April 1, 2004

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette head football coach Frank Tavani was inducted into the Lebanon Catholic High School Hall of Fame on March 27. Tavani, a standout running back at Lebanon Catholic, was part of the Hall of Fame's inaugural nine-member class.

Tavani was a three-year letterman in both football and basketball at Lebanon Catholic, co-captaining both teams as a senior. He was named the football team's MVP as a senior after rushing for 1,163 yards and scoring a Tri-County League record 17 touchdowns. Tavani set a school record with six touchdowns in one game (five rushing, one receiving) during his senior campaign and was a nominee for the Big 33 game.

"Considering all the great athletes that have gone through Lebanon Catholic, it is a tremendous honor to be included in the inaugural hall of fame class," Tavani said. "It is a very gratifying and humbling feeling to be recognized along with these other outstanding athletes."

Phil Karli, Tavani's coach at Lebanon Catholic, referred to Tavani as, "the marquee player on a coach's once-in-a-career dream team." Karli added, "To this day I still ask myself how Frank could never come in first in a wind sprint in practice and yet if our line gave him the slightest hole in a game, no one could ever catch him."

Tavani continued his playing career at Lebanon Valley College where he earned Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America honors as a senior. He set single-season school records for carries (197), rushing yards (1,036) and touchdowns (10). Tavani was the first player in Lebanon Valley history to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season, doing so in just nine games.

Tavani is entering his fifth season at the helm of the Lafayette program after serving 13 seasons as an assistant at Lafayette on the offensive side of the ball. He has guided the Leopards to 12 wins over the past two seasons, the most in a two-year span for the program in a decade.

Lafayette opens the 2004 season at home against Marist on Sept. 4. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Fisher Field.