March 11, 2004

Mark Stopczynski Idaho 5A Player of the Year

LA GRANDE, Ore. - Recruiting for the 2004 football season has been very good for the Eastern Oregon University Mountaineer football staff.

So far, 26 student-athletes have signed Frontier Conference Letters of Intent; nine have been from the State of Idaho, including 5A Player of the Year, Mark Stopczynski.

"Mark is an exceptional running back and has a great career ahead of him here at Eastern," stated assistant football coach Travis Baker.  "He's not only an exceptional talent, but he's a winner."

Stopczynski led the Centennial Patriots to the state title and the program's first 12-0 record. He also finished the season with five school records.  During the championship game, the durable Stopczynski rushed for 140 yards on 30 carries, well below his 194 yards per carry season average.  However, he did score what was to be the winning touchdown in the 21-14 victory, capping the miracle season for the Patriots.

Another addition to the Mountaineer defensive side of the ball will be sophomore transfer Cortsan Milks.  Milks comes to La Grande after a very successful season with Montana State University-Northern.

The Rathdrum native and Lakeside High School alumnus was second in the Frontier Conference in tackling with 13 total tackles per game. He also had five and a half tackles for losses in 2003.

Other Idaho student-athletes signing with the Mountaineers include the following:

Name	Position(s)	Hometown	High School
Sean Maisch	Running Back	Pocatello	Pocatello
R-Jay Black	Running Back/Defensive Back	Parma	Parma
Shawn Keating	Offensive Line	Boise	Borah
Hayden Plocher	Running Back	Meridian	Mountain View
Brian Brackenbury	Defensive Lineman	Albion	Declo
Brandon Larson	Defensive Back	Potlatch	Potlatch
David Culbertson	Wide Receiver	Meridian	Mountain View