REISER TAKES OVER FOR MARZKA AS TOMCAT OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR; SMESKO NAMED OFFENSIVE LINE COACH

Kevin Fenstermacher
Assistant Athletic Director
Sports Information Director
75 College Ave.
Greenville, PA 16125
Phone - 724.589.2187
Fax - 724.589.2880
kfenstermacher@thiel.edu
www.thiel.edu/athletics

For Immediate Release: January 3, 2007

REISER TAKES OVER FOR MARZKA AS TOMCAT OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR;
SMESKO NAMED OFFENSIVE LINE COACH, BREST TABBED AS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR

GREENVILLE, Pa. (Jan. 3) -- The Thiel College football program will head into the 2007 season without assistant head coach and offensive coordinator John Marzka. Marzka, who is moving into the head coaching ranks at Albright College, will be replaced by longtime Tomcat assistant Kurt Reiser as the offensive coordinator.

"I certainly have mixed emotions about John's move to Albright - on the one hand I am extremely excited for him and his family - this is a great step in his career; one that he has prepared well for and I am confident he will do an excellent job. On the other hand I am sorry to see him leave; he was very instrumental in our turning the program around here at Thiel and did an awesome job - he is a quality coach", said Thiel head coach Jack Leipheimer.

Marzka, who has served as the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since arriving at Thiel with Leipheimer in 2001, has helped the Tomcats total a record of 23-9 over the past three seasons. Thiel has had 58 all-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) selections to go along with four all-America selections while tying or setting 56 school records over that time.

The Tomcats rattled off 11 straight wins during the 2005 season, winning their first PAC title since 1972, advancing to the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time in school history and finishing with an overall mark of 11-1.

Under Marzka the Tomcats saw three of most productive offensive players in the history of the program in quarterback Darrell Satterfield, wide receiver Brandon Chambers and offensive tackle Dave Hendricks. Satterfield is tops in career touchdown passes (46) and second in both career passing yards (4870) and career pass completions (375) while leading the Tomcats to an 18-4 (.818) record in his two seasons as a starter. Chambers holds the majority of receiving records, including career receptions (203), career receiving yards (3111) and career touchdown receptions (34). Hendricks started a total of 44 games during his career, anchoring an offensive line that helped the Tomcats average more than 400 yards of total offense per game in 2005.

"I have been saying for a long time how blessed I am to be at Thiel and have the quality of coaches we have on our staff. Kurt Reiser is an outstanding coach and has been preparing himself to take over the offensive coordinator's responsibilities for a long time. I have complete faith and confidence in his abilities and know we will flourish under his tutelage", said Leipheimer.

"I owe a great deal to Coach Marzka for having taken me under his wing over the last six years. It has helped me prepare for my new position and he has taught me about being a successful offensive coordinator. He was a tremendous asset to our program and staff at Thiel", said Reiser.

When asked about taking over the play-calling duties for the Tomcats Reiser said, "We will continue to stress many of things that we have in the past - running the ball well, throwing the ball effectively and taking great care of the football. We will be committed to running the football and controlling the line of scrimmage. I have tremendous confidence in our returning players and we will continue to rely on our offensive line and running backs to lead the way for us."

Filling Reiser's previous appointment as the offensive line coach will be Kyle Smesko, who will be coming over from Franklin & Marshall College where he had served as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the past four seasons. Prior to Franklin & Marshall Smesko was an assistant at Yale University from 1999-2003.

Under Smesko's direction the Diplomats passing offense finished the 2006 season ranked 37th in Division III (225.7 yards per game) and 64th in total offense (347.2 yards per game) while ranking first and second in the Centennial Conference in passing and total offense, respectively.

Smesko, a 1997 Allegheny College graduate, was a two-time all-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) selection for the Gators. He holds the top spot in the NCAC record book in career rushing average (6.9 yards per carry) and is sixth in career rushing touchdowns (46). Smesko rushed for a career-high 1,068 yards during the 1995 season.

"I am extremely excited about the addition of Kyle Smesko to our coaching staff. He will bring valuable coaching experience and new ideas to our offensive staff. His past success as a player and coach will help us continue to build our program here at Thiel", said Reiser.

In addition to Reiser and Smesko there is one final change regarding the 2007 Thiel football coaching staff. Assistant coach Bill Brest, who last year held the titles of assistant offensive coordinator and running backs coach, was promoted to special teams coordinator. Leipheimer held the title of special teams coordinator prior to Brest’s appointment.

“Bill has been a vital part of our staff for the past six years, having coached both the wide receivers and the running backs", said Leipheimer. “He has been the run game coordinator and most recently the assistant offensive coordinator. Bill has a wealth of knowledge in the special teams area, and having him devote his energies in this area full time is going to have a tremendously positive impact on our football program".

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www.thiel.edu/athletics

		Kevin Fenstermacher Assistant Athletic Director Sports Information Director 75 College Ave. Greenville, PA 16125 Phone - 724.589.2187 Fax - 724.589.2880 kfenstermacher@thiel.edu www.thiel.edu/athletics

For Immediate Release: January 3, 2007 REISER TAKES OVER FOR MARZKA AS TOMCAT OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR; SMESKO NAMED OFFENSIVE LINE COACH, BREST TABBED AS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR GREENVILLE, Pa. (Jan. 3) -- The Thiel College football program will head into the 2007 season without assistant head coach and offensive coordinator John Marzka. Marzka, who is moving into the head coaching ranks at Albright College, will be replaced by longtime Tomcat assistant Kurt Reiser as the offensive coordinator. "I certainly have mixed emotions about John's move to Albright - on the one hand I am extremely excited for him and his family - this is a great step in his career; one that he has prepared well for and I am confident he will do an excellent job. On the other hand I am sorry to see him leave; he was very instrumental in our turning the program around here at Thiel and did an awesome job - he is a quality coach", said Thiel head coach Jack Leipheimer. Marzka, who has served as the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since arriving at Thiel with Leipheimer in 2001, has helped the Tomcats total a record of 23-9 over the past three seasons. Thiel has had 58 all-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) selections to go along with four all-America selections while tying or setting 56 school records over that time. The Tomcats rattled off 11 straight wins during the 2005 season, winning their first PAC title since 1972, advancing to the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time in school history and finishing with an overall mark of 11-1. Under Marzka the Tomcats saw three of most productive offensive players in the history of the program in quarterback Darrell Satterfield, wide receiver Brandon Chambers and offensive tackle Dave Hendricks. Satterfield is tops in career touchdown passes (46) and second in both career passing yards (4870) and career pass completions (375) while leading the Tomcats to an 18-4 (.818) record in his two seasons as a starter. Chambers holds the majority of receiving records, including career receptions (203), career receiving yards (3111) and career touchdown receptions (34). Hendricks started a total of 44 games during his career, anchoring an offensive line that helped the Tomcats average more than 400 yards of total offense per game in 2005. "I have been saying for a long time how blessed I am to be at Thiel and have the quality of coaches we have on our staff. Kurt Reiser is an outstanding coach and has been preparing himself to take over the offensive coordinator's responsibilities for a long time. I have complete faith and confidence in his abilities and know we will flourish under his tutelage", said Leipheimer. "I owe a great deal to Coach Marzka for having taken me under his wing over the last six years. It has helped me prepare for my new position and he has taught me about being a successful offensive coordinator. He was a tremendous asset to our program and staff at Thiel", said Reiser. When asked about taking over the play-calling duties for the Tomcats Reiser said, "We will continue to stress many of things that we have in the past - running the ball well, throwing the ball effectively and taking great care of the football. We will be committed to running the football and controlling the line of scrimmage. I have tremendous confidence in our returning players and we will continue to rely on our offensive line and running backs to lead the way for us." Filling Reiser's previous appointment as the offensive line coach will be Kyle Smesko, who will be coming over from Franklin & Marshall College where he had served as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the past four seasons. Prior to Franklin & Marshall Smesko was an assistant at Yale University from 1999-2003. Under Smesko's direction the Diplomats passing offense finished the 2006 season ranked 37th in Division III (225.7 yards per game) and 64th in total offense (347.2 yards per game) while ranking first and second in the Centennial Conference in passing and total offense, respectively. Smesko, a 1997 Allegheny College graduate, was a two-time all-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) selection for the Gators. He holds the top spot in the NCAC record book in career rushing average (6.9 yards per carry) and is sixth in career rushing touchdowns (46). Smesko rushed for a career-high 1,068 yards during the 1995 season. "I am extremely excited about the addition of Kyle Smesko to our coaching staff. He will bring valuable coaching experience and new ideas to our offensive staff. His past success as a player and coach will help us continue to build our program here at Thiel", said Reiser. In addition to Reiser and Smesko there is one final change regarding the 2007 Thiel football coaching staff. Assistant coach Bill Brest, who last year held the titles of assistant offensive coordinator and running backs coach, was promoted to special teams coordinator. Leipheimer held the title of special teams coordinator prior to Brest’s appointment. “Bill has been a vital part of our staff for the past six years, having coached both the wide receivers and the running backs", said Leipheimer. “He has been the run game coordinator and most recently the assistant offensive coordinator. Bill has a wealth of knowledge in the special teams area, and having him devote his energies in this area full time is going to have a tremendously positive impact on our football program".






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