The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Avon grad named special team’s POTW
Former Avon grad David Orlando is getting some recognition at the next level, as the Tiffin punter was named the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Special Teams POTW on March 15.
Former Avon football player David Orlando is getting some recognition at the next level.
The Tiffin punter was named the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week on March 15 after helping the Dragons secure a seven-point win vs. Walsh on March 13.
Orlando averaged nearly 40 yards on eight punts in a 21-14 win. The junior handled all of the punting duties vs. the Cavaliers and had a long of 51 yards and dropped a pair of punts inside the 20.
Tiffin is 1-0 on the season and looking to repeat as conference champions this spring. The Dragons were 2019 GMAC conference champs after finishing with a 9-2 regular season mark.
Tiffin lost to Kutztown, 33-31, in the first round of the playoffs in 2019.
The 2020 GMAC season is underway after the conference postponed the season from its normal fall start time to the spring.
As a sophomore, Orlando averaged 36.5 yards per punt on 38 kicks in 2019
and played in all 11 games for the Dragons. Orlando placed 14 kicks inside the 20 yard line.
The special teamer nearly set a record in his first collegiate
game as a freshman in 2018 after booting a 72-yard punt vs. Northwood. That’s good for the second-longest punt in conference history.
Orlando played in 11
games as a freshman in 2018, serving as the team’s primary punter. He converted 4 of 5 extra points and racked up 48 punts for a 37.6 yard average. Orlando also placed 14 punts inside the 20 yard line with only three touchbacks. He also showed off his placekicking ability by kicking off in seven games.
The junior ranks in the top 10 among all punters in conference history with a current career average of 37.1 yards per punt.
At Avon, Orlando was a Swiss Army knife for the Eagles. He played wide receiver, running back, punt returner, kick returner, punter, kicker, cornerback and safety. Orlando — a criminal justice major at Tiffin — was a first team All-Ohio selection.
Through eight weeks of the 2017 football season at Avon, Orlando helped lead his team to an 8-0 record. He was at or near the top in several statistical categories in those eight weeks.
On offense, he was second on the team in receiving with 30 catches for 393 yards and three touchdowns. He also had two TDs on the ground to go along with 77 yards rushing.
On special teams, Orlando led the team with 61 punt return yards and was second on the team with 69 kick return yards.
He also converted 29 of 32 extra points and was 3-for-7 on field goals. Orlando averaged just over 43 yards per punt. On defense, he nabbed two interceptions and tallied a teamhigh 68 points.