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Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Westminster (PA) College Hires Six Assistant Football Coaches for 2005 Season

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Westminster College head football coach Jeff Hand has announced the hiring of six assistant football coaches (two full-time, two part-time, two interns) for the Titan football program. Dwayne Pavkovich and Clark Rolli have each been added to the Titan staff in a full-time capacity, while former local high school head coaches Bill Hand and Gary Schooley will coach on a part-time basis and Sean Ross and Paul D'Imperio will be coaching interns for the 2005 season.

Pavkovich will serve as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Westminster in 2005. A 2002 graduate of Hiram College, he worked as recruiting coordinator at his alma mater in 2002 and as offensive coordinator in 2003. Last season, he was offensive coordinator at Jack Britt (N.C.) High School, leading the program to an appearance in the state championship game. Pavkovich was a four-year starter (1998-2001) at quarterback at Hiram, serving as team offensive captain as a junior and senior. A native of Poland, Ohio, and graduate of Poland Seminary High School, Pavkovich will also serve as a Titan assistant baseball coach.

Rolli will serve as assistant defensive coordinator while also working with the Westminster defensive line. Rolli followed Coach Hand from Waynesburg College, his alma mater, where he served as a graduate assistant coach on the defensive line in 2003 and 2004. He was a standout defensive player for the Yellow Jackets prior to his graduation in 2002. In addition to coaching football, Rolli will also have additional teaching and administrative duties in the athletic department.

Bill Hand will join his younger brother Jeff on the Westminster sidelines, where he will coach the offensive line and will be running game coordinator. Bill Hand comes to Westminster from NAIA member Geneva College, where he was offensive line coach. He previously was head coach at Riverside High School in his hometown of Ellwood City from 2002-04, posting a 17-13 overall record including the school's first playoff win in 11 years in 2003. He was head coach at Center High School in 2002, posting a 5-5 record. Hand previously was an assistant coach at North Allegheny, Shaler and Highlands high schools as well as California University of Pa. A graduate of Waynesburg College, where he was an offensive lineman, Hand was previously a three-year letterman at Ellwood City Lincoln High School.

Schooley, who will serve as secondary coach at Westminster, is no stranger to local football fans following his recent stints as head coach at New Castle High School (1995-2004) and Mohawk High School (1994). At Ne-Ca-Hi, he coached five all-state players while leading the Red Hurricane to the WPIAL Championship and a berth in the PIAA state championship game in 1998 and the Parkway Conference championship in 2002. Schooley is a 1984 graduate of Slippery Rock University.

Ross, who begins his first season as linebackers coach for the Titans in 2005, was a standout linebacker playing for Jeff Hand during his collegiate career at Waynesburg (2000-03), which he graduated from in 2004. A four-year letterman and three-year starter, he was a two-time All-PAC selection who was the runner-up to Titan Scott Froelich in the PAC Player of the Year balloting in 2003. He served as team captain of the 2003 Yellow Jackets, which captured the PAC championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs. Ross is a native of Washington, Pa.

D'Imperio, who will serve as wide receivers coach for the Titans in 2005, was a standout wide receiver for Hand during his playing career at Waynesburg (2001-04), which he graduated from in 2005. A three-year letterman and starter, he was a three-time All-PAC selection who broke the Yellow Jacket program record with 144 career receptions. He was named team offensive MVP in 2003 and 2004 and was team captain as a senior. D'Imperio is a native of Crofton, Md.

Don Augustine, the lone returnee from the 2004 Titan football coaching staff, will coach running backs and special teams this season. Hand (37-25 in six years as a head coach at Benedictine (Ill.) and Waynesburg) also plans to add two additional part-time assistant coaches to the staff prior to the 2005 season.

Founded in 1852 and related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Westminster College is ranked among national leaders in graduation rate performance, according to U.S. News Guide to America's Best Colleges, and is one of the most affordable national liberal arts colleges in Pennsylvania. Westminster is also honored as one of "The Best 357 Colleges" and "Best 115 in the Mid-Atlantic" by The Princeton Review, and was recognized by the Templeton Guide as a "Character Building College."

Nearly 1,600 students benefit from individualized attention from dedicated faculty, while choosing from 40 majors and nearly 100 organizations on the New Wilmington, Pa. campus.

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Joe Onderko
Sports Information Director
Westminster College/Presidents' Athletic Conference
102 Old Main, 319 S. Market Street
New Wilmington, PA 16172-0001
P-(724) 946-6357

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