Heidelberg's Brock Riggs does his forward flip into the end zone to score a touchdown in the final week of the regular season. Heidelberg athletics photo

By Adam Turer
D3sports.com

Brock Riggs didn’t eat any pie in New York City on Friday, but he brought home the most important slice of the weekend.

Riggs became the first Division III player to win the coveted Piesman Trophy, the award annually given to the college football lineman who made the most “un-lineman-like” play of the season. The trophy, presented by SBNation, is appropriately shaped like a slice of pie.

The man, the legend, the trophy.

“I’d seen plays that were (described as) ‘Piesman-worthy,’ but I didn’t really know what it was,” said Riggs. “I started researching it, and realized this is phenomenal. I was 100% behind the Piesman movement.”

The Heidelberg left tackle emerged victorious thanks to his exceptionally athletic touchdown in a Week 11 win against Capital, the final game of his college career.

You’ve probably seen the play by now. The Student Princes line up on the left hash at the Capital 14-yard-line. Quarterback Tyler Stoyle completes a hitch route to wide receiver Demetrius Magee, who catches the ball at the 10. Riggs sneaks out after the pass is thrown, and Magee pitches him the ball in stride. Riggs hauls in the toss, while the cornerback follows Magee to the inside. There is nothing but green between Riggs and the end zone. Then, the fun begins.

“Running out on the field for the play, my heart was beating faster than normal. Once I got to the line, I calmed down,” said Riggs. “I was just worried about catching the ball. Once I had the ball in my hands, I knew I’d make the play.”

With nothing but daylight in front of him, Riggs put an exclamation point on the unlikely touchdown by front-flipping across the goal line. That feat of athleticism is what separated him from the rest of the Piesman finalists.

“I don’t want to sound overconfident, but I thought his play and the fact that he flipped into the end zone, I thought he had a really good chance to win,” said Heidelberg offensive coordinator Jason Lewis. “We almost kind of stumbled into this. Honestly, we drew one play up on the board to get Brock the ball. He’s a really good athlete for how big he is. It just worked out.”

Last year, Lewis drew up a play for Stoyle to throw a screen to Riggs near the line of scrimmage. The pass was intercepted. Lewis came back this year with an original play — the similarities to Billy Bob’s score in Varsity Blues are purely coincidental — designed to get Riggs the ball. They installed the hook and lateral play earlier in the season, then tabled it once Riggs was slowed by an ankle injury. By Week 11, he was back to full speed, and Magee had solidified himself as the receiver who could handle the catch and the pitch. Once they convinced Stoyle, it was a go.

“The whole point of doing this is to give a guy a chance to score,” said Lewis. “If you don’t think they can score, there’s not much point in getting them the ball.”

Riggs was announced as one of the three finalists for the award and made the trip to New York City along with his girlfriend and Lewis. It was the first trip to the city for both men. They learned how to navigate the subway system, took an interesting bike ride through Central Park, and visited the National September 11 Memorial.

The Piesman is open to college football players from every division, and Riggs received the star treatment not often available to D-III players. Of course, being a D-III student-athlete, he had his own very D-III moment. Between a pizza luncheon and the trophy ceremony on Friday, he had to retreat to his hotel room to take a final exam over e-mail for his managerial human resources class.

“At Division III, you have to provide for yourself almost everything,” said Riggs. “Having people buying you lunch, feeling like the star of the show was a unique experience.”

At the ceremony, Riggs and Lewis got to meet former NFL linemen Geoff Schwartz and Stephen White, as well as 2 Live Crew’s Luther Campbell, who was on hand to present a fan vote award.

Once video of the play went viral, helped by Heidelberg alum and ESPN anchor John Buccigross, Riggs became a minor celebrity on campus. His teammates especially enjoyed all of the media attention hoisted upon one of the most quiet, reserved players on the team. Dozens of his teammates gathered for a viewing party back on campus on Friday night. They, along with the entire Heidelberg community and the mayor of Tiffin, celebrated Riggs’s victory.

“That’s the best part to me, being from D-III and having a chance to go on the national stage and win an award like that against guys from every level of college football. That’s the coolest part,” said Riggs. “It’s all about the fun of the play and enjoying the athleticism of offensive and defensive linemen.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Piesman ceremony without copious amounts of pie, but Riggs refrained from consuming any on Friday night. In fact, he hasn’t eaten pie since high school, the result of a contest against a friend which still remains hotly debated to this day. Riggs went with cherry pie in that contest, and his friend went with apple. The contest was decided by weight of the pie. Riggs was declared the winner, although his friend still alleges that apple filling weighs more than cherry.

After bringing home the Piesman from New York City, Riggs remains unbeaten in pie-related competition.

Riggs was the second straight Piesman finalist from Division III, after Monmouth’s Kolton Koch made the trip last year. The award is only 3 years old. The future is bright and while he surely won’t be the last finalist from Division III, Riggs will always be able to claim that he was the first Piesman winner from the division.

For any aspiring Piesmen out there, Riggs offers these parting words of wisdom: “Become friends with your coaches so they’ll want to draw up trick plays for you. Don’t look unathletic. That’s my biggest key. If you do get the chance, and you’ve got to put a little flair on it, go for it.”