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EDINBORO, PA -- The Edinboro University
Athletic Hall of Fame will celebrate its 26th year with the
induction of eight new members on Saturday, April 28. The eight
new members will swell the Edinboro Hall of Fame membership to 168
inductees. The Class of 2007 will be formally inducted at the 26th
Annual Hall of Fame Awards Banquet at McComb Fieldhouse beginning
at 7 p.m.
The 2007 inductees include: former football
standout Bob Cicerchi; Jody Dickerson, who made his mark in
football and also played baseball; Rich Iorfido, a former football
standout; former swimming standout and volleyball player Shannon
Schirack Driskell; Pat Schuster, a former football and wrestling
standout; and former men’s basketball standout Price
Williams. In addition to the six student-athlete inductees, the
Athletic Hall of Fame will induct Cliff Troyer as the recipient of
the Distinguished Service Award, and Danny Smith as the Lifetime
Achievement Award recipient.
“As we enter our second 25 years,
this class is very indicative of the type of quality inductees the
Edinboro Athletic Hall of Fame has stood for through the years,”
said Edinboro Director of Athletics Bruce Baumgartner. “These
individuals have brought distinction to themselves, our athletic
department and our University during their careers. The eight
inductees represent a very diverse group, and we look forward to
paying tribute to them at the induction ceremonies.”
Here is a synopsis of the eight inductees, in
alphabetical order:
Bob Cicerchi (‘82) ranks as one of
Edinboro’s all-time great defensive performers. A three-year
starter at linebacker, he finished with more than 100 tackles each
season and led Edinboro in tackles as a junior and senior. As a
senior in 1981, the 5’10”, 190 lb. native of Parma, OH
totaled 169 tackles, the fourth-highest season total. He added
five sacks and recovered three fumbles. Following the season he
was named an Associated Press Little All-America and earned first
team All-PSAC West honors for the second straight year. He was a
also a first team selection in 1980 after leading the Fighting
Scots with 126 tackles, with three sacks and a school-record five
fumble recoveries, helping Edinboro to a 6-2-1 finish. In 1979, he
finished with 103 tackles and was a second team All-PSAC West
honoree. Cicerchi ranks eighth in career tackles with 398, and
twice had 23 tackles in a game, in 1980 against Lock Haven, and in
1981 vs. Shippensburg. That figure ranks eighth all-time. He added
20 tackles against Muskingum in 1979.
Jody Dickerson (’95) holds the
distinction of being one of the top quarterbacks to ever go under
center at Edinboro. Maybe most impressive is not only that the 6’0”,
183 lb. native of McKees Rocks, PA was a four-year starter who
started 43 games at quarterback, but led the Fighting Scots to a
30-12-1 record during that period. He led Edinboro to the NCAA
Playoffs in 1992 and ’93, with the Fighting Scots winning
eight games each year. He ranks among the career leaders in
numerous categories. He stands first in career yards passing
(7,299), touchdowns passing (62), career total offense (7,674),
and career total offense touchdowns (69). He is second in career
attempts (911), career completions (481), and third in completion
percentage (52.8 pct.). He still holds the record for touchdowns
passing in a season with 25 in 1993. That year he also threw for a
career-high 2,209 yards, the third-highest season total. He was a
first team All-PSAC West selection in 1993, and repeated in 1994
after throwing for 1,873 yards and 17 TDs. His total offense
figure of 2,295 yards in 1993 ranks third, and he also owns the
fifth-highest total with 2,014 yards in ’94. Dickerson began
his career in 1991, and was named the PSAC West Rookie of the
Year. After completing his eligibility in football, he joined the
baseball team in the spring of 1995 and hit .311 with 4 home runs,
11 RBIs and 4 stolen bases while playing in the outfield.
Rich Iorfido (‘73) is another
football player like Bob Cicerchi who rates among the top
defensive performers in Edinboro history. A 5’10”, 205
lb. linebacker from Ambridge, PA, he played for the Fighting Scots
from 1970-72, and is tied for third in career tackles with 432.
That includes 171 in 1972, the third-highest season total, and 141
in 1971, the eighth-highest total. He starred on the legendary
teams in 1970 and 1971 that finished 9-1 each year. The 1970 team
won the PSAC Championship with a 14-6 win over West Chester before
suffering a 20-7 loss to Westminster in the NAIA National
Semifinals. The 1971 team lost to West Chester, 35-14, in the PSAC
title game. Iorfido still holds the single-game record for tackles
with 30 vs. Indiana(Pa.) in 1972, and also holds the next two game
totals with 28 against Slippery Rock in ‘72 and 26 vs.
Clarion in 1970. He earned first team All-PSAC honors in 1970 and
1972, and was the Most Valuable Defensive Player in the PSAC in ’70.
In 1971 he was accorded NAIA honorable mention All-American
honors. He led the Fighting Scots in tackles his last two seasons
after finishing second his first year. Iorfido’s legacy has
continued at Edinboro. His daughter, Callie, completed her career
as a standout for the women’s basketball a year ago. She
capped a brilliant career by earning All-American honors and being
named the Nancy Acker Award winner. Another daughter, Mandie, is
the starting catcher on the softball team, and like her sister an
All-PSAC performer.
Shannon Schirack Driskell (’96) rates
as one of the all-time great swimmers in Edinboro history, earning
All-American honors a total of eleven times. A native of Canton,
OH, she earned All-American honors in the 200-yard freestyle relay
and 400-yard freestyle relay in three different seasons (1989-90,
’89-90, ’90-91). In addition, she was an All-American on
two occasions in the 200-yard medley relay (1989-90, ’90-91),
and was also a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay team which
earned All-American honors in 1992. She captured All-American
recognition in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events in 1991.
She still maintains school records in the 50-yard freestyle, 200,
400 and 800 freestyle relays, and the 200-yard medley relay. In
addition to competing in swimming, Schirack Driskell was a member
of the Edinboro volleyball team in 1990 and 1991, playing outside
hitter. She helped the Fighting Scots to the PSAC championship in
1990, and the runnerup spot in 1991. The 1990 team was 33-4, and
the next year the Fighting Scots finished 29-5.
Pat Schuster (‘97) starred as a
member of the Edinboro football and wrestling teams. A 6’2”,
230 lb. defensive end, the Bradford, PA native was a three-year
starter in football. He helped lead the Fighting Scots to three
NCAA Division II playoff berths. The 1995 edition won the PSAC
West Championship before losing to New Haven in the NCAA Division
II Playoff to finish at 9-2. A senior that year, he earned first
team AFCA All-American honors and was a second team Football
Gazette All-America, in addition to being recognized as the PSAC
West Defensive Player of the Year. He finished that season with 91
tackles, including a school-record 16 sacks, and with 29 tackles
for losses. He was a first team All-PSAC West selection in 1994
and ’95, and as a junior was also a second team Football
Gazette All-American and third team Associated Press Little
All-America. He finished the ’94 season with 65 tackles,
including 10 sacks. As a sophomore he finished with 76 tackles and
11 sacks, as Edinboro went 8-3, losing to New Haven in the
Division II Playoffs. He holds the career record for sacks with
38. In wrestling, Schuster qualified for the NCAA Division I
National Championships at heavyweight in 1996 and again in 1997.
He was 24-12 with 10 falls as a senior, capturing third place at
the EWL Tournament. The previous year he was 14-8 and was fourth
at EWL’s. He also earned All-PSAC honors twice. All told, he
had a 45-28 career record with 18 falls.
Price Williams (‘95) was a
standout in men’s basketball for the Fighting Scots. After
playing two seasons at Prince George’s Community College, the
6’4” forward transferred to Edinboro. Despite battling a
serious knee injury which forced him to miss the 1992-93 season,
the Washington, DC finished his two-year career with 912 points,
and he is fifth in career scoring average at 17.9 ppg. He earned
second team All-PSAC West honors in 1991-92 while finishing second
on the team in scoring (15.4 ppg.) and third in rebounding (6.7
rpg.). After sitting out the ’92-93 campaign, he returned in ’93-94
to average 19.9 ppg. and 8.9 rpg., both team highs. He added a
team-high 73 steals, a figure which still ranks sixth all-time,
and his scoring average is ranked 12th all-time. He led Edinboro
to a 20-8 record and a berth in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
Williams was chosen a first team All-PSAC West honoree and a first
team NABC All-District performer as a senior, and was later named
the Sox Harrison Award winner.
Danny Smith (’76) is the recipient
of the Athletic Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award, presented
to an individual with Edinboro ties who has gone on to achieve
notoriety outside of the Edinboro. After playing for the Edinboro
football team from 1972-75 as a defensive back, he began his
coaching career as a graduate assistant at Edinboro. He has since
gone on to serve in numerous coaching capacities on the high
school, collegiate and professional level. He returned to his high
school alma mater, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, to coach Hall of
Fame quarterback Dan Marino, and has had collegiate stops at
Clemson, William & Mary, The Citadel, and Georgia Tech. After
spending eight seasons at Georgia Tech, including helping lead the
Yellow Jackets to the 1990 National Championship, in 1995 he
joined the Philadelphia Eagles’ staff. He coached special
teams for two seasons and defensive backs two seasons. Next was a
stop as the tight ends coach for the Detroit Lions in 1999 and
2000, before joining the Buffalo Bills staff as the special teams
coach in 2001. He led the Bills’ special teams to dramatic
improvement during his tenure in Buffalo, and has since done the
same since serving in the same a capacity since joining head coach
Joe Gibbs’ Washington Redskins staff in 2004.
Cliff Troyer is the third recipient of
the Athletic Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Award, presented
to an individual who didn’t necessarily compete in athletics,
but still made a major impact. He is recognized as one of the
pioneers in giving, both personal and corporate, and has been a
major factor in soliciting funds for the department. He was
instrumental in helping to fund Edinboro's move to Division I
wrestling. In addition, he was a charter member of the Tartan Club
and began the concept of endowed scholarships for the athletic
department. Troyer Farms Inc., was the first corporations to step
up and join as a corporate sponsor, and it was through his
continued and consistent support that Edinboro University has a
successful athletic fund raising system in place today. |
