USD Football 2005

2004 Season Highlights

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2004 TEAM AWARDS: At the end-of-the-season team awards banquet in early December, wide receiver Michael Gasperson (Monterey, CA) was selected the team's Most Valuable Player. Gas– person made a big impact with key receptions all season, and also played a big role on special teams. He fi nished with a team best 894 yards receiving on 54 catches (16.6 ave.) with 7 going for touchdowns. Offensive MVP honors went to junior running back Evan Harney (1 ,334 yards & I 8 TDs), while senior linebacker Jeff Langdon (1 04 stops, 6 interceptions) was tabbed the team 's Defensive MVP. Other awards were handed out to Mark Cianculli (Kevin Briscoe Special Teams MVP), Chris Jansen (Scout Offensive MVP), Jared Forrester (Scout Defensive MVP), Jeff Langdon (Strength Coaches Award), Todd Mortensen (Dave Adolf "Do You Love Football" Award), and Matt Collins (Dr. James B. Orwig Scholar Athlete Award). A LOOK BACK: First year head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff directed the Toreros to five straight victories to end the 2004 campaign. After starting the season 1-3 with losses to NAIA power Azusa Pacific, and Ivy League opponents Penn and Princeton, the Toreros hit their stride with 6 wins over their fin al 7 contests to fini sh at 7-4. The lone loss during that stretch was a tough 41-38 opening PFL contest at Drake on October 9th. Season wins came at Holy Cross (37-31 ) in game two, and down the stretch against Southern Oregon (51-10), Valparaiso (49-14), Davidson (56-0), at Butler (41-1 2), Dayton (38-35) and Wagner (35-14). USD fini shed at 3-1 in the PFL North Division, good for sole possession of 2nd place, but behind Drake (4-0). Stated head coach Jim Harbaugh, "It was a fun and exciting season. I'm so proud of all of our players - they played hard all year. We had a lot of guys that stepped up and filled some voids due to injuries. I also want to thank the coaching staff - I learned something from them every day. The future is bright. We need to get our guys bigger and faster. I can 't wait for next season." THE SPORTS NETWORK I-AA MID-MAJOR ALL-AMERICA TEAM: Four Toreros were

MVP Michael Gasperson

named to The Sports Network 's I-AAMid-Major All-America Team, selected by a panel of I-AA media and sports information directors cov– ering the 22 mid-major programs of the MAAC, NEC and Pioneer Leagues. QB Todd Mortensen (2,874 yards & 25 TDs) led the backfield; redshirt junior Michael Gasperson (54 receptions, 894 yards, 7 TD) was named at wide receiver; senior offensive tackle Keith Zapalac (Sealy, TX) was named for the second straight year; and senior linebacker Jeff Langdon (104 tackles, 6 interceptions) earned his first honor. THREE TOREROS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS: Three USD football players were recognized as District VIII Academic All-Americans - senior offensive lineman Matt Collins (3.71 2 GPA, Accounting/Business Economics), junior running back Evan Hamey (3.90 GPA, Business Administration) and junior WR Nick Garton (3. 65 GPA, Business Administration). Hamey went on to win national 1st Team honors. ALL-PIONEER FOOTBALL LEAGUE SQUADS: The Toreros had seven players named to the All-PFL First Team. QB Todd Mortensen (Tempe, AZ) was selected the PFL North co-Offensive Player of the Year, sharing the honor with Drake running back Scott Phaydavong. For the season Mortensen completed 234-of-389 passes for 2,874 yards and 25 touchdowns. The completions and attempts are new USD single season marks; the passing yards rank 2nd all-time and the touchdown total ties for 3rd all-time. Joining Mortensen on the First Team Offense is junior running back Evan Harney (Fallbrook, CA), who rushed for 1,334 yards and a new USD single season mark of 18 touchdowns; junior WR Michael Gasperson (Monterey, CA), who caught 54 balls for 894 yards and 7 touchdowns; and senior tackle Keith Zapalac (Sealy, TX), who started every game for the Toreros who averaged 432.4 yards total offense per game. Senior linebacker Jeff Langdon (San Bernardino, CA) and seni or defensive end Daniel Howard (Woodinville, WA) were named PFL First Team Defense. Langdon led the Toreros in both tackles (1 04) and interceptions (6), while Howard totaled 43 stops, 7.5 tackles for Joss, 2.5 quarterback sacks, 1 interception , 1 forced fumble and I fumbl e recovery. Junior Nick Garton (Dana Point, CA) was First Team Special Teams as a return specialist. Garton averaged 26.1 yards per kickoff return and 6.9 yards per punt return . Five Toreros were named PFL Honorable Mention - junior WR Adam Hannula (58 catches for 680 yards and 5 TDs), junior TE Dustin Owen (26 catches for 235 yards and 3 TDs), senior offensive tackle Matt Collins, sophomore DB Josh Brisco (39 tackles, 3 pass breakups), and junior punter John Koker (35 .3 average, 8 inside opponent's 20). FINAL PFL NORTH STANDINGS: Drake (4-0; 10-2), San Diego (3-1 ; 7-4), Dayton (2-2; 7-3), Valparaiso (1-3; 5-6), Butler (0-4; 1-10). Drake defeated Morehead State in PFL Championship game, 20-17. TOREROS NAMED PFL PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Todd Mortensen was selected the PFL Offensive Player of the Week four times this past season on his way to earning co-PFL North Division Offensive Player of the Year honors ... he earned them Sept. 19th, Oct. 17th, Nov. 7th and Nov. 14th. Evan Hamey was selected three times for offense (Oct. 3rd, Oct. 24th & Oct. 31st). Chase McBride (Sept. 12th) and Jeff Langdon (Oct. 24th) each earned one PFL Defensive Player of the Week honor. Hutch Parker was selected a PFL Special Teams Player of the Week twice (Sept. 12th & Nov. 14th), while Michael Gasperson earned one Special Teams award (Oct. 17th). THE SPORTS NETWORK FINAL 2004 I-AA TOP-10 MID-MAJOR POLL: The Toreros fini shed 4th in the final I-AA Mid-Major poll. #1 Monmouth Hawks (1 9 first place votes), 10-1 record; #2 Drake Bulldogs (5), 10-2 record; #3 Central Connecticut State Blue Devil s, 8-2; #4 SAN DIEGO TOREROS , 7-4; #5 Duquesne Dukes, 7-3; #6 Dayton Flyers, 7-3 ; #7 Sacred Heart Pioneers, 6-4; #8 Robert Morris Colonials, 6-5; #9 Morehead State Eagles, 6-6; #10 Wagner Seahawks, 6-5. NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Toreros were represented in the Top-25 for both the team and individual fin al rankings for NCAA I-AA statistics. In the team department, USD was #1 in punt return yardage defen se (1.89), #9 in total offense (432.36), #11 in pass– ing offense (275.4), #12 in scoring offense (36.09), # 15 in passes intercepted (17), #21 in turnover margin (+0.55), #24 in passing efficiency (1 37.90) and #24 in pass ing effi ciency defense (106.86). Among individual leaders, Evan Hamey was #3 in scoring (10.36), #8 in rushing ( 12 1.27 ypg) and #21 in all-purpose running (142.45 ypg); Todd Mortensen was #1 2 in passing (21.27 completions per game) and points responsible for (15 .09), #16 for total offense (259.0 ypg) and #1 8 in passing effi ciency (140.3); Jeff Langdon was #12 in interceptions (0.55) and #15 in solo tackles (5.91 ); and Nick Garton was #15 in kickoff returns (26.11 yards per return). NEW TORERO INDIVIDUAL RECORDS: Running back Evan Hamey continues to pad his mark in the USD record books .. . after just two seasons he now owns career marks for ru shing yards (2,809), rushing attempts (588), rushing TDs (35) and total TDs (39) ... this year he set new single season marks for attempts (303) and ru shing TDs (1 8) .. . kicker Hutch Parker set a new mark for consecutive PAT kicks made at 45 .. . QB Todd Mortensen set new single marks for passing attempts (389) and completions (234), as well as attempts (57, vs. Penn) and completions (37,vs. Dayton) in a game.