Caputo, Holter and Palko Earn Preseason
All-America Honors From The Sports Network
LORETTO, Pa. (July 6, 2006) – Saint Francis senior wide receivers Michael Caputo (Bethel Park, Pa./Seton LaSalle) and Luke Palko (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) and senior offensive lineman Bill Holter (Elkton, Md./Northeast) are among three of the 28 players named to The Sports Network’s 2006 Division I-AA Mid-Major Preseason All-American team, which was announced on Thursday.
Caputo also garnered honorable mention accolades on The Sports Network’s 2006 Preseason All-America Offense, which is composed of all Division I-AA schools.
Defending Mid-Major champion San Diego had four players selected to the Mid-Major Preseason All-America squad, more than any other school. The Red Flash joined fellow Northeast Conference foes Albany and Wagner, as well as Drake, with three selections.
Twelve players were selected to the team from both the Northeast Conference and Pioneer Football League, which will play the first-ever Gridiron Classic this season, an exempted postseason football game that will match the champions of the two I-AA football conferences. That game will be played Nov. 18th at the site of the Northeast Conference champion. Four players were named to the team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Caputo, who was recently named the top offensive player in the Northeast Conference by Street & Smith’s, joins Albany linebacker Colin Disch as the only two NEC players to be named to The Sports Network’s preseason team. Disch, who is a junior, also earned honorable mention on the defensive team.
Having three players selected to The Sports Network’s preseason All-America teams adds to the list of recent honors in which the Red Flash football program has received this summer. Caputo and Palko were honored on the same publication’s website as the No. 1 wide receiver tandem in the country. Additionally, Caputo received the honor of being named the No. 6 wide receiver in Division I-AA by The Sports Network, and Palko was named the 18th-best wide receiver in the nation.
Caputo was a 2005 Associated Press All-American, as well as an ECAC Division I-AA All-Star team member, The Sports Network I-AA All-American and The Sports Network I-AA Mid-Major All-American. He set single-season school and league records for receptions (92) and receiving yards (1,433). His 92 receptions led the nation, while his 130.3 receiving yards per game were second in the nation and his total receiving yards ranked third. He had seven games in 2005 with at least 100 receiving yards (11 career).
A 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American, Palko is the Saint Francis and Northeast Conference all-time leader in receptions with 209, the first player in league history to surpass 200 career receptions. He was a 2005 all-Northeast Conference Second Team wide receiver selection, and the conference’s football Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He set a career high with 85 catches last season, while averaging 7.73 receptions per game, which ranked third in the nation. Palko, who is the brother of Pittsburgh Panthers senior quarterback Tyler, has caught at least two passes in all 32 games during his career.
Holter will enter 2006 as a three-year starter along the offensive line. He was a 2005 all-Northeast Conference Second Team selection while helping to pave the way for a 2,800-yard passer and a 1,000-yard rusher. The Red Flash have set school records for total offense the past two seasons with Holter as an anchor along the talented offensive line.
Saint Francis begins the 2006 campaign with a 1 p.m. kickoff against St. Peter’s on Sept. 2, at the newly renovated DeGol Field. Tickets are still available by calling 814-472-2774.