Pioneers roster slowly taking shape
Michael Balakier
Thursday December 13, 2001
Saxon, who had received offers to play football in Europe, led the NCAA Division III in rushing last year with 1,744 yards and was a finalist for Division III Player-of-the-Year. Pioneer head coach Terry Karg is looking at playing Saxon as a defensive back and wide receiver, as well as possibly using him in the running game.
Smith, a Division II All-American his senior year, helped lead Bloomsburg University to the Division II national title game. Smith was part of an offensive line that produced an average of 36.3 points per game and over 457 yards of total offense per game. In addition to his All-American honors, Smith was also an Associated Press Little All-American as well as the Brooks-Irvine Player of the Year in South Jersey, an award given to the top player from Division I, II, and III who is a resident from south Jersey.
Also, the Pioneers should soon be announcing Karg’s three assistant coaches. The most probable selections are former Wilkes University head coach Joe DeMelfi and Scranton Eagles head coach Mark Arcure, both of whom have assisted Karg at the two free agent tryout camps.
Michael Balakier first discovered a knack for writing during his senior year in high school while reporting for his school`s newspaper. Aside from being an Arenaball fan, Michael is an avid Syracuse University athletics follower, which poses a problem for him, as he attends the University of Pittsburgh. Michael plans on using what he has learned through his Arenafan experience to remain as impartial as he can during future Syracuse/Pitt events. Michael also serves as co-Editor of the af2 section of Arenafan Online.
