EDINBORO, PA - Edinboro University tailback Andre Burke (Wilkinsburg, PA/Valley) has been named one of six Northeast Regional finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy as the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year. Burke is one of 26 candidates still in the running for Division II's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.
In addition to Burke, the Northeast Regional finalists include Bentley quarterback Marc Eddy, California(Pa.) running back Antoine Bagwell, running back Chris Moore of Charleston (WV), East Stroudsburg quarterback Jimmy Terwilliger, Shippensburg running back John Kuhn. There are six regional finalists from the Northeast and Southeast regions, and seven from the Northeast and Southwest Regions.
Head coach Lou Tepper is pleased that Burke is gaining the recognition he deserves. "Andre's made a dramatic impact on our season," related Tepper. "His combination of balance, acceleration, strength and humility I think are very rare."
Burke has been one of the true success stories of 2004. The 5'10", 205 lb. junior had not played football prior to this year, attending California(Pa.) for a year but not playing for the Vulcans, then attending a junior college before joining Edinboro a year ago. He sat out the 2003 season, and while coming out of spring practices as the starter at tailback, head coach Lou Tepper and his staff weren't sure what they had.
All Burke has done is enjoy one of the greatest seasons ever by an Edinboro back. He ranks fifth in Division II in rushing with 1,451 yards on 234 carries with 16 TDs. Those numbers also put him in a tie for tenth in scoring and 11th in all-purpose yardage. The 16 touchdowns is tied for third in the Edinboro record books, and he also has moved up to fifth in season rushing yards and sixth in season carries.
Prior to the 2004 season, no Edinboro runner had ever put together back-to-back 200-yard games. Burke saw his streak of three straight 200-yard games last week in a 23-14 win at Kutztown, but he still gained 159 yards on 33 carries. In the three games prior to that he had run for 203 yards on 27 carries with 3 TDs against California(Pa.), winning his personal duel with Bagwell, gained 219 yards on 36 carries with a touchdown against rival Indiana(Pa.), and totaled 220 yards on 23 carries with a 60-yard touchdown run in a win at Slippery Rock.
In all, Burke has topped the 100-yard mark on seven occasions, including the last five games in a row. In all likelihood he would have had more than three 200-yard games this season, tying the school record, if not for leaving games early. He finished with 173 yards and 4 TDs on 22 carries in a win over WVU Tech, but did not return after the first series of the third quarter. Against Tiffin he had 159 yards on 21 carries with 2 TDs with three minutes left in the first half, but left with a minor injury and did not return.
Durability has hardly been an issue for Burke. He has carried at least 30 times in three games, all of those coming in the last five games. That includes a 40-carry, 173-yard , 3-TD effort at Clarion, tied for the second-highest number of carries in school history.
Burke's milestone season has fueled a second straight winning campaign by the Fighting Scots. Edinboro is 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the PSAC West, needing a win over Lock Haven on Saturday to secure a tie for its second straight PSAC West championship. In addition, a win would put the Fighting Scots a step closer to a second straight NCAA Division II postseason bid, something which has only happened once before, in 1989-90.
The Scots are ranked sixth in the Northeast Region. No Edinboro team has ever won back-to-back PSAC West crowns.
Two Edinboro players have previously been finalists for the Harlan Hill Trophy. Running back Elbert Cole was one of three finalists in 1989, while wide receiver Ernest Priester was a finalist a year a year later. Cole placed third in the '89 balloting. Priester was runnerup to North Dakota State quarterback Chris Simdorn in 1990.
~ Fighting Scots ~
![[Bullet]](../tribullet.gif)
Edinboro Athletic Press Release Index
Created on ... November 3, 2004