LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (EYT)– A pair of District 9 alums earned first-team PSAC West honors in football Wednesday.
(Photo of DuBois Graduate Paul Butler (right) and ECC graduate Kevin Genevro (left) were first-team PSAC selections)
DuBois graduate Paul Butler of California (Pa.) is a first-team tight end, while Elk County Catholic graduate Kevin Genevro of Clarion is a first-team wide receiver.
After missing all but one game in 2015 because of an injury, Butler, a senior, returned to health this year and has 14 catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns for the PSAC Champion Vulcans, who received a bye in the NCAA Division II playoffs and will face the winner of the Fairmont State-IUP game in the second round Nov. 26 at Cal’s Adamson Stadium.
Genevro, who came to college football late after playing a couple of seasons of college basketball at Penn State-DuBois is the late 2000s, had one of the greatest receiving seasons in Clarion University history finishing the year with 65 catches for 1,096 yards and 13 touchdowns. He became the third player in school history to top 1,000-career receiving yards in a season, and his 1,096 are the second-most ever in a season in Golden Eagle history. His 13 touchdown receptions are tied for the school record with Alvin Slaughter, and he finishes his career ninth in career receiving yards (1,982) and tied for third in receiving touchdowns with Slaughter (23).
In addition to Genevro, three other Clarion University players were named All-Conference.
Punter Scott Ayers and guard Zack Morris were also first-team selections, while wide receiver Matt Lehman was a second-team choice.
Ayers capped a consistent four-year career in 2016 with another strong campaign, averaging 37.7 yards per punt, five punts of 50 or more yards, and 11 punts inside the opposing 20-yard line.
Morris was one of the unsung heroes along the offensive lines for the Golden Eagles, with the sophomore playing and starting in every single game in 2016. Morris and Jacob Good were the only two offensive linemen to start and play in every game this year as the Clarion trenches were hit hard with injury over the course of the year.
Lehman put a punctuation mark on one of the great careers in Clarion history, with the senior tying the Golden Eagles’ 21-year-old career receiving touchdowns record late in the year and finishing near the top of the list in all major receiving categories. He snagged his 25th career touchdown pass against Gannon on Nov. 5, tying Terry McFetridge’s record set in 1985, and finish his career ranking third in receiving yards (2,457), fourth in receptions (156) and tied for fourth in career touchdowns (25) among all Clarion offensive players.
