University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Football Honored With Two Plays of the Year
Feb. 27, 2001
Chapel Hill, N.C. ------ Bosley Allen's 78-yard punt return for a touchdown and Willie Parker's trick-play touchdown at Pittsburgh have been honored as two of the College Plays of the Year by a panel of sportswriters and sports broadcasters. Allen's play was voted the best kick return and Parker's play was voted the most unusual.
"College Football Plays of the Year" is the program that categorizes and judges plays that are nominated by colleges and universities from all levels of college football'NCAA Divisions I, IAA, II, and III, the NAIA, junior colleges and community colleges. The winning play is memorialized with an oil painting at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana. An identical canvas duplicate is also given to the winning university.
The program is co-sponsored by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), and is supported by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). This is the ninth year of the program.
Allen's touchdown came in the third quarter and gave Carolina a 28-14 advantage at Wake Forest. After fielding the punt, Allen cut back across the field, raced down the sideline and after nearly being brought down several times came across the goal line for the score. It was the first of two punt returns for touchdowns Allen had in 2000.
Parker and quarterback Ronald Curry teamed up to pull off the "Rooskie" play that Carolina used to score at Pittsburgh. Trailing by three in the first quarter, Carolina had driven the ball to the Pitt 8-yard line. On 1st-and-goal, Curry lined up at quarterback and Parker knelt down behind the offensive line. Curry took the snap and placed the ball between Parker's legs. Parker paused for a moment and then took off, running away from Curry, untouched for a touchdown.
Category winners for the 2000 football season included the following:
BEST PASS RECEPTION: Middle Tennessee Receiver Tyrone Calico's sensational one-handed acrobatic catch and 42-yard touchdown run in the midst of three Mississippi State defenders, including All-American Defensive Back Fred Smoot.
BEST KICK RETURN: North Carolina Returner Bosley Allen's fourth-quarter punt return for a touchdown that broke open a tight game against Wake Forest.
BEST RUN: Texas A&M junior Fullback Ja'Mar Toomb's spectacular 27-yard TD run as he literally carried and dragged three big defenders through the Oklahoma line and gave the Aggies a 31-21 lead against #1 Oklahoma early in the fourth quarter. A Texas record 87,188 fans saw the game at College Station.
BEST DEFENSE: Walsh University's fourth quarter fumble recovery and lateral for a 70-yard touchdown against Geneva College that gave the Cavaliers a temporary 16-14 lead over the Golden Tornadoes. Kevin Vaughn and Mack Mitchell provided the heroics for Walsh.
BEST PASS INTERCEPTION: Oklahoma Defensive Back Brandon Everagig's dramatic one-handed sideline interception of a pass that Kansas QB Dylan Smith was trying to throw away.
MOST UNUSUAL: North Carolina Tailback Willie Parker's pause-and-run to the left after quarterback Ron Curry faked a run to the right after shoving the ball between Parker's legs. The 8-yard touchdown gave Carolina a 7-3 lead.
MOST INSPIRATIONAL: New Mexico Highland's punt that was caught by a teammate behind the line of scrimmage and "forwarded" 68 yards to Adams State's 2-yard line. With fourth-and-sixteen at their own 36 with 4:24 to play and nursing a slim 6-0 lead, New Mexico Highland's punter Justin Levine saw the snap sail over his head. Chased by several Grizzlies, he ran back and picked up the ball at his own 10, then punted downfield where teammate Woody Otis caught it behind the original line of scrimmage and ran nearly to the Adams State goal line.
BEST HUSTLE: Bethel College Defensive Back Doug DeGroot's never-say-die tackle and strip that prevented a Bethany College score near the end of the game. Bethany's Levi Esses had made an acrobatic catch and was headed for the end zone when DeGroot came from the other side of the field and caught Esses at the 5-yard line, punching the ball out of his hands and through the end zone for a touchback.
SPECIAL MENTION: The judges couldn't pass up the opportunity to recognize the "Miracle in the Mud" play that gave Central College of Iowa a Division III playoff victory over Linfield College of Oregon. In overtime, trailing by three points and in a muddy quagmire, Central Kicker Tim O'Neil slipped in the mud as he tried to kick the tying field goal. The ball dribbled toward the line of scrimmage, and everyone thought the game was over. However, Central's Reid Evans picked up the ball and handed it to teammate Joe Ritzert, who dodged the numerous Linfield fans on the field celebrating their apparent victory, and scored from 21 yards out. This gave Central a 3-point victory and a trip to the quarterfinals of the Division III championships.