the

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If Mark Kacmarynski has recovered fully from his leg BY TOM SLEAR fracture, he should be in the hunt for the Gagliardi Trophy. touchmJ