CHICAGO --- Tusculum College placekicker Gareth Rowlands continues to listed on the 2009 Fred Mitchell Award "Watch List" after the month of October announced officials Wednesday.

Rowlands, a junior from Wales, Great Britain, is one of a dozen Division II and Division III placekickers recognized last month for excellence on the football field and in the community.

Rowlands is Tusculum's leading scorer with 61 points and is the top scoring kicker in the South Atlantic Conference averaging 6.8 points per game. He has made 25 of his 26 extra point attempts and has connected on 12 of his 14 field goal attempts. Rowlands is averaging 1.33 field goals per game, which are currently 16th in NCAA II. He has also gone 8-for-8 on field goals of 40 or more yards, including a school record 52-yarder earlier this season at Elizabeth City State University.

In October, Rowlands accounted for 34 points (13-14 PAT; 7-8 FG), including 10 points in Tusculum's 34-31 road win at Newberry College. In that game, Rowlands made a 44-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to provide the winning margin. For his efforts, he was named to SAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Rowlands, a graduate of King's Academy in Seymour, Tenn., is already the College's all-time leader in career extra points made (82) and points by a kicker (154).

The Fred Mitchell Award recognizes the nation's top collegiate placekicker among the approximately 150 Division II and 240 Division III football teams. The Award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be chosen based on excellence on the football field and in the community. The winner will be announced in mid-December and the Fred Mitchell Award trophy will be presented by the Selection Committee on Feb. 22, 2010 at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall.

A blue-ribbon Selection Committee will evaluate place-kickers that are nominated by Division II and III schools. There are nine members of the Pro and/or College Football Hall of Fame on the Selection Committee including Tom Beck, George Blanda, Kevin Butler, Lou Holtz, Paul Hornung, Marv Levy, Steve McMichael, Don Pierson and Gale Sayers. Several former football players that are active in their communities are also on the Selection Committee including Carl Allegretti, Sean Gothier, Jeff Michalczyk, Mark Murphy, Rob Perry, Bob Thomas, Todd Wilkins and Rob Zvonar.

The Pioneers (3-6, 2-4 SAC) have won their last two games and will travel to 14th-ranked Carson-Newman College (8-2, 6-0 SAC) for TC's season-finale. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Burke-Tarr Stadium in Jefferson City, Tenn.

Tusculum College, located in Greeneville, Tenn., is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is a NCAA Division II member of the South Atlantic Conference which is comprised of nine colleges and universities in Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

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