Aug. 21, 2003
Duquesne's record-setting quarterback Tony Zimmerman ('00) was named the arenafootball2 Offensive Player of Year by coaches and media Wednesday. A two-year veteran of te af2, Zimmerman threw for a league record 93 touchdowns this season and helped the Quad City Steamwheelers post a 14-2 regular-season record and the Midwest Division Championship.
Zimmerman broke the af2 record for touchdown passes in a season with 93, breaking the old record of 86 that was held by Tennessee Valley Vipers QB Matt Sauk who accomplished that feat in 2000. He finished the season 286-of-512 for 4,357 yards and threw only seven interceptions. Zimmerman had a 13:1 touchdown to interception ratio, the best in the league and his 272.3 passing yards per game were second highest in the league. He also tallied 17 more touchdowns on the ground, rushing 40 times for 62 yards.
"It really kind of surprised me, considering that I did not win any of the weekly awards," Zimmerman said. "But, I would rather have the season award now that it is all said and done."
"I think that the touchdown record and the touchdown to interception ratio had a lot to do with (the decision)," Zimmerman added.
He also was the team MVP and a National Conference first team pick.
Zimmerman's head coach at Quad City is Rich Ingold, who was an offensive coordinator at Duquesne during Tony's career. And during the off-season, he works with another DU ex-offensive coordinator, Mauro Monz. Monz is starting his first season as the head coach at West Virginia Tech in Montgomery, WV.
"He deserved it," Ingold said. "He would have won the award last year had he been healthy. I had high expectations for him and he fulfilled them."
His 2002 season with the Steamwheelers was cut short by a broken leg suffered six games into his inaugural AF2 campaign. Zimmerman was accumulating all-star type stats averaging 207.9 yards per game while completing 57.4 percent (183-105) of his passes.
"I did expect to have this good of a season because of the way that I started last season and with the way that I started this season," Zimmerman said. "I put high expectations on myself, therefore I expect to do well."
The Penn-Trafford HS grad from surburban Pittsburgh holds 14 Duquesne records. He passed for 7,313 yards and threw for 73 touchdowns during his three year career under Head Coach Greg Gattuso after transferring to Duquesne following his freshman year at Pitt. He was the 2000 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year as a senior.
