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1994 football team. (Front row, left to right) Brent Stine, ’98, Robert Taylor, ’96, Eric Breitenbeck, ’95, Kyle Klein, ’97, Michael Oursler, ’97, Robert Dancer, ’95, P.J. Holser, ’95, Matthew Lynn, ’96, Scott Merchant, ’93 (coach), Richard Dunham (coach), Greg Pscodna (coach), Ronnie Parker (coach). (Second row) Peter Schmidt, Jr., ’98, Robert Donaldson, ’97, Ryan Maki, ’98, Gabriel Cooper, ’96, Timothy Todd, ’97, Thomas Cavanaugh, ’95, Timothy Schafer, ’96, Michael Zacha, ’98, Paul Zimmermann, ’98, Jeffrey Robinson, ’95, Todd Morris, ’95, James Davis, ’95, David Egnatuk, ’71 (coach), finished his senior season with 531 points, and his 1,247 career point total ranks him fifth on Albion’s career scoring list. A certified public accountant, he is a partner in the firm of Ernst & Young and lives in Farmington Hills.
John E. Walker, ’54 John Walker won Michigan Golden Gloves boxing titles in the light heavyweight division in 1950 and 1951 before earning All-MIAA awards for his effort as an offensive and defensive end during the 1952 and 1953 football seasons. Albion posted a 12-3-1 record in its football games during the 1952 and 1953 seasons, winning the MIAA championship with a 7-1 record in 1952. Albion’s defense during that time was spectacular, shutting out the opposition six times and limiting the opponent to just a single touchdown in four other contests. Walker went on to earn an Ed.D. from Utah State University in 1970. He served as an associate professor in the College of Education at Arizona State University from 1970 to 1992, and is now professor emeritus there. Walker lives in Phoenix, Ariz.
Team 1994 Football Team Nobody predicted it. None of the experts thought the Albion College football team would be strong contenders for the NCAA Division III national title in 1994. In preseason forecasts, The Sporting News ranked Albion 10th in the nation, and the College did not even make Sports Illustrated’s Top 10 list. For their part, the Briton coaching staff had aimed, not for the national championship, but for another MIAA title.
Maybe it was the element of surprise that made Albion’s 1994 Division III football championship that much sweeter. The Britons still hold a place in MIAA history as the only league team to win a football national championship—an accomplishment, by the way, that followed Albion’s sixth consecutive conference football title under head coach Pete Schmidt. While the Britons had picked up momentum all through their MIAA schedule, outscoring league opponents 220-45, the playoffs proved tough going. Each of the three playoff games—against Augustana, Mount Union and St. John’s— went to the final minute before the winner was determined. Arriving as a distinct underdog at the NCAA Division III championship game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va., Dec. 10, 1994, Albion faced Washington & Jefferson, a playoff participant in each of the past five years. Albion would not be denied. The Britons sailed to a 38-15 triumph that included 31 unanswered points in a 30minute stretch. No last-minute heroics were needed this time. Albion blew the game open with a 17-point second quarter, and then locked up the win with two secondhalf touchdowns. As a team, Albion saved its best overall game of the season for last. On defense, the Britons held Washington & Jefferson’s vaunted running game to 114 yards, and its total offense to 236 yards, nearly 200 below its season average. On offense, Albion scored in every quarter, something the Britons had not done in their previous 1994 playoff contests. Individually, seniors Jeff Robinson and Jim Davis saved their best performances for the final game of their collegiate careers. Robinson rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns to lead the offense. Davis was the defensive standout, registering 15 tackles, including three for loss and a quarterback sack.
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D.J. Rehberg, ’97. (Third row) Jason Beglin, ’97, Rus Mitcham, ’98, Kevin Rod, ’98, Jason Nagy, ’96, Scott Harris, ’99, Brian Murray, ’97, Brian Lee, ’96, Paul Thompson, ’97, Nathan Reed, ’96, David Lefere, ’97, Chip Heyboer, ’96, Anthony Gross, ’97, Neil Johnson, ’98, Angelo Popofski, ’96. (Fourth row) Alec Egnatuk, ’98, Jonathan Evans, ’96, Kevin Curtis, ’97, Darrel Stine, ’97, Casey Sivier, ’97, Marc McDonald, ’95, Scott Casteele, ’95, James Stealy, ’97, Christopher Barnett, ’97, Jeffrey Schrameck, ’96, Eric Hayhurst, ’95, Michael Robinson, ’98. Chip Heyboer, David Lefere, and Robinson achieved All-America and AllMIAA first-team status. The trio was joined on the All-MIAA first team by Chris Barnett, Scott Casteele, Davis, Kyle Klein, D.J. Rehberg, Jeff Shooks and Casey Sivier. The list of Britons selected to the All-MIAA second team included Tom Cavanaugh, Jon Evans, Marc McDonald, Todd Morris, Mike Oursler, Tim Schafer, Denis Waclawski and Mike Zacha. Davis was the most valuable defensive player in the MIAA, while Robinson and Morris shared the league’s most valuable offensive player award. Other members of the team included: Ralph Abbott, Chad Abbuhl, Frank Baiardi, Ben Bates, Jason Beglin, Eric Bernaiche, Scott Bigford, Eric Breitenbeck, Rob Britt, Brad Brown, Mike Cabana, Vince Callahan, Gabe Cooper, David Cox, Kevin Curtis, Rob Dancer, Bob Donaldson, Alec Egnatuk, Bill Ermiger, Brian Fought, Jason Fry, Jamie Glinski, Scott Goodwin, James Grimes, Tony Gross, Steve Guibord, Scott Harris, Scott Harrison, Eric Hayhurst, Jim Heaslip, Casey Heckathorn, Ray Henke, Matt Henne, P.J. Holser, Ron James, Mike Johnson, Neil Johnson, Mike Jones, Fred Kahle, Heath Kent, Brian Lee, Glen Lewis, John Lloyd, Matt Lynn, Brian Mack, Ryan Maki, Eric Maust, Derek Mazur, Mark McDonald, Marvin McNeese, Jr., Trent McPheeters, Steve
Merchant, Rusty Mitcham, Shawn Mitchelson, Dave Morelli, Mike Mumper, Todd Murphy, Brian Murray, Jason Nagy, Jamie Palazeti, Todd Pautuk, Joe Pesci, Tom Phebus, Angelo Popofski, Tom Raven, Nate Reed, Darrell Robbins, Mike Robinson, Scott Robinson, Dave Rockwell, Kevin Rod, Pete Schmidt, Jr., Jeff Schrameck, Wade Schwendenmann, Matthew Sculley, Durand Shepherd, Mark Smith, Joshua Speller, Jared Spybrook, Jim Stealy, Jeremy Stepp, Brent Stine, Darrel Stine, Jim Swartz, Robert Taylor, Dan Teske, Paul Thompson, Robert Thompson, Tim Todd, Jeff Trenta, Brian VanNorman, Corey Wells, Jared Wood, Brian Wroblewski, Troy Wyman and Paul Zimmerman. The late Pete Schmidt was the head coach. The assistant coaches included Richard Dunham, Dave Egnatuk, Scott Merchant, Doug Nelson, Ron Parker, Albert Prince and Greg Pscodna, and the trainers were Jason Maxa and Dan Obey. In addition to their NCAA championship trophy, the 1994 Briton football team received national championship trophies from Sears and from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Pete Schmidt was named the Chevrolet Coach of the Year and received the NCAA Division III Coach of the Year Award from the American Football Coaches Association.
Athletic Hall of Fame nominations Any Albion alumnus/a may submit names of individual athletes, coaches or teams for consideration by the Athletic Hall of Fame selection committee. Selection criteria and an online nomination form may be found at: www.albion.edu/sports/halloffame/ or you may contact Marcia Starkey, associate vice president for alumni and parent relations, at 517/629-0284 or e-mail: mstarkey@albion.edu.
Nominations are due no later than April 1, 2005.