2007 FOOTBALL SEASON CONTINUES TO BE HONORED...
CLEVELAND, OH (April 15, 2008) - The National Football Foundation Northeastern Ohio Chapter has announced its award recipients for the 20th Annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet and Case Western Reserve University earned three honors. Head Football Coach Greg Debeljak will receive the Lee Tressel Ohio College Coach-of-the-Year Award, while senior's Jeff Mayer and Mike Tuertscher will also be honored at the banquet held at LaCentre in Westlake Apr. 28.
Debeljak led the Spartans to a perfect 10-0 record in the regular season and the team finished the year ranked No. 15 nationally. The team made the program's first-ever trip to the postseason, defeating Widener University in the first round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs. Debeljak was also a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award and he and his coaching staff earned the University Athletic Association (UAA) Coaching Staff of the Year award. Ohio State University head football coach Jim Tressel, son of Lee Tressel, will present the award to Debeljak at the banquet.
“It's a great honor to receive an award named after Coach Tressel,” Debeljak said. “Being a lifelong Clevelander, the accomplishments of Lee Tressel have been well known to me my entire life.”
Senior wide receiver Jeff Mayer will be presented with the Inspiration Award at the banquet, while senior linebacker Mike Tuertscher was selected as a postgraduate scholarship award winner and will receive a $2,000 postgraduate scholarship from the Foundation.
Mayer, a Vermillion native, was nominated for his remarkable determination to overcome several sports-related injuries and a near fatal hit- and-run accident that took place in 2005 (read more ). On Nov. 17 with the Spartans down 20-15 with two seconds remaining in the game, Mayer caught the game-winning touchdown as time expired to give Case a 21-20 victory over Widener University in the first playoff game in Spartan football history.
Tuertscher, from Cincinnati, was a three-time All-UAA selection during his Case Western Reserve career. He started all 12 games this past season, recording 76 tackles and two interceptions. Tuertscher also recovered a fumble for a touchdown and was named the UAA Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 20 and Nov. 26.
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