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District college football preview: 5 Division III players to watch

Chuck Curti
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Bethany Athletics
Bethany’s Chas Blango (Mt. Lebanon) led the charge for the PAC’s top-rated defense last season.
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Westminster Athletics
Westminster linebacker Paul Gonzalez led the PAC in tackles in 2018.
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Grove City Athletics
Grove City senior Wesley Schools rushed for more than 1,700 yards last season.
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Allegheny Athletics
Allegheny senior Alex Victor already holds the program marks for receiving touchdowns and receiving yards.
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W&J Athletics
W&J receiver Andrew Wolf earned preseason All-American honors from D3football.com.

A look at five players to watch in NCAA Division III football this season:

Chas Blango, Sr., DL, Bethany (Mt. Lebanon): Tied for second in PAC with eight sacks, forced two fumbles and had 54 total tackles. … Helped Bison yield fewest points per game (17.3) and give up fewest touchdowns in conference (23).

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Paul Gonzalez, Sr., LB, Westminster: Led PAC with 99 total tackles. … His 13½ tackles for loss (fourth in the conference) included three sacks. … Returned a fumble for a touchdown. … Earned first-team All-PAC honors and helped Titans finish second in the conference in total defense.

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Wesley Schools, Sr., RB, Grove City: A preseason All-American honoree by D3football.com, rushed for 1,741 yards last season and scored 20 rushing TDs. … Will finish as the program’s second all-time leading rusher behind R.J. Bowers, who went on to play in the NFL. … Likely to eclipse 5,000 career yards rushing (needs 1,090 yards).

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Alex Victor, Sr., WR, Allegheny: Speedy senior has propensity for big plays. … Has 3,327 career all-purpose yards and could threaten program’s all-time record of 4,505. … Likely to become program’s all-time leader in receptions (needs 25 to surpass current mark of 167). … Already holds program marks for career receiving yards (2,611) and receiving TDs (30).

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Andrew Wolf, Jr., WR, W&J: A preseason All-American choice by D3football.com, caught 79 passes for 1,339 yards and a school-record 21 touchdowns. … The 21 receiving scores also are a PAC record.

Chuck Curti is a TribLive copy editor and reporter who covers district colleges. A lifelong resident of the Pittsburgh area, he came to the Trib in 2012 after spending nearly 15 years at the Beaver County Times, where he earned two national honors from the Associated Press Sports Editors. He can be reached at ccurti@triblive.com.

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Categories: District College | Sports
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