(PFL RELEASE)

DAYTON, Ohio – Pioneer Football League coaches have selected University of Dayton Senior quarterback Steve Valentino as  the PFL’s Offensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, making him just the second player in league history to receive the honor in back-to-back seasons. League coaches also tabbed Head Coach Rick Chamberlin as the PFL’s Coach of the Year for the first time in his three years at the helm of Flyer football.

UD quarterbacks have been PFL Offensive Player of the Year for three of the last four seasons. UD alum and current assistant coach Kevin Hoyng received this honor for the Flyers after the 2007 season. Valentino is also a three time All-PFL First Team selection, with two selections as a quarterback and one as a wide receiver. He is the only player in PFL history to receive first team honors at two different positions.

He finished the regular season ranked 14th in FCS football averaging 266.4 total offensive yards per game. The Solon, Ohio native is UD’s top rusher and ranked seventh among FCS quarterbacks with 64.7 rushing yards per game. Valentino also ranked fourth in the PFL in passing yards (201.6 ypg) and pass efficiency rating (135.0).

In just three seasons, Chamberlin has a record of 28-6 at the helm of the Flyers. Each season under Chamberlin, Dayton has posted a better record in the PFL than the previous year. In 2008, Chamberlin led UD to a 6-2 league record. In 2007 they improved to 7-1 and this season the Flyers posted an 8-0 mark. Chamberlin has guided the program to back-to-back shares of the regular season title, while UD posted its most successful season under Chamberlin with a 10-1 overall.

Valentino is joined on the All-PFL First Team with senior offensive lineman Tyler Friedrich (Powell, Ohio), senior defensive ends Devon Langhorst (Sidney, Ohio) and Brandon Wingeier (Newark, Ohio), senior linebacker Joe Ries (Cincinnati, Ohio) and senior defensive back James Vercammen (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.).

Ries and Valentino are two of three first team selections this year to be honored as first-teamers for three consecutive seasons. Jacksonville’s senior running back Rudell Small is the only other player to have this distinction. Friedrich, Vercammen and Wingeier each earned First Team honors for the second consecutive season.

Senior wide receiver Justin Watkins (Englewood, Ohio) and senior offensive lineman Eric Studt (Bethel Park, Pa.) were both selected to the second team. Watkins repeats his spot on the team for the second consecutive season.

A pair of seniors from Napervile, Ill., wide receiver Anthony Papp and offensive guard Dan Fornek, join senior kicker Nick Glavin (Kettering, Ohio) on the PFL Honorable Mention Squad.

The Flyers were 10-1 this season, including a perfect 8-0 record in the league. They finished tied for first in the league. This is UD’s 11th PFL Championship (including ties) in the 18-year history of the PFL. The rest of the league has 13 titles combined.