Two Cadets gain weekly honors

NORTHFIELD, VT. – In the wake of Norwich University's sixth consecutive win, senior place-kicker Long Ding (Qing Dao, China) and junior linebacker John Taranto (New Britain, Conn.) earned weekly honors.

Ding was recognized for on-and-off-the-field excellence. The National Football Foundation made him their Scholar-Athlete of the Day Oct. 31. Each NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Day is selected from the list of candidates for the NFF National Scholar- Athlete Awards, presented by Fidelity Investments^®. As part of its effort to highlight the best of the gridiron, the NFF is separately highlighting each of the 127 candidates on its website during the coming months. Ding also was awarded the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference's Special Teams Player of the Week award the same day. He drilled his second 40-plus-yard field goal and was six-for-six in extra points to help lead Norwich past Anna Maria 45-24 this past weekend. The senior punter/place kicker also averaged 33.5 yards per punt and over 40 yards per kickoff.

Taranto, behind his defensive-unit-leading 12 tackles and three-and-half tackles for losses against the AmCats, was one of three Division III linebacker honored by the Beyond College Sports Network as a Defensive Player of the Week. The junior also contributed two-and-a-half sacks in the regular season home finale.