Four Titans Honored At Wisconsin Coaches Banquet

UW-Oshkosh's Pat Cerroni, Craig Smith, Luke Venne and Nate Wara will be recognized at the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) Banquet on January 27. The event is held at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

These four Titans are being honored for their 2012 WIAC awards. Cerroni was named Coach of the Year, while Wara gained Player of the Year. Smith and Venne received WIAC Co-Assistant Coaches of the Year.

Cerroni led UW-Oshkosh on a 15-game winning streak, as the Titans reached the national semifinals and finished 13-1. The team had seven players gain NCAA Division III All-America awards. UW-Oshkosh also captured its first league title in 36 years.

The Titans took down four nationally ranked squads this season. UW-Oshkosh posted a 28-13 win at defending national champion UW-Whitewater and a 31-24 overtime victory at #3 Linfield College (Ore.). The triumph at Whitewater snapped the Warhawks' 27-game conference winning streak. Overall, the Titans outscored their foes by an average of 38-16.

Cerroni, in his sixth season as head coach, also was voted Region Coach of the Year by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association. The U.S. Air Force veteran earned his bachelor's degree from Carroll University (1992) and his master's from UW-Oshkosh (2004).

Wara is the only first-team All-American in program history. He threw for 3,311 yards and 30 touchdowns, while running for another 740 yards and 10 scores. Wara was named the National Offensive Player of the Year by D3football.com.

In the victory at #5 UW-Whitewater, Wara completed 16-of-24 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. He booked a career-high 369 yards with four scores as the Titans won at UW-La Crosse for the first time in 45 years. Wara had 393 total yards and six touchdowns in the season-opening victory against Central College (Iowa).

Smith serves as the pass-game coordinator for UW-Oshkosh's offense. The unit scored 525 points and set a school record with 3,358 yards through the air. Caleb Voss owned 1,333 of those receiving yards to rank fourth in the nation. Smith helped Wara complete 65 percent of his passes with just five picks in 366 attempts.

Smith spent the last five years with the Titans after previously coaching for UW-Platteville and Quincy University (Ill.). He received both his bachelor's (2002) and master's (2004) degrees from UW-Platteville.

Coordinating the ground game, Venne guided the Titans to a school-record 3,363 rushing yards. All-American tailback Cole Myhra ran for 1,589 yards and 16 touchdowns. UW-Oshkosh broke 250 rushing yards in five games, including 442 against UW-Eau Claire and 413 against The College of St. Scholastica (Minn.).

Venne started 27 games at tackle for UW-Oshkosh from 1998-2001. He then earned his bachelor's degree from the school during 2004. This was his seventh season as a full-time assistant.