In all 14 players earned All-PSAC honors for the Huskies. Named first team offense were Quiteh, offensive tackle Daryl Kurtz (Milton, Milton), offensive guard Pat Casey (Matamoras, Delaware Valley), center Chris Steck (Mt. Carmel, Mt. Carmel), and tight end Ben Weaber (Lebanon, Cedar Crest). Named first team All-PSAC defense were Varanavage, defensive lineman Marcus Zimmerman (Lititz, Manheim Central), linebacker Thomas McFarland (Pottsville, Pottsville) and defensive back Oscar Rivera (Bethlehem, Liberty).
Named second team All-PSAC offense was placekicker Daniel Fisher (Liverpool, Central Dauphin), while earning second team All-PSAC honors on defense were defensive lineman Dave Huot (Bethlehem, Freedom), linebacker Jarrett Pidgeon (Barnegat, NJ, Southern Regional) and defensive backs Vince Browning (Harrisburg, Central Dauphin) and Alex Landis (Pine Grove, Pine Grove).
Bloomsburg coach Danny Hale was thrilled for all the players honored. “These men are representative of why BU were PSAC East champions,” said Hale. “I’m excited to see so many got recognized.
Quiteh has put together an outstanding freshman season for the Huskies after being named the starter just a few days before the season opening game. Through the first 11 games of the season Quiteh has rushed 263 times for 1,742 yards and 19 scores. He leads the PSAC and all of NCAA Division II in rushing yards per game with 158.4 with his total being the third most single-season yards gained in school history.
Quiteh has rushed for more than 100 yards in 10 of the 11 games this season, including three games with more than 200 yards. His career-high came in a win over East Stroudsburg when he gained 246 yards. Later in the season, in a 61-35 win over Kutztown which gave the Huskies the PSAC East title, Quiteh rushed for 194 yards and scored four touchdowns. Four times during the season he was named PSAC East Freshman of the Week and was also recently named a regional finalist for the Harlon Hill Award as the nation’s top division II football player.
Varanavage, one of the team’s captains, becomes the second straight Bloomsburg University linebacker to be named the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year following in the footsteps of Anthony Smith who won the award last season. This year Varanavage leads the Huskies in tackles with 78, 41 of them solo, and is eighth overall in the PSAC. He also has 8.5 tackles for loss and two sacks for losses totaling 18 yards. He has also intercepted three passes, broken up two passes, recovered two fumbles and forced one.
Three times this season Varanavage has been named the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week. He has also made 10 or more tackles in a game five times, including a career-high 12 in a win over Clarion. In the Huskies win over Kutztown, Varanavage intercepted a pass and returned the ball 23 yards setting up a Bloomsburg touchdown just two players that put the Huskies in front by 16 points. This is the first all-conference honor for Varanavage.
Kurtz, a 6-4, 31-5 pound junior, earns his first All-PSAC East selection. The three-year has helped lead an offensive line that has opened holes for BU running backs to rush for more than 100 yards in a game 12 different times this season.
Casey, a 6-0, 300 pound senior, repeats as a first team All-PSAC East selection. A two-year starter, Casey has been part of an offensive line that has allowed the Huskies to produce a PSAC-leading 441 yards of total offense per game.
Steck, a 6-0, 275 pound red-shirt freshman, has been solid all season long for the Huskies after getting the starting job just a few days before the season opener. He has been part of an offensive line that has allowed Bloomsburg to score over 38 points per game, second best in the PSAC, and allowed the second fewest sacks (14) in the PSAC this season.
Weaber, a 6-3, 265 pound senior, was one of the team’s captains in 2010. He leads the Huskies in receptions this season with a career-high 28 catches for 265 yards and six touchdowns. Three times this season he caught four passes in three games and had a season-high five catches against Mercyhurst in the PSAC championship game. Weaber, a second team All-PSAC East selection last year, also completed a 53-yard pass this season that led to a Huskies touchdown in a win over West Chester.
Zimmerman, a 6-0, 270 pound senior, earns his first all-conference selection. So far this season Zimmerman has made 40 tackles, 16 solo, with 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks for losses of nine yards with four quarterback hurries. He tied his career-high of seven tackles in two games this season and had six tackles in the PSAC championship game with Mercyhurst.
McFarland, a 6-1, 235 pound senior, also earned his first all-conference selection this season. McFarland so far this season has 41 tackles, including 16 solo stops, with five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He made a season-high nine tackles in a win over IUP and had seven in a win over C.W. Post.
Rivera, a 5-9, 180 pound junior, earned his second straight first team all-conference selection in 2010. On the year Rivera has made 37 tackles, 24 of them solo, with 1.5 tackles for loss. He has also broken up a team-high 16 passes and made one interception.
Fisher, a 6-1, 190 pound red-shirt freshman, has put together a record setting season in his first year as a starter. Fisher has connected on a school-record 20 field goals (on 23 attempts) this season, breaking the old mark of 10 set back in 1986. He also hit a school-record five field goals in a win over C.W. Post, and had a school-record streak of 13 consecutive made field goals during the year. Fisher is second in scoring on the Huskies with 85 points after hitting 25 of 26 extra point attempts through the first 11 games of the season.
Huout, a 6-4, 260 pound senior, earned the first all-conference selection in his career. To date he has made 21 tackles, including 10 solo stops, with 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks for losses of 18 yards. His best game of the season came against C.W. Post when he made five tackles with four of them being solo.
Pidgeon, a 5-10, 225 pound sophomore, earned his first all-conference selection. The Huskies middle linebacker is second on the team in tackles with 62 with 33 of them being solo tackles. He also has 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack for a loss of seven yards. He also has one interception and one pass breakup. He was named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week on Oct 17 after he helped lead a dominating performance by the Bloomsburg defense that held Shippensburg to just 93 yards of total offense, including just 24 in the final three quarters, in a 23-3 win. Pidgeon posted a career-high 10 tackles, nine of them solo.
Browning, a 5-9, 180 pound junior, earned his first all-conference selection. Browning has made 39 tackles on the season with 29 of them being solo. He also has two tackles for loss and five pass breakups. He also leads the Huskies in interceptions with four, including two against Kutztown that helped preserve the Huskies lead in the second of the 61-35 victory. For his efforts in that game he was named the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year.
Landis, a 6-2, 210 pound senior, is another of the Huskies’ captains for 2010. Landis, who was named all-conference for the first time in his career, is third on the team in tackles with 43, including 28 solo stops. He also has two tackles for loss, two interceptions and six pass breakups. His best game of the season was against Clarion when he made a career-high eight tackles.
Bloomsburg, 9-2, will play at California, Pa. on Saturday at noon in an NCAA Division II opening round playoff game.
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