Jake Buzard is set for his senior season for the Westminster College football team.

The former West Middlesex High standout, who quarterbacked the Big Reds to the 2002 Mercer County Athletic Conference and District 10 Class A crowns, returns as the TItans’ leading receiver.

A year ago Buzard bucketed 30 receptions for 252 yards (8.4 yards/catch), highlighted by an 8-catch, 75-yard outing against Waynesburg.

The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder wide receiver will be a third-year letterman. He has hauled in 50 career collegiate catches for 454 yards (9.1), and has acquitted himself equally as well academically. An accounting major, he was named to the 2005 Head Coach’s Academic Honor Roll (minimum 3.0 grade-point-average). The diminutive, yet durable Buzard also was one of 16 Titans who did not miss a single practice last year.

Also listed on Westminster’s ’06 preseason roster are a pair of Sharon natives in freshmen George Kovac (Kennedy Catholic High) and Mike Snyderwine (Sharon High). Kovac is a 5-9, 220-pound fullback, while Snyderwine is a 5-11, 175-pound wide-out/defensive back. Another pair of area products include 6-1, 230-pound freshman defensive end Mike Regal (Slippery Rock High) and Andrew Robison (Wilmington High), a 6-3, 215-pound sophomore defensive lineman.

Westminster was 4-6 overall and 2-4 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference last year.

The Titans of second-year head coach Jeff Hand commence the campaign Sept. 2, welcoming Allegheny College to Harold Burry Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. non-conference encounter.

ä Grove City High graduate Ryan King has decided to stay home and play basketball at Grove City College.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound King, a first-team District 10 All-Region 5 selection in ’05-06, bucketed 405 points last season in leading the Eagles of veteran mentor Don Fee to the playoffs where they were ousted by Strong Vincent 69-48 in the D-10 Class AAA consy contest. He logged 24 double-digit scoring games for Grove City (23-4), highlighted by a 27-point performance in a regular season-ending win at Hickory.

King concluded his scholastic career as Grove City High’s all-time leading scorer (1,351), surpassing former teammate Mike Johnson.

He is a pleasantly surprising addition to the recruiting class of cage coach Steve Lamie (111-95, 8 years). According to GCC sports information director Ryan Briggs, King initially was not intending to play college basketball. Potentially, he could become the home-grown product with the most impact on Grove City College’s cage program since Bob Crow (’83), its second-leading all-time scorer (1,450).

Grove City College commences the campaign Nov. 17-18 in the West Penn Classic against Allegheny College and Carnegie Mellon University. The Wolverines ended 9-17 overall, 5-7 in the PAC last season.

Ed Farrell is assistant sports editor for The Herald