USD Football 2001

All-PFL Returners

10

Justin Dixon returns for hi s third and fina l season with the Toreros where he w ill again anchor the Toreros offensive line unit ... last season he earned First Team All-P ioneer Footba ll League honors playing center for the Toreros ... Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette se lected hi m Honorab le Mention All -America for NCAA Div ision I-AA Mid-Majors ... pri or to USO Di xon attended the Uni versity of Red lands his freshma n campaign ... he prepped at Brea O linda High Schoo l where he was an All -Ora nge League offensive li neman and was named to the Academi c All-Orange League squad ... he ea rn ed the hi ghest grade-poin t-average on his squad over hi s fin al two seasons ... also lettered in baseball ... pl ayed twe lve years of ice hockey on the Ca lifornia State team through hi s j unior yearofhigh schoo l ... was also recru ited by Red lands, Whi ttier and Boston Co ll ege .. . chose USO to pl ay competiti ve I-AA schedul e, and to attend strong academic institution ... his dad (Paul ) played footba ll at Whittier Co ll ege, whil e hi s uncle (Jim Fitzpatri ck) played foo tba ll at Ca l State Full erton ... Major: Psyc ho logy. Kyle Slusser returns fo r hi s fi nal season with USO ... after playing in the fi rst

Justin Dixon #73 SR OL

two games in 2000, he rece ived a medica l red-shirt year after going th rough season– ending knee surgery ... in the season opener he ta lli ed 12 stops and I pick aga inst Azusa Pac ific ... two seasons ago ( 1999) he was named 2nd Team All -PFL fo r the

second straight year after leading the Torero defense in tackl es w ith 97 (46 unass isted) and intercepti ons (4) ... he reached double-di g it tackles in fi ve games with a personal best 16 tackles at Dayton .. . in season fina l aga inst Wagner he talli ed 3 intercepti ons to go w ith 8 tac kl es ... he enters the 200 I campa ign with 12 career interceptions -- he needs one more interception to set a new Torero career mark and pass Kaeo Gouve ia ( 12, 1996-99) ... in 1998 he earned 2nd Team A ll-Pioneer Football League honors after leading US O in tack les (85; 53 unassisted) and intercepti ons (6) ... he tw ice earned PFL Defensive Pl ayer of the Week honors -- on Sept. 26th aga inst Ca l Lu he tallied 9 tackl es, 2 interceptions and I forced fumble; on Oct. 3rd vs. Centra l Connecti cut he recorded IOtack les (9 unassisted), I fumbl e recovery, I interception and I pass break-up ... he also posted 14 tackl es (Fa irfie ld) and 13 tackles (Dayton) ... in 1997 he appeared in 8 contests fini shing with 13 tackl es and I intercepti on ... also recrui ted by UC Davis, Western Michigan, Corne ll and Brown ... prepped at Alta Loma Hi gh Schoo l where he was a fo ur–

sport lettennen in foo tball , soccer, baseball and track ... in football seni or year ea rn ed L. A. Times All-Inland Empire; All-CIF, All-Inland Valley and A ll-M t. Baldy League honors ... Major: Socio logy; Mi nor: Math .

Kyle Slusser #9 SR Safety

Dylan Mora returns for hi s fo urth season with the Torero football program ... last season he earned Honorable Mention All-PFL honors as a punter (36.3 average) ... selected team's Special Teams Player of the Year, he had a long punt of62 yards (Brown) and long punt return of 62 yards (Dayton) ... versatile athlete also returned punts ( I 1. 1average) and played wide receiver (24 catches for 299 yards and I TD) - he is team's top returning receiver .. . in 1999 he caught 6 balls for 62 yards, including a 12-yard TD vs. Butler ... in 1998 he appeared in four contests, tallying 7 receptions for 1IO yards ( 15.7 yards per catch) and I touchdown ... caught 3 passes fo r 53 yards against Redlands, including a 20- yard 3rd quarter score ... his season long reception also came against Redlands, a 23-yarder in the fourth period ... from El Cajon, Dylan prepped at El Caj on Valley HS ... helped hi s senior year team to a I0-2 mark and semifinal C IF appearance ... caught 9 touchdowns while earning team MVP honors and 2nd Team All-CIF selection ... named All–

League and All-East County each season ... also lettered in soccer where he was a three– time team MVP; two-time All- East County; and a 2nd Team All-CIF pick ... Major: Electrical Engineering; Minor: Math .

Dylan Mora #3 SR WR/PK/P

Anthony Banovac returns for hi s fo urth year with the Toreros ... he missed last season after having knee surgery ... he' ll pl ay again at defensive tackle where in 1999 he earned 2nd Team A ll-PFL honors after ta ll ying 34 tack les ( 16 unassisted) ... he had a team-best 7 quarterback sacks (-38 yards) and was second with 11 tack les for losses (-43 yards) ... he also chipped in w ith 3 quarterbac k hurries, I fumbl e recovery and I bl ocked kick ... in the team's season fin al aga inst Wagner he totaled a personal-best 9 stops (4 unass isted) ... in 1998 he ta llied 13 tac kl es (6 unass isted) w ith two quarterback sacks (-1 I yards) and fo ur tackl es for loss (-14 yards) ... in season opener aga inst Azusa Pac ifi c he came in and posted 4 stops with two tack les go ing for losses ... prior to USO he prepped at Crespi High Schoo l where he was a three-sport letterwinner in foo tball, basketball and baseball ... hi s senior year in footba ll the team went 12-2 and posted a state rank ing of No. 2 ... sen ior year earned the team's Most Inspi rati ona l Award,

and j uni or campaign was the rec ipi ent ofthe Iron Man Award ... also recru ited by West Po int, Utah State and Hawaii ... Major: Commu nications; Minor: Business.

Anthony Banovac #57 SR DT

Matt Guardia returns for his fo urth and fina l season with the Toreros where he wi ll again see action on offense as the starting tight end ... last season he earned Honorab le Mention All -PFL honors after catching 12 ba lls for 98 yards and I TD ... he caught 5 passes for 28 yards and a 2-yard TD versus Davidson ... in 1999 he caught 4 passes for 83 yards -- he hauled in 2 touchdowns against Wagner in the season fina l of 41 and 32 yards ... in 1998 he earned two starts and played in the last three games of the season, hauling in 8 passes for 154 yards ( 19.3 yards per catch) and I touchdown , a 25-yarder against Va lpara iso ... his single-season long reception came in the last game versus Dayton of 42 yards; in that game he had a team-best 6 catches for 98 yards ... he caught a 3 1-yardcr against Drake in game #8 ... from Rock lin, Ca lifornia, he prepped at Jesuit High School where he earned All-Metro League honors as both a tight end and linebacker ... his teams advanced to the section playoffs three years with his sophomore team winning the Section Championship ... he also lettered in baseball ... Major: Busi ness Adm inistration.

Matt Guardia #82 SR TE