KUTZTOWN, Pa. (Dec. 2) – The two-time NCAA Semifinalist California University of Pennsylvania football team featured seven players on the Daktronics All-Super Region 1 football teams, as selected by the region’s Sports Information Directors.
Senior free safety
Juan Butler (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport), junior cornerback
Terrence Johnson (Braddock, Pa./Woodland Hills), sophomore offensive tackle
Nate Nurse (Teaneck, N.J./Don Bosco/Rutgers) and graduate student wide receiver
Marcel Pestano (Lehigh Acres, Fla./Lehigh/Pittsburgh) all received first-team honors. Graduate student punter
Derek Fiorenza (Dowingtown, Pa./
Bishop Shanahan/Villanova), senior tight end
Cory Garver (Cumberland, Md./Fort Hill/Delaware State) and graduate student quarterback
Kevin McCabe (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland/Virginia) each garnered second-team accolades.
The Vulcans led the region with four first-team picks and seven selections overall.
Butler leads the team with a career-high 73 tackles (51 solo), while also posting two interceptions, forcing a pair of fumbles and recovering a fumble. The veteran safety has led the team in tackles in five games this year, including a career-high 11 stops against Mercyhurst College.
Johnson leads the team with five interceptions and ranks fourth on the squad with a career-high 42 stops (30 solo). He has been a key player down the stretch for the Vulcans, compiling 21 tackles over the last four weeks with two interceptions and a key fumble recovery in the NCAA Quarterfinal win over Bloomsburg University.
Nurse has started all 13 games at right tackle for Cal U and helps anchor an offense line that ranks No. 14 in the nation by allowing only 1.15 sacks per game. The Vulcan offensive line has helped clear rushing lanes for an offense that averages 199.8 rushing yards per game, while scoring 37.8 points per game.
Pestano has made an instant impact in his first year with the program, establishing two new single-season school records. A transfer from the University of Pittsburgh, he leads the team and ranks among the league leaders with 75 receptions for 1,114 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also leads the Vulcans with 96 points scored on 16 total touchdowns (15 receiving and one returning).
Fiorenza features one of the strongest legs in the region, averaging 43.1 yards per punt (40 punts). He also has shown tremendous accuracy by placing 21 of his 40 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. As a team, Cal U ranks third in the nation in net punting at 37.56 yards per punt.
Garver ranks fourth on the team with a career-high 27 receptions for 298 yards and three touchdowns. He also continues to be a key blocker for an offense that ranks No. 19 in the country with 443.92 yards of total offense per game.
McCabe has virtually rewritten the school record book, while helping lead the Vulcans to a 12-1 record and a second-straight NCAA regional title. The 6-2 quarterback has established new single-season school records for completions (236), passing yards (3,043), touchdowns (31) and total offense (3,042) in 2008.
With their first-team honors, Butler, Terrence Johnson, Nurse and Pestano are now eligible for the national All-America ballot.