Senior Running Back James Mallory Named One of 20 on the Ballot for the Walter Payton Award

The accomplishments and accolades are just beginning for senior running back James Mallory. On Monday, Mallory was named one of the 20 players on the ballot for the Walter Payton Award, announced by the Sports Network. Mallory and the Blue Devils won the 2009 NEC title with a 14-13 win at St. Francis (PA) on Saturday. He now has 1,243 yards on the ground through the first 10 games of the season. Mallory joins several of the nation's best student-athletes on the Payton Award list.

Mallory will enter the final game of his career, Dec. 5 at Butler in the Gridiron Classic, with 3,136 career rushing yards and 33 career touchdowns, good for 200 career points. He is second all-time in scoring and rushing at Central.

The Sports Network established the Walter Payton Player of the Year Award in 1987, and it is presented annually to the most outstanding college football player on the FCS level. The winner is chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports information directors from the division. When the award was established, it was the only such award to be presented to an individual player in FCS football.

Mallory becomes the second Blue Devil in the last four seasons to be named to the Payton Award list. Former Blue Devil Justise Hairston, who set a single-season rushing record with 1,847 yards rushing in 2006, finished eighth in the final voting for the award.

Mallory's last two seasons have been nothing short of spectacular. Last year he rushed for 1,520 yards and 15 touchdowns. This season he has rushed for 1,243 yards and 15 more scores, leading the Blue Devils in both categories.

Mallory has rushed for 100 or more yards in a game 15 times in the last two seasons, including six times this year in 10 games. He has rushed for 539 yards in the last four weeks. He is averaging 113.0 yards per game in 2009, and 4.8 yards per carry.

The Blue Devils will travel to Butler for the Gridiron Classic on Dec. 5 at 12 noon to face the Bulldogs, the winner of the Pioneer Football League. The Bulldogs and Blue Devils have never met in football action.