LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Little Rock Touchdown Club, in conjunction with the Great American Conference, announced Colorado School of Mines senior quarterback John Matocha as the winner of the 2022 Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II College Football Player of the Year.
Matocha received 178 total points; 61 points clear of Ferris State defensive end Caleb Murphy. Shepherd quarterback Tyson Bagent, the 2021 Harlon Hill winner placed third. Nebraska-Kearney’s TJ Davis, the 2021 runner up, finished seventh.
HARLON HILL AWARD HISTORY
Division II Sports Information Directors act as the voting electorate for the award. A total of 95 SIDs participated in the final voting. The point system of three points for a first place vote, two for second and one for third determined the point total.
Matocha led Colorado School of Mines to its first appearance in the Division II National Championship game after throwing for a DII-leading 50 touchdown passes. He also leads in pass efficiency. His 4,570 yards rank second to Bagent by just 10 yards.
Matocha’s win gives Colorado School of the Mines the distinction as the first school with three unique Harlon Hill awards. Prior Oredigger quarterbacks Chad Friehauf and Justin Dvorak won in 2004 and 2016, respectively. Ferris State, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Valdosta State also have three Harlon Hill winners but all three have a multiple-time winner.
Murphy became the first defensive player to finish in the top two since North Alabama’s Ronald McKinnon won in 1995. McKinnon remains the lone defensive player to win the Harlon Hill Award.
Matocha and Murphy will meet in Saturday’s NCAA Division II National Championship game. Only once before have the top two finishers met in the title game. In 2018, Valdosta State, featuring runner up Rogan Wells edged out Ferris State and winner Jayru Campbell, 49-47.
Matocha will be honored at the Little Rock Touchdown Club awards banquet on Friday, January 13, 2023.
The Hill Trophy is named for the late Harlon Hill - the former University of North Alabama standout - who excelled with the Lions from 1950-53 before going on to fame in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears.
